Canada's chief of defence staff denied Friday that he is at odds with the Conservative government over the required length of Canada's mission in Afghanistan, saying there is "no difference of opinion whatsoever."

Gen. Rick Hillier's latest comments come a day after his apparent contradiction of the Tories' position taken in the throne speech.

Liberal deputy leader Michael Ignatieff slams Tory 'bungling' of the Afghan mission in the House of Commons on Friday.
(Sean Kilpatrick/ Canadian Press)

"I get my direction from the government of Canada," Hillier told the CBC's Don Newman on Friday in Ottawa after returning from a three-day tour of Kandahar.

"I talked to the prime minister and I am absolutely clear on where he wants to go and what he needs, and I am absolutely in line with that. Otherwise, I wouldn't be his chief of defence staff."

Hillier told reporters in Kandahar on Thursday that the training of the Afghan army to a point where the forces could take charge of the country's security would take "10 years or so."

The Conservatives' throne speech — which survived a vote of confidence in the House of Commons after the Liberals abstained — stated that the objective of training the Afghan army and police "should be achievable by 2011."

"The speech from the throne was crystal clear about government intentions and we wait to get direction from the government of Canada," Hillier said Friday. "What I talked about in the long-term was merely the continuation of a professional military force."

While Hillier praised Afghan soldiers as "top notch," he said it takes about three years to train a single battalion of about 500 to 600 troops, and so far training for two battalions of Afghan soldiers has been completed.

Canada's current military role as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is set to expire in February 2009, which the general said was not enough time to ensure Afghan forces will be prepared to assume full responsibility in volatile areas such as Kandahar province.

"I'll be very clear: we're not going to be finished that train-up by February 2009," Hillier told the CBC's Newman.

"If we are not going to continue that role and shift as much weight into that as we can, that Afghan National Army combat brigade in the south and the police forces around it will not be ready to lead the operations by themselves by February 2009."

Opposition MPs blast Harper

Earlier Friday during question period, opposition MPs assailed the Harper government over the apparent difference in messages between Canada's civilian and military leaders.

Liberal deputy leader Michael Ignatieff said the Tories had a long history of "bungling" the Afghan mission and demanded to know if the government still believed the 2011 training target was feasible.

"Who is in charge?" Ignatieff asked. "Our troops deserve better. They deserve competent leadership. When will the prime minister provide it?"

Speaking for the government in Harper's absence, House leader Peter Van Loan dismissed questions over the discrepancy, but acknowledged that building up the capacity of the Afghan security forces is "obviously going to take time."

Van Loan did not refer to Hillier's comments, but said the government stood by the case it laid out in the Oct. 16 throne speech for a two-year extension of Canada's military role in the NATO-led mission.

The government was also awaiting a report from the panel chaired by former Liberal deputy prime minister John Manley on the future of Canada's role in Afghanistan, he added.

Van Loan insisted all members would get to vote on extending the mission, as they did in May 2006. "Parliament will decide," he said.

PMO 'fuming' over Hillier comments: NDP defence critic

Liberal MP Scott Brison praised Hillier as "a real soldier who dares to tell the truth" and accused the prime minister of misleading Canadians.

"Who is telling the truth — Canada's top soldier or Canada's top spinner?" Brison asked.

NDP defence critic Dawn Black, whose party has called for the immediate withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan, said Hillier's and the Tories' "wildly different" assessments have left the prime minister's office "fuming."

"There's nothing the Conservatives hate more than a script they haven't written," Black said.

She added it also raised questions over whether elected civilians are truly in charge of the Afghan mission.

It is not the first time the outspoken Hillier has crossed wires with the government's message on the Afghanistan mission.

The Newfoundland-born general is viewed as highly popular among the rank-and-file of Canada's military, but has reportedly irked the government by outshining his political masters and undermining former defence minister Gordon O'Connor, who was shuffled out of the portfolio in August.

Earlier this month, the prime minister dismissed speculation his government was planning to oust Hillier from his post, instead praising the general as "an outstanding soldier."

Canada has about 2,500 soldiers in Afghanistan, most of them stationed in the volatile south.

Seventy-one Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2002.