We're staying

It wasn't pretty, and it didn't show a whole lot of respect for Parliament, but I have to admit Harper got the job done with his sudden decision to put the question of extending the Afghanistan mission to the House. It was brinksmanship of the highest -- and lowest -- order, and thank God it passed, in the end. So we're committed for another two years, meaning Canada will be in a position to take command of the Kandahar operation next year, and the whole NATO-led shooting match come 2008. Harper delivered -- technically -- on his pledge to give Parliament a say in such matters, even if he had previously insisted that a vote was not necessary in the case of an extension of an existing mission (and indeed declared in debate that the mission would continue for one year even if Parliament did not approve). At any rate, he can now say Parliament has spoken, robbing opponents of the mission of a potential rallying point next February, when the current tour was supposed to expire. Best of all, he has flushed out the Liberals, exposing the divisions within their ranks. Only 30 Grits voted to continue the mission that they themselves had launched. Among the Liberal leadership contenders, only two -- Michael Ignatieff and Scott Brison -- voted with the government. The rest either voted against -- Dion, Fry, Bennett, Bevilacqua, Dryden and Volpe -- or say they would have (Rae and Kennedy -- not sure about Martha Hall Findlay). Ignatieff, as he has been throughout this debate, was exemplary:

During the debate, Michael Ignatieff -- one of the frontrunners for the Liberal leadership and a bullish supporter of the Afghanistan mission -- supported extending the mission. "I express unequivocal support for the troops in Afghanistan, for the mission, and also for the renewal of the mission," he said. Ignatieff argued that Canada must shift from a "peace-keeping paradigm" to one that "combines military, reconstruction and humanitarian efforts together." However, he said his support was conditional on the mission equally combining these three elements.

If only his rivals could summon such clarity.