Canada troops could stay longer in Afghanistan

OTTAWA, Mar 6 (Reuters) The Canadian government, under increasing pressure to explain why 2,300 troops were sent to a violent part of Afghanistan, said today the soldiers could stay there longer than originally intended.

Most of the troops, who are in Kandahar as part of a NATO mission, are due to return by early 2007.

But Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, speaking after senior Canadian military officials said the NATO mission would have to last at least a decade, conceded the schedule for the return of the troops was now unclear.

''The (military commanders) ... have indicated this is going to be a longer term commitment than was perhaps originally intended as far as the troop deployment,'' MacKay said.

''Canada has to show a great deal of perseverance and resolve,'' he told reporters. ''As for the length of time that we will be there, that is an open question.'' In the last week alone, two Canadian soldiers have died in traffic accidents near Kandahar. Several others were injured in a suicide attack while one soldier was attacked and seriously wounded by a man wielding an axe.

''The events surrounding the soldiers in Afghanistan very recently have shocked everybody in this country,'' said MacKay, who was appointed after the Conservatives won the January 23 election.

The decision to contribute troops to the NATO mission was made without much debate last year by the previous Liberal government.

But an increasing number of critics want clear explanations from the Conservatives about how long the mission will last and why Canadian troops, traditionally known as peacekeepers, are now involved in military operations.

An Ipsos-Reid poll for CanWest Global on Saturday said 52 per cent of Canadians wanted the troops to stay while 48 per cent wanted them to return home as soon as possible.

Jack Layton, leader of the minority left-leaning New Democratic party, on Sunday demanded a full Parliamentary debate on the mission and its goals.

''We certainly don't want to become involved in a protracted war,'' Layton told CTV.

''The goal of Canadians being in Afghanistan was in our more traditional role of peacekeeping,'' he said. ''But to extend it into an ongoing warlike position is certainly something that I think a lot of Canadians have concerns about.'' The Conservatives, despite maintaining the Liberals should have done a better job of explaining the decision to send troops to Afghanistan, fully support the mission.

''We do not want to, in any way, suggest we are questioning Canadians' presence there,'' said MacKay.

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Canada sent 2,000 troops to Kabul to participate in a NATO-led stabilization force. A total of 10 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan since then.

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