Canada to end Afghan mission in 2011

By ROB GILLIES, Associated Press Writer

TORONTO - Canada's prime minister unveiled a proposal on Thursday to withdraw his country's forces from volatile southern Afghanistan in 2011, a move that largely accedes to opposition demands amid threats of an early election.

Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government is trying to extend past February 2009 the military operation in Kandahar province, a region that was once the Taliban's stronghold.

"It seems clear that we have moved significantly toward the kind of bipartisan consensus that can be presented to Parliament for ratification," Harper said.

Harper's government has been under growing pressure to withdraw Canada's troops as the death toll increases, now at 78 soldiers and a diplomat.

Thursday's proposal resulted from a compromise with opposition Liberals, who were against extending the mission and had threatened to force a vote aimed at toppling the government.

Parliament will vote on extending the mission next month — a confidence vote that would trigger early elections if rejected. An agreement would avoid an early election over the issue.

The motion makes the two-year extension conditional on NATO providing more troops and equipment to back up Canadian forces in southern Kandahar. It also sets the withdrawal date at December 2011.

The motion stresses that more emphasis will be placed on training the Afghan army and police to eventually take over.

The Liberal Party had initially pushed for an end to the combat phase by next February, but last week backed off that position. They insisted, however, that the forces in Afghanistan be relegated to reconstruction roles in the war-ravaged country.

The refusal by some major European allies to send a significant number of troops to the southern front lines has opened a rift within NATO. Troops from Canada, Britain, the Netherlands and the United States have borne the brunt of a resurgence of Taliban violence in the region, with support from Denmark, Romania, Estonia and non-NATO Australia.

Harper has reached out to several key NATO allies, stressing the need for greater support for his country's troops in that area.