General

U.S. wants Canada to stay in Afghanistan

Clinton would “like to see some form of support continue”

“We would obviously like to see some form of support continue, because the Canadian Forces have a great reputation, they work really well with our American troops and the other members of our coalition,” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an interview on CTV’s Power Play. “Obviously it’s up for Canada to decide the way forward, but we certainly hope there will be some continuing connection and visible support because we’ve all learned so much.” Clinton did not say, however, whether a formal request to extend the mission would be made to the Canadian government, but did speculate on the nature of the involvement: “There’s all kinds of things that are possible. The military could slip more into a training role than into a combat role.” Last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon confirmed that Canada’s combat role in Afghanistan will end in 2011. “Our military mission will end in 2011 as we’ve indicated in the speech from the throne,” he told the House of Commons.

CTV News

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