Canada's top soldier said he and the prime minister are "on exactly the same sheet of paper" when it comes to the timeline in Afghanistan.
Gen. Rick Hillier had told reporters at the Kandahar airfield on Thursday that Afghanistan's army could need 10 years before it's in a position to fend for itself.
But in the recent throne speech, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that objective could be accomplished by 2011.
Hillier backed away from his comments while speaking to CTV's Mike Duffy Live on Friday.
"We're on exactly the same sheet of paper. I've got my direction from the government of Canada, from the prime minister, from our minister. It's very clear, and we're getting on with our military mission," Hillier said.
"What I talked about was building the total Afghan national army, which is not our responsibility. Our piece is in Kandahar province itself," Hillier said. "Our piece in Kandahar province, the speech from the throne was pretty clear on what the government is looking towards. I believe that's eminently doable."
Hillier said that during his trip he saw one battalion of Afghan soldiers that was already in action and another battalion in the midst of training with Canadian troops.
A third battalion of trained and ready soldiers would put the Afghan army at an operational level in Kandahar, he said.
"We think it's very achievable in the next two to three years to be able to bring that brigade of three Afghan battalions to an operational capability," he said.
In an earlier statement to CTV, Harper's director of communications Sandra Buckler reiterated the government's position that it believes the Afghan people will be able to defend themselves by 2011, but did not directly address Hillier's comments.
"Building up the capacity of the Afghan people so that they can defend their own sovereignty has always been our goal and we know this will not happen overnight," said Buckler.
"However, our Government believes that this objective should be achievable by 2011, the end of the period covered by the Afghanistan Compact."
The Afghanistan Compact is a plan adopted last year by the international community to stabilize the war-torn country.
"This really set off the Prime Minister's Office, they were completely caught off guard by this (and) they have now put out a statement officially rebuking Gen. Hillier," CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported Friday.
"What you have here is the government making policy and then being outflanked by the general who says in fact the government isn't telling the truth, that it can't be done by 2011, that it would take a decade."
Buckler said the government would have the final decision on the matter.
"While we do look forward to receiving the report from the Manley Panel, we have said so many times before and will continue to emphasize, it will be Parliament that will ultimately decide how long our Canadian Forces will remain in Afghanistan," she said.
Hillier said Thursday that Afghanistan is only about halfway to the 70,000 soldiers it needs to maintain peace in the country.
He said the Afghan troops trained by Canadians and other NATO nations are "top-notch." But he noted it takes three years to build a battalion, which consists of about 500 to 600 soldiers.
"It's going to take 10 years or so just to work through and build an army to whatever the final number that Afghanistan will have, and make them professional and let them meet their security demands here," Hillier said.
Public policy dispute
The difference in timeframes wasn't easily dismissed by other parties who demanded answers.
"Now we've got a situation where the chief of defence staff is saying one thing. The prime minister and his spinmeisters are saying another. It raises serious questions about whether we have adequate civilian control of this mission, Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Friday after question period.
"The soldiers deserve better. They deserve effective leadership by the civilian elected government of this country and they are not getting it."
On Thursday, NDP Leader Jack Layton called the discrepancy "very serious" while speaking to reporters.
"If it's true, as General Hillier is suggesting, that Canada could be involved in the combat effort as the effort to train soldiers and police in Afghanistan takes 10 years, then we're talking about something very different than what Mr. Harper has told Canadians," he said.
Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre told reporters that Canadians shouldn't have to decide who's telling the truth.
"We have to come clean once and for all," he said. "You have Harper who plays with numbers like crazy and now he's saying that it's going to take four years. So, you know, you can understand why Canadians are confused sometimes about the mission."
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said, "I think General Hillier is telling the truth and Harper is playing politics, period. He knows Hillier is right on that."
Since 2002, 71 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan.
Canada and its 2,500 troops are only committed to the Afghan mission until February 2009, although Harper has appointed a blue-ribbon panel to make recommendations on the mission's future.
With files from The Canadian Press
