There's a really good discussion of this issue was on The National last Thursday, that's the CBC's main daily news bulletin, one-hour every night in prime time. Every Thursday, they get a panel of political analysts to talk about the issues of the day facing Canada, and last week it was Afghanistan, Canada's not unsubstantial military role there, and the politics behind it and a report on the future of that role prepared for the current Tory minority govt of Stephen Harper by former Liberal Foreign Minister and national Liberal party leadeship candidate (post-Chretien) John Manley.  

Here's the discussion. Two quick points here. First, scroll through to about midway through when Mansbridge tosses the second question to Chantal Hebert and, if you are a US resident, tell me the language that the men in this frame employ isn't eerily reminiscent of what you heard in the US press at the time. And second, for those who don't know Chantal Hebert, imho she is far and away the best analyst and commentator there is in North America, who also writes for the Toronto Star and Le Devoir (Montreal, Chantal is behind firewall on this site)

By way of background, Canada supplies the main block of troops in the east and south east, easily the part of the country with the most entrenched and growing resistance to Nato, both taleban and plain-vanilla tribal opposition.

In Canada, there's a Liberal/Tory consensus that this is as it should be, and should be continued ad infinitum, though the Liberals are insistent that other Nato countries supply some supporting troops (and Sarko is making noises this other country may well be France), while the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois, neither of whom have national governing aspirations (well, the Bloc do, but only in Quebec), both want to pull out, yesterday.


Fai de bèn a Bertrand, te lou rendra en cagant