PM won't authorize mission beyond Kabul - Canada

[dArKeR]

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien ruled out the possibility of Canadian soldiers being sent to the provinces of Afghanistan as part of an expanded international peacekeeping mission.

The German government has agreed to send 450 men to northern Afghanistan under a new UN resolution authorizing troops beyond the capital. But Mr. Chrétien, in a one-day visit to Kabul, said that Canada is already contributing enough military and financial resources to the war-torn country.

"We're not planning to send more troops at this time," he said. "The decision will be made at the end of our one-year mandate. But we support the expansion and will encourage other countries to send more troops."

http://theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031018.wpmpm1018/BNStory/National/

[Spazito]

1. I was very pleased to see that Chretien made...

the stop in Afghanistan on his way to the summit. From what I heard on the news, he was quite honest in saying we don't have any more troops to send in any expansion of the peacekeeping troops.

[glarius]

2. They reported on Newsworld that Canada has the largest contingent of

troops in Afghanistan...I guess more troops are needed but no one else seems to be sending more right now either...Germany has quite a few there too, I believe....It's so ridiculous! Bush is expanding his war farther and farther and hasn't the troops to support it...The man is unbelievably dumb!