[Bloquez l'empire!] CBC: Canada 'critical' to war on terror: Rice

[aaron at resist.ca]

apparently Condi even grabbed a coffee from Tim Horton's in Stellarton,
Nova Scotia.  what a home town gal!
aaron

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/09/12/canada-us.html

Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan are playing an "absolutely
critical" role in the American-led war on terror, U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday during a visit to Nova Scotia.

    Condoleezza Rice on the Afghan mission: 'I know there are times that
it seems that things aren't going in a straight line. Big historic
circumstances often don't go in a straight line.' (CBC) Condoleezza
Rice on the Afghan mission: 'I know there are times that it seems that
things aren't going in a straight line. Big historic circumstances
often don't go in a straight line.' (CBC)

Rice, who spoke during a news conference with Foreign Affairs Minister
Peter MacKay in the northern town of Stellarton, is on a two-day visit to
the province to mark the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The Canadian contribution to helping build stability in Afghanistan is
absolutely critical to the war on terror," said Rice, who travelled to
MacKay's home riding after she arrived in the province on Monday.

"I know that there is a sacrifice, I know that it is hard work. I know
there are times that it seems that things aren't going in a straight
line," she said.

"Big historic circumstances often don't go in a straight line."

Canada has been in Afghanistan since early 2002, shortly after the United
States invaded to topple the Taliban government in the wake of the Sept.
11 attacks. Canada's military currently has more than 2,000 troops there
and is leading the NATO forces in the southern provinces.

However, public support for the mission has dipped in recent weeks
following the deaths of five Canadian soldiers — including one killed in
error by U.S. forces — in a massive anti-Taliban operation launched 10
days ago. Since the mission began, 31 soldiers and one diplomat have been
killed.

On the weekend, the NDP passed a resolution making withdrawal from
Afghanistan a formal party policy.

Canada will stay course: MacKay

NATO's top commander made an appeal last week for the alliance's members
to send more troops to Afghanistan. But MacKay said Rice had not asked
Canada to boost its deployment.

He said Canada is committed to the mission because Canadian efforts and
sacrifices will pay off not only in Afghanistan, but also at home.

    'We cannot retreat, we cannot come back. Boats are safe in the
harbour, but that's not what they're made for.'-Foreign Affairs
Minister Peter MacKay

"If we leave it to the terrorists to continue to flourish in places like
Afghanistan, they'll find us. They'll come here and they'll try to wreak
havoc in our lives," he said. "We cannot retreat, we cannot come back."

The foreign minister also offered an old expression from the Maritimes to
get his point across.

"Boats are safe in the harbour, but that's not what they're made for."

Speaking after U.S. embassy attacked in Syria

MacKay, who spoke hours after gunmen tried to storm the U.S. Embassy in
Damascus, said Canada's increasingly tighter alliances with the U.S. do
not make it a bigger target for attacks.

"I don't think it elevates Canada as a target to be doing our share in the
world," he said.

No Americans were killed in the Tuesday morning incident in the Syrian
capital, but three of the four attackers died when they tried to storm the
embassy with automatic rifles, hand grenades and an explosives-packed
vehicle.

Rice said she was grateful the attack didn't succeed and that it was too
early to tell who was responsible.

Rice and MacKay spoke at Stellarton's Museum of Industry following
breakfast and a morning walkabout that included a stop at a local Tim
Hortons.

Rice, MacKay stress friendship

After landing on Monday, in a ceremony at the Halifax International
Airport, Rice thanked Canadians who helped host 21,000 passengers forced
to land in Canada when U.S. skies were closed after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Since taking office after the Jan. 23 election, Prime Minister Stephen
Harper and his Conservative government have focused on improving
co-operation with the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush
after strains in the relationship under the former Liberal governments of
Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin.

    'We tend to forget how daily and ordinary our relationship is. It's
the most active of relationships at a level of people to people, not
just government to government.'-Condoleezza Rice on the Canada-U.S.
friendship

MacKay said the two governments may sometimes disagree, but Canada and the
U.S. will are allies because of a "deep sense of kinship" the two
countries share.

"We will remain the best of friends, but we may not always agree, we will
certainly find a way to find solutions that work for the benefit of both
nations," MacKay said.

Rice stressed the importance of the Canada-U.S. relationship in the
everyday lives of people living on both sides of the border.

"We tend to forget how daily and ordinary our relationship is," she said.

"It's the most active of relationships at a level of people to people, not
just government to government."

With files from the Canadian Press