be interesting to see more of their findings; other than more troops

Commons defence committee wraps Afghan trip with call for more diplomacy
January 25, 2007

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Members of the House of Commons all-party defence committee say more diplomacy has to be injected into Canada's mission in Afghanistan, but they disagree on where the focus of that effort should be.

New Democrat defence critic Dawn Black says Canada's role in the war-torn country is supposed to be what's called a three-D approach - defence, development and diplomacy.

She says they haven't heard anything about diplomacy in their visit to Kandahar, particularly when it comes to dealing with Pakistan, which provides safe haven to Taliban militants.

The committee chair, Tory MP Rick Casson, defended the government by saying Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay has been actively engaging countries in the region, but if there's to be diplomacy it should be aimed at convincing NATO allies to meet repeated calls for additions troops.

His sentiment was shared by Liberal Ujjal Dossanjh, who says the Conservatives need to be tougher with the alliance so they "cough up more resources, particularly more troops."

Dossanjh says Prime Minister Stephen Harper should have done that before Parliament voted to extend the mission by two years.