Dangerous mission limits aid efforts

Tenille Bonoguore, Globe & Mail, 17 Oct 06

The danger of the Kandahar mission is hampering efforts to deliver aid to Afghanistan, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper insists the defence force is adequately funded and prepared.

In Tuesday's Question Period, Mr. Harper rejected the suggestion from interim Liberal leader Bill Graham that the government was not adequately funding the military and diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan.

“The security situation in Kandahar is difficult. That has hampered our efforts to deliver aid, but we continue to deliver it across the country, and he (Mr. Graham) will know that (Afghanistan) President (Hamid) Karzai in his address to this parliament praised us for doing just that.”

But Mr. Graham called for proof the government was delivering the funding promised to the mission.

“One of the responsible generals in the other house yesterday (Monday) testified that the military are taking money out of their own essential budget in order to spend the money for aid reconstruction to protect their troops when they can't get the money from this government department that should be giving it to it,” Mr. Graham said.

“If they aren't going to fund our troops with what they need, we're going to get in to another Iraq and everyone knows it.”

Brigadier-General Al Howard told a Senate committee on Monday that the provincial reconstruction team is ready to proceed with several projects but can't because it is still awaiting cash from the Canadian International Development Agency.

“There are a few funding glitches,” he told the committee. “There are a number of projects where we are just waiting to get additional money.”