Afghan President thanks Canada

[ocelot]

Afghan President Hamid Karzai thanks Canada for sacrifices in his country

OTTAWA (CP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai is thanking Canada for its efforts in his troubled country.

Addressing a joint session of the Commons and Senate, Karzai extended his condolences to the families of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

He says Canada is a great nation and a model for all that is good.

The Afghan leader says he came with deep emotion to offer his thanks for what Canada has done for his troubled country.

He says Canada is in Afghanistan in pursuit of a great and good cause; the cause of humanity.

MPs and senators gave him a standing ovation as he stepped to the podium in the crowded Commons chamber.

[achebeautiful]

I applaud him for everything he said, and couldn't agree with him more. Canada truly is a great nation. I especially emphasize his remark:

"He says Canada is a great nation and a model for all that is good."

You are right to be proud Leona!

[ocelot]

Karzai: Canada's Military Presence is a Must

Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks to MPs and senators in the House of Commons on Friday. (CBC) "Your military presence is a must because without that, we would not be able to keep our country together, and your reconstruction activity is necessary because it gives us economic opportunity and employment and a better quality of life," Karzai said.

Amid pomp and ceremony on Parliament Hill earlier in the day, Karzai thanked Canada for its financial aid to his devastated country and a military mission that has cost about $2 billion and the lives of 37 Canadians.

Noting that the bodies of four soldiers killed on Monday were being brought home, he told a joint session of Parliament earlier in the day that his heart goes out to their families and friends.

The fallen soldiers sacrificed their lives helping Afghanistan win a better future, he said. Since the first Canadian troops arrived in February 2002, 36 Canadian soldiers and a diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan.

"Yes, it is sad but it is worth it," Karzai added. "Afghanistan also sheds blood. Every day we lose the lives of our children, we lose the lives of our soldiers, we lose the lives of our teachers … All of that is for a common cause, the cause of security for all of us, and it is for this cause of security that you're serving in Afghanistan.

"But in Afghanistan, you are not only serving the cause of of security for the international community and your country. You are also helping one of the oppressed societies in the world and the little children that they have. Thank you."

According to government figures, Canada had spent $1.8 billion on the Afghan military mission by May of 2006 and expects to spend another $1.25 billion by early 2009, bringing the total to more than $3 billion.

At the same time, Afghanistan has become Canada's No. 1 foreign-aid recipient. Ottawa has spent $466 million on Afghan development since 2001, part of nearly $1 billion earmarked for the country by 2011.

A history lesson for parliamentarians

In his speech, Karzai indirectly reproached the United States for abandoning Afghanistan after CIA-backed Afghan and foreign militants defeated a Soviet occupation in the 1980s.

"Honourable members, the people of Afghanistan have suffered from over two decades of invasion and destruction," he said, offering the Canadian politicians a short history course.

"The miseries of the Afghan people began with the [Soviet] invasion of our country in 1979 and continued until the tragedy of Sept. 11 [2001], brought to the world by al-Qaeda and their associates.

"The freedom-loving Afghan people, backed by supporters from what was then referred to as the 'Free World,' fought and defeated the invasion, facilitating the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. These were indeed significant accomplishments of our time, for which Afghans paid dearly.

"Over one million Afghans lost their lives. Another million were disabled. More than a quarter of our population became refugees in our neighbours and elsewhere, and our country's infrastructure was razed to the ground. Whereas Afghans had fought this war against communism, the reward that Afghanistan received was abandonment by the international community.

"We were left with a world of destruction to rebuild, at the mercy of a predatory neighbourhood and the bellicose extremist forces that had been brought to Afghanistan [to fight the Soviets]. Few cared about the dismal plight of the Afghan people and even fewer thought about the consequences of leaving a country so dangerously vulnerable to foreign extremists.

'It was as if Afghanistan didn't exist'

"It was in this environment that al-Qaeda, with supporters in the region and beyond, set up its deadly campaign of terror against Afghans and the whole world. While the Afghan people continued to suffer, and while we continued to warn the international community about the danger of international terrorism that was brewing in Afghanistan, the world remained unmoved. Both our sufferings and our warnings were ignored. It was as if Afghanistan didn't exist."

