Canada's plan for Afghanistan criticized

OTTAWA, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Canada's top military officer has criticized a proposal to end all of his country's combat efforts in Afghanistan by February 2009.

Gen. Rick Hillier said Friday that limiting the combat efforts of the Canadian military in the Afghan capital of Kandahar to just training is an unrealistic goal given the current circumstances in Afghanistan, the Canwest News Service reported.

"If you're in Kandahar, this is the home of the Taliban," he said. "If you're in Kandahar, and you have soldiers on the ground, you are going to be attacked by the Taliban. You simply are going to be in the middle of it."

Hillier also criticized Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's plan to move the country's military forces to a less violent portion of Afghanistan.

"The logic of just picking that up and moving it somewhere else and having any effect for some years is just not there," Hillier said.