U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in politics Monday, saying her country would like Canada's military presence in Afghanistan to continue past 2011.
In an interview with CTV's Power Play Monday afternoon, Clinton praised the work of Canadian soldiers in the Afghan mission and said her country "would obviously like to see some form of support continue" in the war-torn country.
"We are very grateful for the Canadian Forces, the Canadian government and most of all the Canadian people, with the support and the solidarity that they've shown with us in the mission in Afghanistan," Clinton said.
"We would obviously like to see some form of support continue, because the Canadian Forces have a great reputation, they work really well with our American troops and the other members of our coalition."
Clinton did not say whether a formal request to extend the Afghan mission would be made by President Barack Obama to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
But she said the United States would welcome Canada's continued presence in Afghanistan "in any way you think appropriate," including training Afghan forces, development work and establishing better governance and the rule of law.
"Obviously it's up for Canada to decide the way forward, but we certainly hope there will be some continuing connection and visible support because we've all learned so much," Clinton said. "And we believe in the United States with the new strategy that President Obama has set forth, we're making progress."
However, it's unlikely the federal government will agree to extend the military mission, given that Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon confirmed last week that Canada's combat role in Afghanistan will end in 2011.
"Our military mission will end in 2011 as we've indicated in the speech from the throne," Cannon said in French last Thursday in the House of Commons.
"Canada will continue diplomatic and development relationships with Afghanistan through its embassy in Kabul as we did in other countries."
Cannon is expected to formally comment on Clinton's statement late Monday.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said he does not support an extension of Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan, and it's up to the Canadian Parliament to decide if the military carries on in a supportive role.
"Our position, very clearly, is that we can't renew our combat mission in any form," Ignatieff told Power Play. "But we've invested massively in Afghanistan, we've left brave men and women behind. We think that there's a justification for some continued mission after 2011 -- but we need a national conversation about it, and we need a resolution from the Parliament of Canada."
During the interview, Clinton said the Afghan mission has led to tangible benefits for the U.S., Canada and other NATO partners fighting in the country, by better preparing them to fight "a common enemy" that is not just looking to attack Americans.
"We face a common enemy: whether you're in a Moscow subway or a London subway or a train in Madrid or an office building in New York, we face the same enemy," Clinton said.
"The extremists who would try to turn the clock back on civilization, who are nihilistic, who pervert religion and values, they are unfortunately not just after Americans, but they're after Europeans, they're after Canadians, they're after people who stand up against them and what they are promoting."
Clinton said the mission has trained the Canadian and U.S. militaries to fight a new war against "committed" and "well-disciplined" terrorists.
"We're in a different kid of conflict, and I think both the American and the Canadian militaries would tell you that they're not the same militaries that they were 10 years ago," Clinton said.
"They've had to be more agile, flexible, adjustable, they've had to look at how you combine military action with development and diplomacy. I think that's really in the interests of our mutual defence."
