The failure of a Parliamentary vote on withdrawing Canada from a combat role in Afghanistan by early 2009 shows the Conservatives plan to extend the mission there, claims a Liberal party spokesman.
"Canada, under a Conservative government, is not going to be leaving Afghanistan," Scott Reid told Â鶹´«Ã½net on Tuesday night.
A Conservative spokesman said the Liberals are being very irresponsible.
"The Liberal party (is) trying to make hay out of a very important mission that Canadian soldiers are engaged in," Tim Powers said.
"If the Liberal Party, because it believes that the government should honour its word and withdraw the troops in 2009, is disloyal to our men and women in service, then so are 66 per cent of Canadians," Reid said, citing a recent poll of Canadian attitudes on the issue.
The House of Commons vote count was 150 against to 134 in favour.
The Bloc Quebecois voted with the Liberal motion. The Conservatives and New Democrats were opposed, but for different reasons.
The New Democrats want Canadian troops to be immediately withdrawn from combat duty in Afghanistan's Kandahar province.
The Conservatives feel it is too soon to revisit the issue. A year ago, Parliament voted to extend the deployment of Canadian troops in Kandahar by two years until February 2009.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has yet to state whether or not he will seek to extend the stay of Canadian troops in Afghanistan beyond February 2009, although he has vowed to seek parliamentary approval for any future extension of the combat mission.
However, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said in an interview Tuesday there's plenty of evidence to the contrary. He cited the recent multibillion-dollar purchase of tanks and helicopters that won't be available before 2009.
Dion also criticized the positions of the Conservatives and the NDP leading up to the vote, categorizing both positions as irresponsible. He said Harper wants to keep Canada's soldiers involved "an open-ended war'' that could drag on for years.
By 2009, Dion said the troops will have been fighting in Kandahar for four years. According to Dion this will amount to "the longest combat mission" in recent Canadian history. He said it will be time for other NATO partners to take up the battle against Taliban insurgents.
Dion also indicated that Canadian soldiers could be more profitably utilized in Afghanistan setting up democratic processes, a judicial system, a functioning economy.
"If we focus on the combat mission and we don't try to do the other things, what is being gained?"
The NDP's position would mean breaking a commitment to remain in Kandahar until 2009 and leaving Canada's NATO allies in the lurch, Dion said.
Although the majority of Liberal MPs, including Dion, voted against extending the mission to 2009, he said: "Once a commitment is made, we are a good team player, we're part of the international community, we'll respect our commitment."
Dion said the most responsible approach is to remain in Afghanistan until the current commitment ends but to give Canada's allies plenty of advance notice that the mission will not be extended beyond that.
The vote comes after eight Canadian soldiers were killed earlier this month. It also comes after a Globe and Mail report indicating Afghan detainees are tortured after they are handed over to Afghan authorities by Canadian soldiers.
With files from The Canadian Press
