Afghanistan ambassador Canada Jawed Ludin

Our panels including Afghan Ambassador Jawed Ludin in Edmonton and Calgary last week on Canada's role in Afghanistan post-2011 seem to have sparked just the right response from concerned Canadians. As Deborah Alexander writes in the Calgary Herald, it's long past time to get beyond the detainees distraction and back to the central issue of what we're doing in Afghanistan beyond 2011. An excerpt:

Parliament has a Canada Afghanistan Committee whose job it is to formulate the post-2011 policy. Canadians need to contact their MPs and insist that the dialogue begin. The July 2011 date for the drawdown of Canadian Forces is looming. If the Canadian government does not continue to support training and development, the last eight-years of war and sacrifice will have been in vain. Many believe the Taliban will again take over, women will be forced back under the burka, and the two million girls now in school will once again not be allowed schooling or medical services.

Very blunt talk from Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada is likely to send shockwaves through Canada's parliament. While opposition parties have railed against the government on the issue of "Afghan detainees", direction on the big picture of Canada's role in Afghanistan is being ignored.

Afghanistan Ambassador to Canada Jawed Ludin says the focus ought not to be on the detainees issue that was dealt with in the past -- the Conservatives and all opposition parties ought to be having a responsible discussion about what Canada's role in Afghanistan looks like post-2011. Anything less would be an insult to Canadians who have sacrificed much for this mission. In the Vancouver Sun:

"We need discussion in Canada about where Afghanistan is going, how important it is that Canada support us and how important it is that the support continue in some shape or form. That discussion is not happening because this story has totally dominated discussion in Parliament."

The soft-spoken Ludin also said that Canada's contributions in Afghanistan have been crucial, particularly the stabilization of Kandahar, although the scheduled pullout in 2011 has him concerned.

Afghans would accept an end to Canada's combat mission, he said, but leaving entirely would baffle them. After Canada's years and sacrifices, Afghans do not understand why the nation would want to leave before the greater successes, which Ludin believes will come soon.

"We would like to believe that you are really serious about success in Afghanistan, that this wasn't just an exercise for your military to get some experience on the battlefield. We would like to believe you were actually there for us, which I believe is the case," he said. "It's a bit difficult to understand why some people now question wether you should be there. It's a bit of an insult, to be honest, to all the sacrifices that have been made."