TOM PARRY:
Riding along on Harper's mystery tour
March 12, 2006 | More from Tom Parry
Tom Parry is a reporter with CBC Radio's parliamentary bureau in Ottawa who is travelling with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his visit to Afghanistan. Parry has reported from the country on many occasions, spending close to three months there in total.
The calls went out on Friday night. Broadcast networks, wire services, newspapers all contacted their correspondents with an assignment. It was a prime minister's trip, they were told. No one could say where Stephen Harper was going, but the word was he'd be back in the country by the middle of the following week.
Most people put two and two together. Harper was going to Afghanistan. But no one could say it.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) told people to report to the government hangar at the Ottawa airport – Hangar 11, as it's called – at 8 a.m. Saturday. That morning, a fleet of taxis ferried folks to the rendezvous point. There was the usual chitchat among the reporters and PMO types. But much of the morning's wait in the private airport lounge was spent trying to guess a route and itinerary that would take the prime minister to Afghanistan.
Some people figured he would stop in Britain, or maybe Germany. Then he might fly straight into Kabul or possibly to Islamabad. The PMO people weren't saying. Wait until you're on the plane, they said. And really, what other choice was there? Everyone piled into the Canadian Forces Airbus carrying suitcases and equipment. Harper boarded the plane and pretty soon it was taxiing down the runway. In a few minutes, the plane was airborne.
Once the plane was away and everyone was out of contact with the rest of the world, the prime minister's director of communications, Sandra Buckler, came back to speak to reporters. Buckler said the plane would be flying to Zagreb, Croatia. There would be a refuelling stop, then it was on to Islamabad.
After that, the prime minister, his officials and the media would all board a Canadian Forces Hercules and fly the last hour or so into Kandahar.
Buckler also told reporters the prime minister would speak to them and he strolled back within minutes. Harper said the Afghanistan trip had been in the works for a while, but a final decision was made a week earlier. Harper described the Afghan mission as the most important operation that Canada's military had undertaken in decades. That, he said, was why he decided this would be his first foreign trip as prime minister.
Harper also talked about the debate in Canada over whether the Afghan deployment is the right thing to do. Harper said that, as far as his government is concerned, the debate over the mission is over. At the same time, though, he said he was making the trip in part to build support for the mission back in Canada.
The flight was long, more than 16 hours in total to get to Islamabad. While reporters now knew their destination, they still didn't know what Harper would be doing once he landed in Kandahar. We were told to wait for that information, too.
Again, what choice was there? The flight went from daylight, to night, to daylight again. People on the plane woke up after a few cramped hours of sleep and looked out their windows over the brownish green landscape of Pakistan.
The plane landed and rolled up next to a Canadian Forces Hercules transport plane. Near the airport, coloured kites flew in the air. The air was hot and thick. Armed soldiers patrolled the tarmac. Beside the Herc, armoured vests and helmets were lined up on the ground for everyone getting on board. Kandahar, everyone was reminded, was a combat zone.
With a few minutes to kill, some people chatted with the captain of the Herc that would be taking everyone into Afghanistan. Turns out the plane was 43 years old and had about 43,000 hours of flying time. These are the planes that are often in the media for breakdowns. The trip now seemed to have an added element of danger.
People donned their vests and helmets and climbed aboard. Journalists and PMO officials sat on the hard benches in the cargo hold of the plane. The prime minister sat in relative comfort in the cockpit. Despite its age, the plane started and flew just fine. There were a few bumps but overall it was a smooth flight.
The plane touched down in Kandahar and the crew opened up the big back door. The sky was the colour of sand. A smallish dust storm had blown into town. People disembarked and waited for the prime minister.
Canada's top soldier, the chief of defence staff, was on the tarmac to greet Harper as he got off the plane. Gen. Rick Hillier offered some glowing words about the importance of the prime minister's visit. Harper talked about the important work that Canadian soldiers were doing and mentioned how desolate he found the landscape as he flew in.
After meeting with a few troops, Harper disappeared. Reporters later found out later that he had toured an operations centre, but were told the big day would be Monday. Harper is to tour the base, speak to troops and do other things which – for security reasons – no one is supposed to know about. It's supposed to be a big day.
But we'll have to wait to find out the details. What choice do we have?
^TOP
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