Canada Prepares For 2011 Troop Pullout From Afghanistan

November 6, 2009 10:49 p.m. EST

Ottawa, Ontario (AHN) - General Walter Natynczyck, the chief of the Canadian Defense Staff, has ordered the country's military contingent in Afghanistan to prepare for the pullout of the troops by 2011. The pullout is the deadline set by the Parliament for the withdrawal of Canada's military presence in Afghanistan.

The order covers the 2,8000 Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, mostly assigned to Kandahar, but political observers expect U.S. President Barack Obama to ask the Canadian government to extend their stay to help contain the Taliban.

If Ottawa would accede to the U.S. request, those left behind would however concentrate on providing protection for the civilian reconstruction efforts.

Defense Minister Peter MacKay, though, appears to be open to the idea of prolonging Canada's military presence in Afghanistan. MacKay, in his speech in February at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, declared Afghanistan is a top priority for Canada.

He pushed for an integration of military and civilian efforts in Afghanistan because the insurgency problem in that country could not be solved by a purely military solution alone. "It is common political and human sense that people in war torn and fragile societies want stability, food and shelter for their families, good governance, dignity and hope for the future," MacKay said.