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Speaking Notes for The Honourable Bill Graham, P.C., M.P., Minister of National Defence at a conference on "Canada in Afghanistan: Assessing the 3-D Approach"
Waterloo, Ontario - May 13, 2005
NOTE: The following transcript is presented in the language(s) in which it occurred. There is no translation available. We are providing the transcript for your information.
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Introduction
I am very pleased to have the opportunity to join you this evening in what I know is one of Kitchener-Waterloo’s oldest buildings and most significant cultural and economic landmarks.
I always appreciate the opportunity to return to the world of academia – a world governed by facts and reason, and by the willingness to compare and contrast ideas in a calm and civilized atmosphere. This is somewhat different from the reigning chaos in the House these days!
I would like to begin by commending conference organizers for bringing together such a diverse and exceptional group of academics, researchers, government officials and international practitioners to discuss these timely and critical issues.
I would also like to take a moment to recognize the prestigious organizations that have co-sponsored this event: the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies; the Centre for International Governance Innovation; and the Academic Council on the United Nations System.
The work done at your respected institutions – whether it is in the area of economic and financial governance, Canada’s proud military history or in the promotion of global cooperation – helps to shape the Government’s views and guide our policies on a number of important fronts.
A New Course for the Canadian Forces
Ladies and gentlemen, it has been nine months now that I have had the privilege of being your Minister of National Defence. I feel very fortunate to be at the helm of an institution that features so prominently in the Government’s overall agenda – and to be a part of an organization that has such a significant impact on the lives of Canadians and countless people around the world.
It is an exciting – and, in many ways, an historic – time for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces.
With General Hillier and his senior staff, we have a vibrant, new military leadership with innovative ideas rooted in recent operational experience, both here in Canada and throughout the world.
And I think you will agree that they command some of the world’s most dedicated, professional and skilful uniformed members.
As you know, we also received nearly thirteen billion dollars in new funding for our military in the recent federal budget – the most substantial funding increase for the Canadian Forces in more than twenty years.
With these new resources, we are going to increase the size of the Canadian Forces. We are going to address longstanding sustainability issues. We are going to acquire new equipment such as medium-to-heavy lift helicopters. And we are going to finance the new defence policy statement that we launched about three weeks ago as part of the broader international policy statement.
I know that it will not surprise anyone here tonight when I say that the process of bringing together our comprehensive review of Canada’s international policies was more challenging than we had initially anticipated.
But I am – and I believe that Canadians are – pleased with the final result. I am particularly excited about what it means for our military. With our new defence policy statement, we have outlined a bold, new course for Canada’s military – a course designed to meet, head on, the security challenges of the twenty-first century.
In this new security environment, our first priority is the defence of Canada and Canadians. After all, there can be no greater role, no more important obligation for a government, than the protection and safety of its citizens. And this role has taken on new dimensions with the challenges presented by asymmetric threats such as terrorism.
To meet these challenges, we will create a new national command structure – called ‘Canada Command’ – to bring the best available military resources from across the country to bear on a domestic crisis quickly and effectively.
Of course, in order to protect Canada and Canadians effectively, we will also work with our American neighbours to strengthen our capacity to defend our shared continent and our respective countries. Indeed, a key priority in our defence policy statement is to develop a more sophisticated approach to our relationship with the United States.
So as we consider the way in which the world has unfolded since the September 11th terrorist attacks in the U.S., it is clear that we must focus more of our efforts on protecting Canada and Canadians here on the North American continent.
But I can assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that this will not come at the expense of our role internationally. Frankly, in today’s security environment, it is clear that we must meet threats to our security as far from our shores as possible. Security in Canada ultimately begins with stability abroad.
In speaking of Canada’s role in the world, the Prime Minister expressed it well when he said that “we cannot change the world single-handedly, but we can play a role far greater than our size might suggest.” Canadians are proud – and rightfully so – of the role our country plays in the world.
And this is the driving force behind our new vision for the Canadian Forces. We are committed to having a more significant and influential presence in the world – one in which our voice will be heard, our values seen, and our efforts felt.
The Government recognizes that a strong, capable and professional military is essential to the impact that we – as a country – can have in the world. In fact, we have seen over the past decade in countries around the world that the face of Canada is often that of the men and women of the Canadian Forces.
