OTTAWA - Michael Ignatieff says Canadian soldiers should stay in Afghanistan as military and police trainers after their combat mission ends next summer.
The call for a post-combat role was part of a sweeping new foreign policy agenda unveiled Tuesday by the Liberal leader.
The agenda would make "peace, order and good government" -- the doctrine that underpins Canada's Constitution -- the central theme of Canada's engagement with the rest of the world.
In keeping with that theme, Ignatieff argues that the task of helping Afghans govern themselves and provide for their own security won't be completed by the time Canadian soldiers are slated to withdraw next summer.
Thus, he wants some troops to stay for an undefined "fixed period" to provide training at a military and police staff college in Kabul. He also wants an ongoing civilian presence to help build a stable government.
Ignatieff was outlining his foreign policy goals in a speech in Toronto, backed up by a more detailed policy document.
"Contributing to the capacity of the Afghan people to govern themselves effectively continues to be in Canada's interests," the policy document says.
"If they do not achieve that goal, the country risks becoming again the safe haven from which al-Qaida could resume its previous threats and planning against western democracies."
The call for a continuing role in Afghanistan has proved divisive for Liberals in the past.
In 2008, Ignatieff's predecessor, Stephane Dion, struck a deal with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to extend the combat mission. But Liberals fought hard at the time to ensure that Canada's soldiers would exit Afghanistan for good in 2011.
Ironically, Harper is now sticking to that agreement while the Ignatieff Liberals are pressing for a post-combat role.
When asked Tuesday about a such a role for Canadian troops, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said, "that's what we're doing now."
"We've been heavily engaged in training both (the) Afghan National Army and police," MacKay said.
"With respect to how this mission will look post-2011, the government has been crystal clear."
Ignatieff is also promising to promote the "right to protect" doctrine, which he, as an academic, helped the United Nations develop. And he's vowing to back that up with Canadian soldiers on UN-mandated missions to prevent genocide or ethnic cleansing.
"When the world must act to stop large-scale slaughter of innocent people, Canada will be there with highly skilled, battle-hardened military capacity, experienced in the complexities of modern conflict," the document says.
Ignatieff's plan also envisions bolstering the ranks of Canadian diplomats and boosting development assistance, with renewed focus on Africa and the empowerment of women in developing countries.
To pay for it all, a Liberal government would reallocate the $1.7 billion currently being spent each year on the Afghan combat mission. It would also "re-evaluate" all major defence procurement programs.
Ignatieff is billing his foreign policy plan as a "global networks strategy," emphasizing the need for government to work with non-governmental organizations, artists and business leaders and take advantage of their connections abroad.
He's proposing to negotiate a new kind of bilateral agreement with emerging economic superpowers China and India, involving not just trade but building long-term relationships in key economic, knowledge and cultural sectors.
