KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canada's provincial reconstruction base in Kandahar -- often the source of great political pride for the Harper government -- is now a joint venture with the United States.
A change of command was held early Sunday with no fanfare whatsoever, marking the handover of the base to civilian control.
The reorganization also sees the U.S. take an equal role in the decision-making process, a move that raises questions about whether Ottawa intends to pull civilians out of the troubled province entirely when the military leaves next year.
Although the combat mission ends in July 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged that the diplomatic and development mission will continue after the withdrawal.
But whether that takes place in Kandahar, or somewhere else in Afghanistan remains undecided.
"We're awaiting direction from our ministers in Ottawa," Ben Rowswell, Canada's representative in Kandahar said Sunday in an interview.
"We know that we're committed to delivering development projects beyond 2011, but there are many ways you can deliver development projects, depending on how you do it. You either have civilians on the ground -- or you don't."
If Canadian civilians were pulled out, it is possible Ottawa could pay the U.S. -- or international bodies such as the United Nations -- to deliver its projects.
Critics of the Conservative government's withdrawal plans have pointed out that Kandahar will remain a dangerous place and Canadian civilians left behind would need some kind of military force to protect them. Last fall, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said he was in talks with his U.S. counterpart about protecting Canadian diplomats and development workers in the city post-2011, but it's unclear whether those negotiations amounted to anything.
"We know we'll be conducting development, but what that means in terms of the presence of Canada's civilians in Kandahar post-2011 is a decision that's yet to be taken," said Rowswell.
Three years ago, the Foreign Affairs Department drew up contingency plans to operate a Canadian-led PRT in Kandahar until at least 2015.
MacKay, during a three-day visit to Afghanistan last week, insisted that Canada "will not abandon" the war-torn country and said Ottawa sees a role for itself in training Afghan police. But he didn't say where.
Pressure is increasing on the Harper government, both at home and abroad, to lay out a clear post-2011 strategy. U.S. Secretary of State Hillar Clinton asked Canada to keep troops in Afghanistan and suggested a military training role -- something Ottawa promptly dismissed.
The possible withdrawal of civilians from Kandahar has put the pressure on diplomats and development officers to deliver on Ottawa's signature projects and priorities, such as refurbishing the Dhalla dam and building 50 schools.
"We have an awful lot of work to do in 2010 with the increase in the U.S. presence, the focus is very much on what are we going to do this year to make sure the situation improves in Kandahar," said Rowswell.
He added he's not heard of plans to handover the PRT to the U.S. entirely.
Since its inception in the summer of 2005, the Canadian military has been in command of the reconstruction base, which was established at an abandoned fruit canning factory in the city. It has often been used by the Harper government to demonstrate the Canadian mission is more than just combat.
More than 100 Canadian civilians work there with now an equal number of Americans. The reorganization gives the U.S. the position of deputy director.