I have seen that face in Bosnia, in Afghanistan, in Haiti and with the Disaster Assistance Response Team in Sri Lanka. It is a face that is welcomed wherever it goes.
But it is rare, in these operations, that our face is the only stabilizing presence. And with our new defence policy statement, we remain committed to working with our allies and partners in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and NATO. We also remain open to participating in less formal coalitions of like-minded states, as we have done in East Timor and in the international campaign against terrorism.
However, the ability to respond to the challenge of failed and failing states will serve as the benchmark for the Canadian Forces.
Failed and failing states pose a dual challenge for Canada. In the first instance, the suffering that these situations create is an affront to Canadian values. Beyond this, they also plant the seeds of threats to regional and global security. They generate refugee flows that threaten the stability of their neighbours and create new political problems for their regions.
More ominously, the impotence of their governing structures makes them potential breeding grounds or safe havens for terrorism and organized crime. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer summed this up when he said that “either we tackle these problems when and where they emerge, or they will end up on our doorstep.” We have seen this all too clearly in countries around the world, particularly in Afghanistan.
Earlier today, Colonel Ellis talked to you about our military commitment in Afghanistan from an operational and tactical point of view. I am told that he gave you a pretty good idea of what it is like to be in the dusty and crowded streets of Kabul, in the mountains that surround it, and in our base at Camp Julien.
This evening, I would like to talk to you about the broader significance of our deployment to Afghanistan – about what it means for Canada and the Canadian Forces, as well as what shape our long-term commitment will take in the future.
Canada’s Commitment in Afghanistan in Context
Of course, the genesis of Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan can be traced back to the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States.
Although Canada was not the target of these terrible acts, terrorism had come to our North American shores in a real and significant way – and had taken an awful toll on our closest friend and ally. Canadians, too, died that day in New York, a tangible consequence of our close personal, financial and geographical ties with the United States. And like many countries throughout the world, our perceptions of security and defence changed on that day.
Less than a month after the attacks in New York and Washington, Canada joined the United States and a number of other nations in the international campaign against terrorism.
We did so as responsible allies. And we did so to defend Canada and Canadians. By harbouring Al-Qaeda and the architects of September 11th terrorist attacks, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan was a serious threat to international security and, ultimately, to the security of this country.
This is why Canadian soldiers were deployed to Kandahar in 2001 to confront the remnants of the Taliban regime and members of Al-Qaeda. This is why the Canadian navy sent more than fifteen ships to the Arabian Sea to conduct maritime interdiction operations. And this is why Canada has consistently been amongst the largest contributors to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
In fact, as you know, the Canadian Forces made up nearly forty percent of the entire NATO force in Kabul last year. And General Rick Hillier – who is now Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff – commanded the overall mission in the Afghan capital.
Afghanistan as a Transformational Mission
Canada’s military commitment to Afghanistan has marked a watershed moment for the Canadian Forces.
While it builds on experience in such theatres as Bosnia and Haiti, it has been a transformational mission, representing a new type of operation, against a new type of enemy, requiring new skills, new capabilities, and, frankly, a new way of thinking for our military and our Government.
Afghanistan has many of the characteristics of the new type of mission that the Canadian Forces will be called on to perform in the years to come. And it provided us with the experience and the intellectual framework around which we built our defence policy statement.
First, the Afghanistan mission requires a high level of cooperation within the Canadian Forces. The military, somewhat awkwardly perhaps, refers to this as ‘jointness’. Deploying thousand of troops halfway around the world and sustaining them for long periods of time is no easy task.
Our land, maritime, air and special operations forces have been working together very closely to overcome real logistical and operational challenges.
And what we have learned in Afghanistan will be invaluable for the future, especially as we begin establishing the new joint organizations and structures that are envisioned in our defence policy statement.
Second, the Canadian Forces have had to rely on new and sophisticated equipment on their mission in Afghanistan.
When General Hillier accompanied me to the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs last month, he said that our contingent in Afghanistan “was seen as one of the best equipped military forces that the western world could put in place.”
As part of their mission, the Canadian Forces have successfully fielded new, state-of-the-art equipment such as our Coyote reconnaissance vehicle, the ISTAR surveillance system, and our advanced counter-battery radar.
They also employed unmanned aerial vehicles – or UAVs. This has opened the door to the wider use of UAVs in surveillance activities, not only in other theatres of operations, but also right here in Canada – as established in our defence policy statement.
