Rae: Time to reassess goals of Afghan mission.

The goals of the Afghan mission are rarely discussed in any event. The goals are made in the US and our role is to share some of the burdens for those goals along with other NATO countries. Of course Rae would remove any reference to that relationship in any of his speeches. Just as he suggested the Conservatives were remiss in allowing a handbook to be published that made reference to the U.S. and Israel with respect to torture. He would have been sure that such passages were removed. Maybe we are fortunate Stockwell Day and not Bob Rae saw those secret papers re Arar that the US provided to show why Arar should be on the no-fly list. Stockwell Day at least had enough integrity not to be cowed into submisssion. Who knows what Rae might have said?
Anyway discussion of the goals of the Afghan mission will be framed in such a way that the underlying goals will not get discussed at all.
The morality and legality of our intervention starting with the Operation Enduring Freedom will not be discussed either. This will be cut off by simply referring to the fact that we are in Afghanistan as authorised by: the UN, NATO, and the Karzai govt. Well right and the US is in Iraq authorised by: the UN, and the Maliki govt. Does that then settle the morality and legality of the Iraq occupation?
What Rae is referring to are not goals at all but tactics or means to goals. Rae wants to use carrots rather than sticks because sticks involve casualties and this makes a harder sell for the mission and also does not seem to be working too well.

Time to reassess goals of Afghan mission: Rae
Updated Tue. Jan. 29 2008 8:30 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae says it's time to reassess Canada's goals in Afghanistan and come up with an exit strategy that reflects those outcomes.
Rae, who hopes to win a seat in the riding of Toronto Centre, spoke to CTV's Canada AM one day after Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he accepts the "broad recommendations" of John Manley's panel report on the future of Canada's role in Afghanistan.
Harper told an Ottawa news conference on Monday that his government accepts the report's recommendation that the mission be extended so long as the extension is conditional on more NATO support and equipment.
Rae said it's time to rethink the mission, then decide how long we should stay involved.
"What is the most realistic and effective way for Canada to stay and where do we have the greatest chance for success? In our view, an open-ended, never-ending military mission that focuses on counter-insurgency is not going to succeed and we have to create a mission that has a more realistic chance of success," Rae said.
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.
Rae said he believes Canada should remain in Afghanistan for the next few years in some capacity, but not necessarily a military one.
"I think we really have to move away from this notion this is exclusively a military mission or that the only thing Canada is doing or should be doing is counterinsurgency and military activity of that kind," Rae said.
"We've got to take a step back and try to get an assessment of where this country of Afghanistan is going and how can we actually help to advance the cause of stability, which has to be our objective."
He acknowledged that the mission in Afghanistan is a tough one thanks to a complex political situation, a history of violence and the presence of the Taliban.
"It's a very difficult challenge and I think what the Liberal party has consistently said is we didn't go there with the promise we were going to stay there forever. This is not a forever mission," he said.
Rae said Canada should focus more on finding political solutions and increasing stability in Afghanistan, as well as working on development and diplomacy. He added that other NATO nations also need to step up and do their part so Canada can back away from its combat role.
On Monday, Harper said Canada's work in Afghanistan should be reviewed on progress towards benchmarks within two to three years' time.
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.
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.
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.