Supporting our soldiers in Afghanistan

Friday morning at Shilo just east of Brandon, I had an opportunity to talk with soldiers in the second battalion of PPCLI. A number of those I talked to had served in Afghanistan at some time during the last several years.

In each case, the soldiers expressed strong support for Canadian efforts in Afghanistan to enhance the peace and stability of Afghanistan. What I heard was a recognition that it will take some time to train the Afghanistan police and armed forces to the point where they will be able to fully take over from the Canadian and other forces in their country. The process is moving forward but it is not there yet, and it will take some time.

The soldiers expressed the hope that Canadian understanding of the nature of the nature of their efforts to help people in Afghanistan would improve and that Canadian support for our efforts would improve from the current 50% up to at least 70%.