Afghanistan needs to resolve its ongoing presidential election dispute and establish credible political leadership, says Defence Minister Peter MacKay, because military efforts alone will not bring peace and security to the war-torn country.
Speaking Sunday to CTV's Question Period, MacKay said the controversial June election, which failed to establish a clear winner, will prevent the country from moving forward on a variety of issues, including governance, development and military planning.
"I certainly agree that until the election issue is resolved, we're dealing a bit in a vacuum," MacKay said.
"What we have to see is some resolution, whether it's a go forward run-off election, whether it is some accommodation that may be arrived at. I think the Americans, the NATO participants, and certainly Canada, are encouraging the Afghans to make these decisions. These are sovereign decisions that will affect very much the future of their country."
MacKay's words echoed the sentiments of U.S. President Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who said Sunday that Obama will not make a decision about sending additional troops to Afghanistan until there is a government in place that can work with American officials.
Obama is mulling over a request from the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for tens of thousands of more soldiers.
The question, according to Emanuel, "is not how (many) troops you have but whether in fact there's an Afghan partner."
"It would be reckless to make a decision on U.S. troop levels if in fact you haven't done a thorough analysis of whether, in fact, there's an Afghan partner ready to fill that space that U.S. troops would create and become a true partner in governing," Emanuel said.
While incumbent President Hamid Karzai is leading with 54 per cent of the vote, an election commission is investigating hundreds of allegations of fraud.
Once that investigation is complete, certified results will be announced, which could call for a run-off between Karzai and his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.
Richard Engel, NBC's chief foreign correspondent, told Question Period that Afghans have told him that without a credible government, a military solution "won't work."
"People I've been speaking to over the last couple of days say that until there is a clear government in here, a military solution won't work, won't matter very much," Engel said in an interview from Kabul.
"It's not just a matter of fighting on the ground, of shooting more Taliban. It's about building credibility and building some sort of sustainable development. And unless there is a partner, a legitimate partner on the other hand, someone who can take power, then really what I'm being told here is that no military solution can be successful."
According to MacKay, Canada will likely be asked to send more troops to Afghanistan during a meeting of NATO defence ministers this week in Slovakia.
However, he maintained the government's position that Canada's combat role in the country will end in 2011, though he admitted that Afghanistan "cannot be won militarily, but it can be lost militarily."
He said Canadian troops are training Afghan soldiers and police to take over security of the country, which is what will allow the country to thrive.
"If we don't have sufficient security, none of the other important things -- building roads and schools and hospitals, having programs to immunize children, putting irrigation systems in place, all the basic infrastructure -- will occur without a security perimeter."
