"A long time after Canadian soldiers leave, there will still be Canadian money, Canadian interest coming to areas such as Afghanistan because it's got such a long way to go to recover," he said.
Leslie said the military focus right now is on building the capacity of Afghan national security forces.
....
The Conservatives want to extend the mission in some form to 2011 but the Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois want troops out when the current combat mandate expires in February 2009.
The mission will be the subject of intense debate in the months to come but Leslie, like other military officials, has avoided comment.
"There will come a time when we have to leave and the Canadian army will probably go somewhere else, equally dangerous, equally complicated, and do an equally good job," he told reporters.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/War_Terror/2007/10/20/4591718-cp.html
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