ST. ANDREWS, N.B. -
On the eve of the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada cautioned Monday that the world risks more attacks if peace and stability aren't restored in Afghanistan.
MacKay and Ambassador Omar Samad said the price of failure is too high for nations like Canada to consider abandoning Afghanistan before it is ready to defend itself against the forces of terrorism.
"Let's not forget that on 9/11, terrorism came to our shores on this continent,'' MacKay said following a private address in this New Brunswick resort town to a meeting of ambassadors to Canada.
"So we have to be vigilant and very responsible in continuing to play a role'' in Afghanistan.
Samad said Canadians only have to remember what Afghanistan was like when it was abandoned and forgotten by the world in the 1990s.
"It fell into the hands of international terrorists, drug dealers, warlords and al-Qaida,'' he said. "Do we want Afghanistan to revert and once again become a failed state and become a threat not only to its own people, but to the region and to the world at large?''
MacKay said Canada's military mission to Afghanistan is scheduled to end in February 2009.
But he said Canada's role in Afghanistan is diverse and he predicted its involvement in the rebuilding and redevelopment of the war-torn country will continue for a "very long time.''
"That's the exit strategy,'' MacKay said.
"When the Afghanistan government can take care of its own interests, then we can come home. That doesn't happen quickly, but we have made enormous progress in a relatively short time.''
MacKay has said a vote will be taken in Parliament if there is to be any extension of the military mission and he expects this discussion will take place in the House of Commons this fall.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has said he will introduce a motion in the Commons setting February 2009 as a firm end to Canada's combat role in Afghanistan.
However, the Liberals also have indicated a vote would not be needed if the Conservative government would now tell NATO and the government of Afghanistan that the combat mission in Kandahar will end on that date.
MacKay said there are mixed signals coming from the opposition when it comes to the Afghanistan debate, adding there is a "clear split'' in the Liberal party on the issue.
MacKay would not say whether he believes Canada and North America as a whole are safer today as a result of the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He said the size and scope of the threat is hard to gauge, but he said Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan has enhanced its international reputation as a defender of freeedom and democracy.
"It's a volatile world and we have a very important role to play, as we have in previous conflicts,'' he said.
Samad said he believes the world is safer today from terrorist attacks.
"But there are lessons to be drawn from what happened six years ago, most of which center on Afghanistan. Remember, 9/11 didn't happen in a vacuum.''
