Canada Out of Afghanistan in 2009?
Will Canada end their part in the NATO mission in 2009?
After much waffling as to whether Canadian troops will leave Afghanistan in 2009 or not, the latest report from Ottawa is that they . . . might.
Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that Canada would not withdraw before February of 2009, which was the original commitment to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Previously, Harper has said that Canada may stay longer, much to the ire of those in the peace movement. Apparently, troops will be out for sure in 2009 unless Parliament votes to extend it. While some view this as a positive development, others are unclear as to what another two years in Afghanistan is going to accomplish, and press for an early withdrawal. Jack Layton, federal leader of the NDP party, was quoted as saying, "If the mission is wrong in 2009, why isn't it also wrong in 2007?" In the meantime, more Canadian troops are getting killed, with the current death toll up to 66 (since 2002), 19 of those deaths taking place this year.
