OTTAWA - Stephane Dion has written the prime minister appealing to him to bend to the Liberal position on Afghanistan.
In an today, the Liberal leader tells Stephen Harper that he agrees with the government assertion that Canada "cannot abandon the people of Afghanistan.''
He says much remains to be done to ensure that stability and governance institutions are in place so Afghans can resolve their own differences.
But he adds that Canada's mission has to change.
He tells Harper that Ottawa cannot continue to extend the same mission indefinitely, and urges him to consider a Liberal amendment to a Conservative motion aiming to prolong the mission.
He says the amendment would bring clarity to Canada's goals in Afghanistan by placing a greater emphasis on diplomatic efforts, and striking a better balance between military operations and reconstruction and development efforts.
Government House leader Peter Van Loan announced Thursday that debate on the government motion will begin Feb. 25. The subsequent vote will be a matter of confidence that could bring down the minority Tory government.
Dion says the Liberal amendment is guided by three principles:
- NATO must bring new troops into Kandahar by next February so Canadian soldiers can shift the bulk of their efforts toward protecting reconstruction and training.
- The mission must have a clear end date of February 2011, not a further review date that he says will "lead us down the path of a never-ending mission.''
- The mission must be about more than the military and efforts must be balanced between defence, diplomacy and development.
"Liberals also believe that clarity, honesty and transparency are essential to the success of the mission,'' Dion writes.
"To this end, we believe . . . that the government should provide the public with franker and much more frequent reporting on events in Afghanistan.''
The military announced Thursday it would hold weekly media briefings on Afghanistan, but cautioned that strict adherence to the principles of operational security would be maintained.
