According to a report on the front page of today's Sunday Telegraph, Barack Obama will be calling on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to send an additional 3,000 troops to Afghanistan soon after Tuesday's election. According to the same report, a "senior aide" to Mr. Obama says that similar calls will go out to other NATO allies:
"There won't be any excuse to be anti-American any more,'' he said. "There will be no free rides. Allies will be expected to pull their weight.''
Public opinion surveys show that Mr. Obama is overwhelmingly popular among Canadians. Other polls, however, suggest that Canadians want an end to our military mission in Afghanistan. When Parliament re-convenes this month, Mr. Harper's minority government will be facing two parties who want the mission to end immediately and Liberal MPs who want it to end in 2011.
Should Mr. Obama make an early request that Canada step up our involvement in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be placed in an exceedingly difficult position - particularly after he made a firm commitment during the election campaign to end the military mission in 2011. In a climate of rising protectionist sentiment in the US - with even NAFTA potentially on the table - the pressure on the Prime Minister will be intense.
