Further to this post,

Afstan: Some reactions to, and consequences of, Canada’s bugging out/Fighting Germans Update

Prime Minister Harper may be beginning to see the light; a trial balloon is clearly being floated–in the Liberal-friendly Toronto Star–to smoke out political, pundit and public reaction:

Troops may stay in Afghanistan as ‘trainers’

Canadian troops could remain “behind the wire” in Afghanistan involved in training local troops after their combat mission ends next summer, the Star has learned.

While the Conservative government is holding firm that the combat mission will end in 2011, one of three options emerging is that some soldiers could remain in the troubled nation, well away from combat zones, as trainers.

The other two potential roles on the table are aid and development, a senior government official told the Star.

There are roughly 3,000 soldiers involved in Canada’s Afghan mission [details here on Joint Task Force Afghanistan]. The size of the training contingent would be “much smaller” and would be away from Kandahar, a hotbed of the insurgency, the official said….

Despite diplomatic pressure from NATO allies to extend its military mission in Kandahar, Canada is making it clear that a continued combat role is one option that’s not up for negotiation.

Canada has been under pressure from NATO and key allies to remain in Kandahar…

Officials have already briefed the Liberals in their role as the official opposition about the options being considered, suggesting the Conservatives are hoping to avoid a bitter partisan fight over the future of Canada’s biggest foreign policy priority.

Conservatives have taken note of comments by both Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and Liberal MP Bob Rae, the party’s foreign affairs critic, suggesting their party would be open to a continued Afghan role for Canada.

Ignatieff used a major foreign policy speech in June to call for Canada to commit itself to a training mission to help the Afghan police and military [more here]…

Lets just hope the government and Liberals can both act like grown-ups and do the right thing. As for Kandahar, I have heard from someone well up on Canadian activities in Afstan that the government is currently planning to remove all or almost all Canadian civilians and civilian police from Kandahar as the CF withdraw, and have our civilians based in Kabul. So there goes Canadian participation in the PRT. The Americans will certainly notice the elimination of a Canadian presence on the ground in the tough places and draw their own conclusions. But CF trainers would certainly counterbalance and more any negative impression.

Update: MND MacKay adds some hot air (all it is for now) to keep the balloon in the air:

Canada is considering NATO and allied requests to keep troops in Afghanistan past 2011 to conduct non-combat training missions, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Sunday.

MacKay said the government would likely make a decision in the coming weeks in the run-up to the Nov. 18 NATO leaders’ summit in Portugal.

MacKay stressed that any such mission would take place out of Kandahar province, where fighting is fiercest and would be “behind the wire” – military parlance for non-combat mission…

Now perhaps an adult discussion may ensue since the government is starting to come clean. At least partly, one imagines, as a result of some very serious pressure indeed from some particularly close and important allies. Good on them.  The allies that is.

More background from Brian Stewart (a recent military reporting award winner) of the CBC:

It could soon be much harder for the Harper government to tiptoe away from the NATO combat mission in Afghanistan next year.

Later this month (Nov. 19-20), NATO leaders hold their long-anticipated Strategic Summit to thrash their way forward on a wide range of issues.

Afghanistan will be very much front and centre and, according to high-level talk in Ottawa this past week, our main allies have no intention of easing Canada’s way home.

Indeed, there’s increased speculation that the U.S., Britain and other Western powers will use the bilateral meetings that go along with the summit to try and change the prime minister’s mind about the Canadian withdrawal.

They are not asking for a complete about-face but they still want hundreds of Canadians left behind as military trainers and frankly believe that Canada still owes NATO that much…

No one, of course, underestimates the challenge of changing Stephen Harper’s mind on anything. He has said very publicly that he has no intention of leaving any military forces behind after next summer, apart from perhaps a few embassy guards…

Here’s hoping.

Mark
Ottawa