Your Thoughts: Should Canadian troops stay in Afghanistan?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will announce within two weeks Canada's future role in Afghanistan — which could include the deployment of hundreds of Canadian soldiers to train and assist Afghan security forces, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Sunday.

MacKay said Canada would end its five-year combat mission in Kandahar province next July, in accordance with the wishes of Parliament.

But he also said Canada was under pressure from allies in Afghanistan to maintain a military presence, and that a new mission focused on training local army and police forces is a possible option.

Although he declined to pinpoint specific numbers, MacKay said "in the range of 400" troops could be deployed on a training mission.

"We've been crystal clear in saying that the combat mission will end in July of this year," said MacKay, speaking to reporters at the end of an international gathering of defence and security experts in Halifax.

"But training is an option, and something we've (already) been very good at, quite frankly.

"We all know the focus in Afghanistan is on transition — giving Afghans the ability to do many of the things we do for them, including military, police, security. That transition that all countries (with operations in Afghanistan) are going through is certainly something Canada is contemplating, and we should have more about that as we get closer to Lisbon."

Harper is expected to represent Canada at a meeting of the NATO alliance in Lisbon, Portugal, in two weeks.

"The prime minister will have more to say about it," said MacKay.

He emphasized that any future role for Canadian soldiers would be "behind the wire, outside of Kandahar, and it would involve further training."

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