Harper says 2011 'end date' for Afghanistan mission

'The mission, as we've known it, we intend to end,' PM tells reporters
A decade at war is enough, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said on Wednesday. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)
Canada will withdraw the bulk of its military forces in Afghanistan as scheduled in 2011, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper pledged on Wednesday, saying the Afghan government "at some point has to be able to be primarily responsible" for the country's security.
Speaking to reporters at a breakfast briefing in Toronto, Harper said the Canadian public has no appetite to keep soldiers in the war-torn country any longer than the pullout date agreed on by Parliament.
"You have to put an end date on these things," Harper said.
He added that while Canada's military leaders have not acknowledged it publicly, a decade of war is enough.
"By 2011, we will have been in Kandahar, which is probably the toughest province in the country, for six years," Harper said.
"Not only have we done our bit at that point, I think our goal has to be after six years to see the government of Afghanistan able to carry the lion's share of responsibility for its own security.
"At that point, the mission, as we've known it, we intend to end."

Troops would stay 'in some technical capacities'
The Tory government, supported by the Liberals, extended the military mission in Kandahar province to 2011 earlier this year, with a shift to emphasize the mission's priorities to reconstruction and development in the region.