Third, the Afghanistan mission is one of the most multinational missions in which the Canadian Forces have ever participated.
In the Afghan capital of Kabul, our soldiers are operating alongside troops from more than thirty other nations. Of course, a large number of these nations belong to NATO, so we are familiar with how they operate. But the doctrines and practices of some of the non-NATO troops in Afghanistan are less familiar to us, as we may not have trained or worked with them in the past.
Experience in Afghanistan has made it clear that flexibility and adaptability are essential skills for any military force deploying on peace support operations.
This brings me to the fourth significant characteristic of the Afghanistan mission: complexity.
The days when participating in a peace support operation meant deploying lightly armed observers along a cease-fire line are, for the most part, a remnant of the past.
Today’s operational environment is much more complex – resembling what the military has referred to as a “three block war.” This term speaks to the increasing overlap in the tasks armed forces are being asked to carry out at any one time.
For example, our land forces could be engaged in combat operations against well-armed militia forces in one part of the country, stabilization operations in neighbouring areas, and humanitarian relief and reconstruction activities as well. Transition from one type of operation to another often happens in the ‘blink of an eye’, with little time to react.
At the same time, our naval forces in adjacent coastal areas might be supporting troops ashore while enforcing a maritime exclusion zone. And our air forces could be flying in supplies and humanitarian aid, while standing by to engage determined opposition.
Afghanistan is a textbook example of such a military operation.
At the height of our presence in Kabul last year, Canadian Forces members performed ‘traditional’ security and stabilization operations, such as patrolling streets and clearing roads of landmines. Security is absolutely essential to the success of our broader diplomatic and development efforts now underway in Afghanistan.
But the Canadian Forces were also involved in institution-building – for example by helping train the Afghan National Army – and humanitarian aid projects, such as building or repairing schools, orphanages and bridges.
Take, for example, the efforts of Colonel Randy Brooks, a Canadian reservist who helped construct a burn centre in Herat – in western Afghanistan – where women are particularly susceptible to suffering grievous burns for various reasons. In spearheading this initiative, the military is not only contributing to a much needed health facility, it is also addressing a social issue and creating employment for local trades people in the area. And, in the process, it is contributing to the re-establishment of civil society in Afghanistan.
Indeed, when the Afghan Minister of Finance was in Ottawa recently, he said that the single greatest contribution to the development of Afghanistan today were the men and women of the Canadian Forces.
This was a wonderful compliment to our dedicated men and women in uniform. But it also demonstrated that the Government’s ‘3-D’ approach to international affairs is paying real dividends.
So the importance of our integrated defence, diplomacy and development efforts in Afghanistan is the fifth important characteristic of this mission.
With our ‘3-D’ strategy, the Canadian Forces are working much more closely with Foreign Affairs, CIDA and others in order to maximize the impact and effectiveness of our involvement in Afghanistan.
This approach was not always a given. There was a time when CIDA was very concerned that our troops performing humanitarian activities might blur the line between aid and military operations, thus associating aid workers with the military and making them targets for local insurgents.
Indeed, my colleague, Aileen Carroll, raised exactly this issue in recent discussions around the establishment of a PRT in Kandahar. She made it clear, however, that while reservations of this kind remain with some NGOs – notably Médecins Sans Frontières – it is no longer a concern for CIDA which recognizes that its development goals can only be achieved by cooperating with the military in order to assure the stability necessary for development.
This type of close cooperation is important in helping our military members gain the support and acceptance of the local Afghan people who they have been sent to help and protect.
In the end, stability can only be achieved in these situations if the majority of the local population is supportive of that goal and their presence. They must perceive the use of force in their neighbourhood, and the civilian casualties that are suffered, as being for their greater good and not just the repressive measures of a foreign occupying force. This is a lesson that militaries are painfully learning as they adjust from the historical role of occupying foreign territory by force to bringing to foreign territories the conditions that allow the local population to control their own affairs.
In this context, negotiation, a sense of compromise, and an understanding and respect for other peoples and other cultures have become indispensable tools for an effective military force.
And this is the sixth characteristic of the Afghanistan mission: in addition to their combat skills, our soldiers must also possess the ability to establish a relationship with the people who need their assistance.
