Hillier vs. Harper

This is getting out of hand:

PMO rejects Hillier's timeline on Afghan mission

Hillier rejects claims he's at odds with PM over Afghanistan

CTV's Robert Fife, in this video, says Gen. Hillier went to Afghanistan "without telling anybody in government" (not even Minister of National Defence MacKay--come on). Mr Fife even implies the Chief of the Defence staff may be trying to provoke his own replacement (reported and denied earlier this month).

This is how the Toronto Star reports what Gen. Hillier said:

Gen. Rick Hillier, speaking at the end of a three-day visit to Kandahar, told reporters it will take "10 years or so" to build a national army that can defend the government against insurgents and potential external threats.

"You don't just build that overnight and the international community will have to be involved for some time to see this through to the final level where you've got a government that works effectively," Hillier said yesterday.

"It's going to take 10 years or so just to work through and build an army [emphasis added] to whatever the final number that Afghanistan will have, and make them professional, and let them meet their security demands."..

This is from the recent Speech from the Throne:

Our Government does not believe that Canada should simply abandon the people of Afghanistan after February 2009. Canada should build on its accomplishments and shift to accelerate the training of the Afghan army and police so that the Afghan government can defend its own sovereignty. This will not be completed by February 2009, but our Government believes this objective should be achievable by 2011 [emphasis added], the end of the period covered by the Afghanistan Compact. Our Government has appointed an independent panel to advise Canadians on how best to proceed given these considerations...

Now from the Prime Minister's Office:

The PMO has reiterated the government's position, laid out in the throne speech, that it believes the Afghan people will be able to defend themselves by 2011 -- years ahead of the timeline Canada's top soldier gave Thursday...

And then from the the general's "spokeswoman" (that's how the Globe and Mail wrote it):

Maj. Apostoliuk insisted the Throne Speech reference and the General's comments were about two different things.

“It's apples and oranges,” she said, promising the differences would be explained later through a statement from the General. “From Gen. Hillier's perspective, there is no difference of opinion.”..

It may be that the government's apple, according the CDS, essentially refers to a minimally sufficient combat capability while his orange includes a well-equipped and run army that does not need significant help from foreign personnel. The UK Chief of the Defence staff has just said this, similar to Gen. Hillier's view and even broader in scope:

He [Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup--what a name!] warned in an interview with Sky News that bringing Afghanistan into the 21st century would engage the international community for decades...

I think that the CDS is speaking the big picture truth. That is not necessarily inconsistent with believing the Afghan National Army can take over most military responsibilities at Kandahar, and elsewhere, by 2011. Nonetheless the government and the general are clearly not singing from the same spin book.

I'm afraid the best CDS in recent memory will have to go if he cannot say the same things as his political masters, spinmeisters though they may be. Or else very clearly and honestly explain the apparent discrepancies. But it's hard to be honest in the Ottawa political and media game regardless of the party in power.

As to underlying reality, I think this comment at the CTV site by shamaro nicely puts what I've been trying to say:

Both Hillier and Harper are right, it all depends on how you look at it. Hillier is talking about having a fully trained professional military excercising their sovereignty within their own country. Harper is looking at the Afghan army being able to defend itself in those hotspots around the country. It will take many years to fully train the Afghans, that is reality, Harper is just putting a bit of a political spin about where Canada is concerned in Afghanistan.

Instant update: Gen. Hillier was just interviewed by CTV's Mike Duffy. The CDS basically implied that the 2011 date in the Throne Speech referred just to the Kandahar area (yet the speech did not say that), whereas his remarks were referring to the broader military issues noted above. I suspected that's what he might say...but will it be good enough?

Gen. Hillier did say that his minister knew where he was. Does Peter talk to Stephen?

Upperdate: The Globe and Mail has a good editorial Oct. 27.