# Brit think tank analyst:  Why Canada ended up in Kandahar



## The Bread Guy (9 Jan 2013)

> .... In this article I first argue that Kandahar was in large measure the product of powerful forces brought into being by political decisions in NATO. Those decisions, such as that leading NATO to assume leadership of the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in mid-2003, entailed binding commitments on national governments, whose maturation, though it could take years, was almost inescapable. Second, I demonstrate that Canadian mission preferences had less to do with Kandahar or any other Afghan province per se, and more to do with experience gained from past deployments, notably in the Balkans. These preferences coalesced into a virtual policy that required any Canadian contribution to meet a number of precise conditions, and Kandahar was one of few provinces that allowed for doing so. Third, I show that Kandahar was also the result of long and extensive talks between Canadian officials and their NATO allies – the Dutch and especially the British. The talks, for the most part informal andexploratory (in the sense that no side had a set agenda), were integral to the gradual development of a plan aligned with Canadian priorities. Without partnership with Great Britain, Canada’s deployment might never have happened.
> 
> ( .... )
> 
> ...


Canadian International Council, 8 Jan 13

About the author:


> Matthew Willis is a Research Associate at RUSI where he focuses on the Arctic as a region of emerging strategic importance. His research involves historical, political and commercial trends in the Arctic, with a particular interest in the policies of the coastal states. Matthew's secondary focus is NATO's campaign in southern Afghanistan, especially the policy process behind Alliance-members' Stage 3 deployments and the campaign's subsequent development. In addition to his main research interests, Matthew has also worked on and managed RUSI projects in North Africa and the Middle East and works closely with the Institute's Qatar office. Matthew completed his Bachelor's degree at the University of Toronto, where his dissertation examined Canadian Arctic foreign policy in a historical perspective. He also studied at the Sorbonne and completed his Master's at the London School of Economics and Political Science.


----------