The Canadian Forces excel at this approach to conflict resolution. And I believe they do so because it is consistent with our national character.
The Canadian Forces reflect our collective values. When our military deploys around the world, our men and women in uniform bring our understanding and compassion for others along with them.
As Canadians, we have a deeply held respect for human life and property. We have embraced our responsibility to protect people who cannot protect themselves, and we have strongly urged other countries to do the same. As Canadians, we also expect our armed forces to act within the rule of law to ensure that no life is threatened beyond what is absolutely required by the situation.
And let me tell you: this is exactly what Canadian Forces members are doing. I still remember vividly one such example from my first visit to Afghanistan as Foreign Minister.
Talking to the troops at Camp Julien, when I was the guest of General Leslie, a sergeant told me that, while on patrol, he was talking to a little Afghan girl on a crowded and chaotic street in downtown Kabul. At one point, he noticed a little boy pointing what appeared to be a weapon towards him – and there are a lot on the streets of Kabul. Instead of immediately using force, the Canadian soldier calmly reached out around the little girl and took the weapon away from the boy – even making a joke as he did so.
Fortunately, the weapon was only a toy machine gun. But when I pointed out to the soldier that he had risked his life, he replied simply: "Well, I was wearing a flak jacket and I believed it was more important to risk being shot than killing an innocent child."
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what the Canadian approach to peace support operations is all about. This is why our men and women in uniform are the best in the world at what they do. And this is why Canada is determined to take a leadership role in the world – particularly in responding to the challenge of failed and failing states.
A Long-Term Commitment in Afghanistan
Canada’s commitment in Afghanistan over the past few years has had a real and positive impact on that country and in the lives of the Afghan people.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of our diplomats, our aid workers and our men and women in uniform, as well as our international partners, the situation in Afghanistan is improving.
Nearly three million refugees have returned home since the end of 2001.
Marketplaces are bustling with activity.
And children – including young girls – have returned to school.
Democracy is also taking root. The country adopted a new Constitution in January 2004. And, last October, the people of Afghanistan voted in the country’s first-ever free presidential elections. Parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place this fall.
But the situation remains very fragile. Without an international military presence on the ground, there is a real risk that Afghanistan will fall back into the hands of the Taliban and once again become a haven for terrorists.
And without security, the country risks a situation where local warlords, financed through drug operations and with equipment that outstrips that of the state, become the effective rulers of vast parts of Afghanistan.
This is a risk that the world cannot afford to take. And this is why Canada is ready to assume a leadership role in paving the way for a secure, democratic and self-sustaining Afghanistan.
To that end, we will be deploying a Provincial Reconstruction Team to the city of Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan.
This team will bring together Canadian military personnel, civilian police, diplomats, and aid workers to provide an integrated ‘3-D’ effort to reinforce the authority of the Afghan government in, and around, Kandahar and to assist in the stabilization of the region. This team will conduct security patrols, assist local reconstruction efforts, report on governance issues, and to facilitate reforms to the security sector.
This is an important start. But it is only a start. We will also be announcing an additional and significant new military commitment to Afghanistan in the coming days.
The purpose of this new military commitment will be to strengthen security and stability for the people of Afghanistan. And it will demonstrate, in a real and meaningful way, our commitment to the international campaign against terrorism and our willingness to play a leadership role in the world – a key objective of our international policy statement.
Conclusion
I would like to conclude, ladies and gentlemen, by saying that I am very proud of the instrumental role that Canada is, and will be, playing in the reconstruction and stabilization of Afghanistan. Along with our international allies and partners, we are having a real and very positive impact on the lives of the Afghan people.
It is also central to the international campaign against terrorism and to the security of Canada and Canadians. I agree with the NATO Secretary General’s assessment that “if we want to win the war on terrorism, we must win the peace in Afghanistan.”
The Canadian Forces are prepared – and, in fact, quite anxious – for this increased commitment in Afghanistan. They are familiar with that country and the people. The Canadian Forces have some of the best leaders and non-commission members in the world who have just completed a period of much-needed rest and regeneration. And they have the resources and equipment they need to do their job.
The Afghanistan mission is also the exact type of mission that we are preparing and transforming our military to undertake – and excel at – in our new defence policy statement.
Afghanistan is an example of a failed and failing state where we can make a real difference. And we are committed to doing just that.
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