A debate on whether Canadian troops should be in Afghanistan would put the troops in danger, and any attempt to pull them back would be a betrayal, says Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Harper, speaking after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, stressed that the previous Liberal government committed the troops to their Afghan mission, which has proved deadly in recent weeks, and that the Conservatives will honour the commitment.

"I'm saying that Canadians don't cut and run at the first sign of trouble," he told reporters. "That's the nature of this country, and when we send troops into the field, I expect Canadians to support those troops."

Stephen Harper, speaking in Ottawa, wants Canadians to support troops in Afghanistan. (CP photo)
Stephen Harper, speaking in Ottawa, wants Canadians to support troops in Afghanistan. (CP photo)

He repeatedly rejected the idea of a debate and said his government will not make decisions based on opinion polls.

"I understand the frustrations," he said. "Perhaps the previous government should have had a vote on the deployment, but that was not their decision. The decision was taken and we can't change our opinion when the troops are in danger."

He did not say why a debate in Canada would put soldiers at risk in Afghanistan, but he stressed it is "a very dangerous mission.

"It's not the intention of this government to question the particular commitment when our troops are in danger," he said. "Such a debate or such a lack of strength by any of the political parties in Canada will merely weaken the resolve of our troops and will even put our troops in even more danger."

However, he left open the possibility that Canada would pull back from the mission at some point.

"The exact involvement of our commitment does change every year or so, depending on what obligations we take on or don't take on, and we'll be reviewing those obligations at the appropriate times in the future.

"But as I say, we will not be in any way backtracking from an obligation which has been undertaken."

To do so, he said, "would not only not be in the best interests of Canada's international reputation or of our obligation to the people of Afghanistan and to the international community, it would be a betrayal of the men and women, the brave men and women we have in the field.

"So we will not be revisiting any decisions until the time when those decisions would normally come up for review."

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, speaking to reporters separately, said he is willing to brief Parliament about the Afghan situation, but he declined to get into a debate about whether there should be a debate.

"I would bring this forward to the House to explain our mission, why we're there, where it's going, etc., and there would be input. That's all I've said."