Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he accepts the "broad recommendations" of the Manley panel's report on Canada's future role in Afghanistan.
Harper told an Ottawa news conference on Monday that his government accepts the recommendation for a mission extension -- including that any such extension be conditional on more NATO support and equipment.
The panel recommended that NATO find a 1,000-soldier battle group to assist Canada's 2,500 troops in Kandahar province -- one of the most insurgency-wracked parts of Afghanistan.
It also said Canada's soldiers should be supplied with helicopters and aerial drones.
"In terms of equipment, Canada already has it on order and has for some time," Harper told reporters. "But both of those recommendations will have to be fulfilled or Canada will not proceed with the mission in Afghanistan. We believe they are essential to our success."
The U.S. will move 3,200 Marines to southern Afghanistan in the spring, but only for seven months.
"While the case for the Afghan mission is clearly compelling, the decision to allow our young men and women in uniform to continue to be in harm's way demands the responsibility to give them a strong chance of success," Harper said.
"The panel has made a clear case that there can't be a definitive timeline placed on when NATO has finished the job in Afghanistan and when Afghans can take responsibility for their own security. We agree."
However, Canada's work in Afghanistan should be reviewed on progress towards benchmarks within two to three years' time, he said.
Any extension of Canada's mission will need Liberal support in Parliament to pass. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion indicated a possible deal if some conditions are met, including rotating Canadians out of the volatile Kandahar region within the next three years.
"(Harper) should push for the principle of rotation," Dion told reporters. "If we don't have this principle, I don't see how this mission will work for the long haul."
But some Liberals, including defence critic Denis Coderre, suggested they would not risk an election on the issue.
"Personally, I wouldn't go to an election on Afghanistan," he said.
Lobbying NATO
While a full response to the Manley report is weeks away, Harper said he would be leading a diplomatic effort to secure more support from NATO allies at a key meeting in Bucharest, Romania in April.
He thought the report would give him "tremendous ammunition" there -- and he gave a warning.
"Canada has done what it said it would do and more," Harper said. "We now say we need help. If NATO can't come through with that help, then frankly I think NATO's own reputation and future will be in grave jeopardy."
The government will introduce a motion this spring seeking support of the House of Commons for the mission, which is set to end in its current form on February 2009.
"I would invite the opposition parties to think carefully about their positions and to give this report the consideration it deserves," Harper said, adding he would be speaking with Liberal Leader Stephane Dion.
Harper didn't say whether the vote would take place before or after the Bucharest meeting.
The prime minister said Canada and its allies are making progress, but admitted it's a complex and difficult mission.
Criticisms
The Manley report supported the general thrust of the Afghan mission but had some criticisms, including calling on the prime minister to take a more active role in both leading political direction of the mission and for better communications.
Harper said the report criticizes governments, and not specifically his own, "but we take the criticism seriously.
"If I can be frank about it, this is an extremely difficult mission. We don't believe it's perfect. We never have," he said.
"There has been no issue that has caused me as prime minister has more headaches, or more heartache, than this particular mission. I don't think that's going to change in the future."
Harper said he thought the panel would acknowledge that the government has taken steps to address some deficiencies noted, such as an Afghan communications task force to improve dissemination of information about the mission.
"Let's be truthful ... a robust military mission, where there are casualties, is never going to be easy to communicate. And it is never going to be popular to communicate."
Seventy-eight Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have died since 2002 while serving in Afghanistan. A Harris-Decima poll conducted for The Canadian Press after the fall throne speech found 60 per cent of respondents opposed to a mission extension to 2011.
On the Afghan detainees issue, Harper said in French he wouldn't publicly discuss details of military operations.
However, he expected that transfers -- halted in early November after a case of torture was confirmed -- would resume in the future.
With a report by CTV's Robert Fife in Ottawa
