Senior government officials from three departments offered journalists a background briefing on Afghanistan today.

The 90-minute session was considered off the record and all quotes were to be attributed to "senior government officials."

Typically, this kind of caveat protects the "senior government officials" from being held personally accountable for what they say.

Of course, the no-names policy didn't apply to journalists.

Posted near the door of the briefing room, a "junior government official" was collecting the names of journalists on their way in.

This was the fourth such briefing the government has held on Afghanistan.

All of them have featured "senior government officials," each describing the work Canadian forces or aid workers are doing in Afghanistan. And each time, these same officials have told journalists that things are going well in that country.

They say the security situation is improving, that more aid is being delivered to Afghans, that more kids are in school and that there are more teachers. They also like to point out that the Afghan National Army is being better trained, but that the Afghan National Police force still needs work.

Each time, however, officials have cautioned that even though things are going well, there's still more important work for Canada to do.

In addition to the three senior government officials speaking today, a cabinet minister was on hand to answer some questions as well.

International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda had just returned from Afghanistan and had been in the country the same day the Afghan government announced it would execute 15 criminals.

Asked about the executions, Oda raised a few eyebrows: "We respect the decision of the Afghan government," she said, before referring all questions on the subject to the minister of foreign affairs, who wasn't in attendance.