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The Conservatives and Liberals seem to be finding common ground on Afghanistan. Recognizing that the mission there is too important to be treated as a political football, they have made gestures of compromise. The Liberals have moved further in embracing the Manley report, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in yesterday's press conference, showed an uncommon graciousness, a welcome change from his usual point-scoring. The parties are close to a position that both can support, but they are not there yet.
The previous Liberal government assigned Canadian soldiers to the effort in Afghanistan in general and Kandahar in particular for two excellent reasons. They are there to help Afghans fend off the Taliban, whose actions while in power did so much to hurt so many. And by rebuilding the society and supporting an effective government (very much a work in progress), they are there to make Afghanistan less of a haven for extremists who might target other countries - including Canada - from that base. While the New Democrats and the Bloc Québécois want Canada to withdraw its soldiers, the Conservatives and Liberals recognize the imperative of acting in a way that doesn't undo the important work achieved so far, while imposing a condition of greater help from our allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Neither party appears keen to fight an election on the issue. The question of whether soldiers should engage in "combat," for instance, seems a matter more of semantics than substance; the word was barely mentioned in yesterday's proposed Liberal amendment to last week's Conservative motion.
The significant disagreement is over the deadline. The Liberal amendment calls unequivocally for the Canadian Forces to leave Kandahar by July, 2011. Although Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan has said the "objective" is to withdraw troops by the end of 2011, the Conservative motion says only that the mission would be reviewed in 2011. It would be wise for the Liberals to adjust their position, even given that they have already adjusted considerably to embrace the Manley recommendations. It makes no tactical sense to declare now what will happen three years from now. Circumstances in Afghanistan may change markedly; Canadian soldiers in Kandahar may feel on excellent grounds in 2011 that they are part of an operation that should not be cut short. The Conservative motion offers essential flexibility. The Liberals should not balk at this.
As the parties otherwise jockey for an election that Canadians neither want nor need, it appears Mr. Harper and Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion have at least, and at last, managed to treat the Afghan file as above politics. That said, one should never underestimate the capacity of partisan interests to derail even the most promising bipartisan efforts. Given the global stakes involved here, both sides should resist any such temptation.
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