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OTTAWA – The United States will ask Canada to keep as many as 600 troops in Afghanistan after the Canadian military mission there ends in 2011, the Globe and Mail newspaper said on Thursday.
The paper, citing unidentified sources, said the troops would serve as military trainers and would be most likely based in Kabul. The U.S. request would come through NATO, it added.
Although Ottawa says it will withdraw all 2,800 soldiers serving in the violent southern Afghan city of Kandahar, Washington has been pressing Canada behind the scenes to show more flexibility.
The chief spokesman for Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The minority Conservative government has made clear that Parliament will have the last word on any proposed deployment of troops abroad. Parliament adopted a resolution in 2008 saying that the combat mission would end by December 2011.
The government would need the support of at least one opposition party to approve an extension. The main opposition Liberals are the most likely choice but there is no guarantee they would agree to the U.S. request.
So far 140 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan and polls show public support for the mission is fading.
The paper, citing unidentified sources, said the troops would serve as military trainers and would be most likely based in Kabul. The U.S. request would come through NATO, it added.
Although Ottawa says it will withdraw all 2,800 soldiers serving in the violent southern Afghan city of Kandahar, Washington has been pressing Canada behind the scenes to show more flexibility.
The chief spokesman for Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The minority Conservative government has made clear that Parliament will have the last word on any proposed deployment of troops abroad. Parliament adopted a resolution in 2008 saying that the combat mission would end by December 2011.
The government would need the support of at least one opposition party to approve an extension. The main opposition Liberals are the most likely choice but there is no guarantee they would agree to the U.S. request.
So far 140 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan and polls show public support for the mission is fading.
