Prime Minister Stephen Harper is going to visit Canadian soliders in the field, mess tent and command centre in Afghanistan on Monday.

He arrived there Sunday on a carefully planned and closely guarded surprise visit to show support for Canadian troops and diplomatic staff.

"These are a great bunch of men and women doing a tough job," the prime minister said shortly after landing in the southern city of Kandahar, where the Canadian force is based.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper chats with Brig.-Gen. David Fraser (right) upon Harper's arrival in Kandahar on Sunday. (CP PHOTO/Tom Hanson)
Prime Minister Stephen Harper chats with Brig.-Gen. David Fraser (right) upon Harper's arrival in Kandahar on Sunday. (CP PHOTO/Tom Hanson)

"We want to make sure they understand their government and the population is behind them."

Harper met several dozen soldiers at the airfield, but will see and talk to many more on Monday.

His schedule includes breakfast with soldiers at the base, a visit to an engineer's compound where he will see damaged vehicles, a trip to the tactical headquarters that is monitoring a major Canadian push into Taliban territory, and a speech to an estimated 1,000 soldiers.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with Canadian troops in Kandahar on March 12, 2006.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with Canadian troops in Kandahar on March 12, 2006.

He is expected to remain in Afghanistan until mid-week.

Protecting the national interest

Harper told reporters accompanying him that the Canadian force in the country serves the national interest because:

  • International terrorism is rooted in the country. "It was in Afghanistan that Sept. 11 started."
  • The country is a major source of narcotics, which have a terrible impact on Canada.
  • It shows Canada providing international leadership and humanitarian aid.
It was the prime minister's first official visit abroad since his Conservative party won the parliamentary election in January.

"I thought it was fitting that my first foreign trip would be to go there and lend obvious support," he said.

"If we are going to send them into harm's way, we should be prepared to go there and support them in what they do."

Media sworn to news blackout

The entire Harper visit was arranged with a close eye on security and secrecy. Every journalist travelling with the prime minister had to agree not to reveal news of the visit before 6 p.m. EST on Sunday.

Media organizations were notified late Friday. The flight left early Saturday, refueled in Croatia and then headed on to Islamabad, Pakistan, where the passengers transferred Canadian Hercules aircraft.

"We've been planning this for some time, but we made the final decision [to go] about a week ago," Harper told reporters.

Accepts risks of the trip

Harper said his officials had been "fairly careful about information" for security reasons.

He said he accepted any risks that might come with heading into a combat zone.

Mission shouldn't be debated, Harper says

Still, the visit comes amid debate at home about the mission and the loss of Canadian lives in the region.

Canada currently has about 2,300 troops in the country. On Feb. 28, Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser assumed control over the multinational force responsible for southern Afghanistan.

Since early 2002, 10 Canadian soldiers and a diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan and another 26 Canadian soldiers have been injured.

Harper said "the debate over deployment is over," no matter what surveys of public opinion may suggest.

"I think you can have an opinion poll that shows anything.

"Canadians are always behind our troops wherever they go. And I think the more they understand about the mission and all the things we're doing here, the more support they'll have for the work we're doing."