Canada Won't Retreat, MacKay Tells Rice

Speaking to about 200 people at the Museum of Industry in this small town in northern part of the province, Rice said the freedom that Canadians and Americans enjoy increasingly depends on “freedom in other lands.” She said the U.S. is now engaged in a “great global struggle to determine what ideas will organize the 21st century.” As a result, Canada’s alliance with the United States must also become global in scope, she said, citing the work of Canadian and American troops and officials in Haiti and Iraq. Rice then zeroed in on Afghanistan, saying it was the repressive Taliban regime that helped Al Qaeda flourish in advance of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and near Pittsburgh on Sept. 11, 2001. As a result of NATO’s 35-nation military campaign in Afghanistan, Rice noted Afghans have held elections for a president and parliament, girls go to school, and the Taliban no longer uses soccer stadiums as torture chambers. During an interview with The Canadian Press, Rice said that when the U.S. withdrew troops from some areas of Afghanistan, the Taliban incorrectly assumed it could return without a tough fight from Canada’s 2,200 troops. “One of the reasons the Taliban came back is they really did believe there would be a diminution in effort from the fierce fighting of the U.S. forces,” she said. “They’ve learned a tough lesson that the Canadians are fierce fighters.” Earlier, MacKay told a news conference that Canada will not retreat from Afghanistan. “The fight against terrorism will be a long-term campaign to provide greater security for our citizens and for our way of life,” he said. “We cannot retreat. There’s an old Maritime expression: `Boats are safe in the harbour, but that’s not what they’re made for.’” He also confirmed there was no request from U.S. officials to increase the number of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. The unified bid by MacKay and Rice to rally support for the war came a day after Prime Minister Stephen Harper used a televised address to remind Canadians that his government acted with the United Nations when the mission to Afghanistan was launched in October 2001. Recent opinion polls have shown an almost even split between those who support the military commitment and those who want out. Rice’s comments drew sharp criticism from NDP Leader Jack Layton, whose party recently endorsed a policy that calls for the removal of troops from Afghanistan. “We think Mr. MacKay would be wiser to work with those NATO partners who are not participating (in Afghanistan) . . . and carve out a path that will achieve a ceasefire and, ultimately, a real reconstruction,” Layton said from Fredericton, where he was helping NDP candidates campaign for Monday’s provincial election. The federal New Democrats have suggested negotiations to end the fighting in Afghanistan may require talking to supporters of the Taliban. When asked about the NDP’s position, Rice said she vehemently disagreed. “You can’t negotiate with Taliban. C’mon, these are people who whipped women in stadiums given them by the international community,” she said in an interview. http://tinyurl.com/fc5u9

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