The new secretary-general of NATO says he would "regret" seeing Ottawa end its Afghan mission in two years time, and that having a stable Afghanistan is in Canada's best interest.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen took over the reins of NATO at the start of the week, and has been touring the war-torn part of southern Afghanistan in recent days.
On Thursday, Rasmussen visited both the NATO base and the village of Deh-e-Bagh -- a high profile Canadian project located in Kandahar province -- after which he was asked by reporters about his feelings on the Canadians ending their mission in 2011.
"Of course I'm not going to interfere with domestic politics in individual allied nations, but seen from an alliance point of view, I would strongly regret if that became the final outcome of the Canadian considerations," Rasmussen said.
"At the end of the day it is a question of our own security -- we cannot allow Afghanistan once again to become a safe haven for terrorists -- and I also think it is in Canada's interest to ensure a peaceful and stable Afghanistan."
Canada's foreign affairs minister, Lawrence Cannon, responded that the NATO secretary general's comments are "an acknowledgement of the great work Canada has done in Kandahar."
"However, our government is abiding by the motion passed in Parliament in 2008. That is: our combat forces will leave by 2011. We're staying the course," Cannon said.
The NATO leader was accompanied by U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO soldier in Afghanistan, and Canadian Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, the commander of Canada's troops in the country.
Rasmussen said its up to each NATO nation to make its own decision on how to contribute to the mission.
"What I can do, is to encourage alliance members to do their utmost to ensure continued solidarity within our alliance," Rasmussen told reporters.
He also said that a military solution is not the answer for Afghanistan.
"This is exactly the approach we will pursue in the coming years," Ramussen said, while touring Deh-e-Bagh, which has been touted as a model, peaceful Afghan village.
"Obviously we need to strengthen military efforts to improve the security situation, but we also have to realize that there is no military solution solely. So, we have in parallel with our military efforts, to step up our endeavours concerning civilian reconstruction and this project is an example of how we will do it in the future."
Omar El Akkad, a reporter with The Globe and Mail, was present for Rasmussen's remarks.
He said Rasmussen's remarks were off-the-cuff and seemed to paint a picture of regret over Canada's decision.
"Of course, he chose his words very carefully, but he essentially said: 'You know, from an Alliance point of view, I would strongly regret it if that became the final decision, Canada's final decision,'" he told 愛污传媒 Channel during a phone interview from Kandahar on Thursday.
Military analyst Mercedes Stephenson told 愛污传媒 Channel that the NATO chief's comments shouldn't be considered a surprise.
"We should have been expecting this because we are really doing a fantastic job with a small number of troops," she said. "Canadians have an excellent reputation . . . there."
"We have been punching above our weight in Kandahar."
Canada has lost 127 soldiers in Afghanistan, and has by far the highest casualty rate among NATO nations there.
Some 45,000 NATO troops will be in the south part of Afghanistan for the national elections that will take place later this month.
Canada's mission to Afghanistan is scheduled to end at the end of 2011. Dutch troops will begin to leave the country the year before, in July 2010.
