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Canada welcomes Obama's Afghan strategy
MONTREAL (AFP) – Canada's foreign affairs minister on Friday welcomed the new Afghan strategy unveiled by US President Barack Obama but warned that Ottawa did not intend to increase its budget for the war.
"We welcome the publication of the US Strategic Review on Afghanistan and Pakistan and congratulate the Obama administration on what, on first examination, looks to be a very compelling, comprehensive and realistic assessment of the situation," said Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon.
He said he would be able to further assess the implications of the plan next week during a conference on Afghanistan at The Hague and a NATO summit.
"Many elements" of the US plan were similar and "complimentary" to Canada's own mission in the country, Cannon said in a statement.
"We have said consistently that success in Afghanistan will never be achieved through military means alone," he added.
"Canada also welcomes the acknowledgement that what happens in Pakistan directly affects what happens in Afghanistan, given that our own forces work in a border area."
Obama unveiled on Friday a US strategy for Afghanistan that included a civilian surge in Afghanistan to match fresh military reinforcements totaling 21,000 troops, as well as a 7.5-billion-dollar development plan and special economic zones for Pakistan.
Washington has dropped appeals for more troop commitments from Europe and instead called on NATO members to offer civilian expertise and aid for development projects.
Obama said the United States will urge its allies to contribute money during a donors conference in Tokyo next month.
"As America does more, we will ask others to join us in doing their part," he said.
"From our partners and NATO allies, we seek not simply troops, but rather clearly defined capabilities: supporting the Afghan elections, training Afghan security forces, and a greater civilian commitment to the Afghan people."
Speaking earlier on the margins of a conference in Montreal, Cannon said that Canada "does not intend to increase our budgets."
But the US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said that many countries had "already talked to us privately about either troops during the election period, or non-military support."
Canada has deployed some 2,800 soldiers to southwestern Afghanistan, where 116 Canadian troops have been killed since 2002.
MONTREAL (AFP) – Canada's foreign affairs minister on Friday welcomed the new Afghan strategy unveiled by US President Barack Obama but warned that Ottawa did not intend to increase its budget for the war.
"We welcome the publication of the US Strategic Review on Afghanistan and Pakistan and congratulate the Obama administration on what, on first examination, looks to be a very compelling, comprehensive and realistic assessment of the situation," said Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon.
He said he would be able to further assess the implications of the plan next week during a conference on Afghanistan at The Hague and a NATO summit.
"Many elements" of the US plan were similar and "complimentary" to Canada's own mission in the country, Cannon said in a statement.
"We have said consistently that success in Afghanistan will never be achieved through military means alone," he added.
"Canada also welcomes the acknowledgement that what happens in Pakistan directly affects what happens in Afghanistan, given that our own forces work in a border area."
Obama unveiled on Friday a US strategy for Afghanistan that included a civilian surge in Afghanistan to match fresh military reinforcements totaling 21,000 troops, as well as a 7.5-billion-dollar development plan and special economic zones for Pakistan.
Washington has dropped appeals for more troop commitments from Europe and instead called on NATO members to offer civilian expertise and aid for development projects.
Obama said the United States will urge its allies to contribute money during a donors conference in Tokyo next month.
"As America does more, we will ask others to join us in doing their part," he said.
"From our partners and NATO allies, we seek not simply troops, but rather clearly defined capabilities: supporting the Afghan elections, training Afghan security forces, and a greater civilian commitment to the Afghan people."
Speaking earlier on the margins of a conference in Montreal, Cannon said that Canada "does not intend to increase our budgets."
But the US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said that many countries had "already talked to us privately about either troops during the election period, or non-military support."
Canada has deployed some 2,800 soldiers to southwestern Afghanistan, where 116 Canadian troops have been killed since 2002.