I. Introduction

Canada reinforced essential elements of our engagement in Afghanistan during the quarter, preparing for the opportunities and challenges expected in the months to come. Work progressed on Canada’s three signature projects—school construction, rehabilitation of the Dahla Dam and its irrigation system, and polio eradication. Canadian soldiers and civilians, in concert with the United States and other partners, laid the groundwork to take best advantage of large and welcome new deployments of U.S. forces in Kandahar and across southern Afghanistan. As well, Canadians supported Afghans as they prepared for critical elections scheduled for August 20 throughout the country. All these actions were undertaken as Canadian soldiers, with Afghan and coalition forces, fought an increasingly aggressive campaign against the insurgency.

Last year, as part of a thoroughgoing transformation of the Canadian Afghan mission, we introduced benchmarks by which Parliament and Canadians can assess progress in each of our six mission priorities. In this quarterly report we include revisions to several of the benchmarks. In some cases these changes add new or more precise targets; in other cases they respond in practical ways to changed circumstances in Afghanistan. We note all the revisions in the following pages, and they are spelled out clearly in the Appendix. In another innovation, we have added fuller reporting in the Appendix on progress to date under each benchmark, to show results since 2008 along with regular quarter-to-quarter outcomes. These progress-to-date results will appear in our reports, once a year.

This quarterly report addresses Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan from April 1 to
June 30, 2009. The next report will cover the quarter ending September 30.