Canada Reiterates Plan to Withdraw from Afghanistan in 2011

Canada reiterates plan to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2011 | ChinaView.cn

Canada will proceed with its plan to end military mission in Afghanistan in 2011, even if United States President-elect Barack Obama appeals to it to stay, Defense Minister Peter MacKay reiterated Friday.

MacKay made the remarks when defense ministers from eight NATO countries with troops stationed in southern Afghanistan gathered in eastern Canada to talk about ways to better manage the mission.

Ministers of the United States, Britain, Holland, Australia, Estonia, Denmark and Romania were meeting at a training base in the village of Cornwallis in the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia.

MacKay complained that some NATO countries are not pulling their weight in Afghanistan, leaving the eight countries "carrying a disproportionate share of the load".

Instead of asking Canada to stay, Obama should be knocking on other military doors, he said.

At the meeting, U.S. Defense Minister laid out the plan to send about 20,000 more soldiers into Afghanistan next year in a bid to make the country secure enough for elections expected there in the fall.

The troop surge has already begun, Gates said, with a 1,800-strong U.S. Marine battalion having deployed this year and the first of five new American brigades scheduled to arrive in January.

There are currently about 50,000 coalition soldiers stationed across Afghanistan.

The officials also stressed the importance of training Afghan security forces and stemming out opium sales in the country.