In 2001, the attacks on New York and Washington "brought home to many in the West the pain of terror and the fear that we in Afghanistan had been feeling at the hands of foreign terrorists for so many years."

Canada's role 'will evolve and change'

Later, Karzai dealt diplomatically with a reporter's question about how long he expects Canadian troops to stay in Afghanistan.

"Canada has committed to stay till 2009 and we respect that service. … Whether it's enough, what we are having today from Canada we are very grateful for, extremely grateful."

Afghans will remain grateful to Canada if the troops leave in 2009, and will also be grateful if they stay longer, he said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the mission will be reviewed during the next two years.

"I don't anticipate that we will leave [in 2009]," he said, "but I certainly anticipate our role will evolve and change, particularly as we achieve one of our objectives, which is to ensure that the Afghans themselves and the Afghan forces are increasingly able to take care of their own security."

Before striding up a red carpet into the House of Commons, Karzai reviewed a guard of honour made up of soldiers who have served in Afghanistan.

He was greeted by Harper and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier and received prolonged applause from MPs and senators.

[achebeautiful]

I completely agree with everything Karzai said. One of the things I really respect about President Bush is that he understands all of this to be true and does not want to repeat the same mistakes again.

I am confidant that after all that Canada has done thus far to support the effort in Afghanistan, they will continue to do so and not pull out until they feel the job is completed.

Good for them, and every reason to be proud.

[ocelot]

Hillier admits victory in Afghanistan is elusive
Updated Fri. Sep. 29 2006 8:03 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Canada's top soldier kicked off a visit to Afghanistan today by describing success in that country as a "long, slow process" due to shifting Taliban tactics.

General Rick Hillier said reconstruction efforts have been frustrating and the Taliban resistance has gained strength, but he emphasized that Canadian soldiers are learning from every encounter with the enemy.

"Did we see a resurgent Taliban this spring that has slowed some of the development, particularly in the south? Yes,'' Hillier said.

"However they've been set on their back foot recently,'' he added, referring to the recent Canadian-led NATO push, dubbed Operation Medusa, that killed hundreds of Taliban in an area west of Kandahar, according to NATO.

Hillier arrived in Afghanistan Friday aboard a Hercules C-130 transport plane to kick off a visit to southern Afghanistan. His goal is to asses how the situation has changed since he visited earlier in the year.

Hillier's somber outlook seemed to contrast with his last visit to Afghanistan, when he was enthusiastic about engaging the Taliban and pushing them out of positions of strength.

CTV's Paul Workman, reporting from Kandahar, said Hillier addressed the daily challenges faced by Canadian troops.

"He spoke of the difficulties in fighting the Taliban, an enemy that can blend into the villages, uses guerrilla tactics, suicide bombs and bombs buried on the side of the roads," Workman told CTV Newsnet.

"He said it's very difficult for Canadians to deal with that and you just can't go into the villages and start shooting indiscriminately."

Recent suicide attacks -- one by an old man on a bicycle -- have underscored how difficult it is to pick Taliban insurgents out of a crowd of civilians, Hillier said.

"You can't just go and find their positions and then go and destroy them in that position because they blend into the population," he said.

"Clearly we would never want to destroy the population, so it's a long, slow process."

More than half of Canada's 36 military deaths in Afghanistan have occurred this summer.

Defence analyst Sunil Ram told CTV Newsnet Hillier's message was partly tailored to an audience back home in Canada.

"I think that's certainly part of his agenda. The other aspect is also being physically present with his troops. I think were starting to maybe face some morale issues because soldiers are starting to wonder why exactly are we here?"

[achebeautiful]

Defence analyst Sunil Ram Says:

"....I think we're starting to maybe face some morale issues because soldiers are starting to wonder why exactly are we here?"

Thomas Paine is quoted as saying:

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of liberty must undergo the fatigues of supporting it."