A quick scan of the five parties' campaign websites following the election announcement suggested that none was interested in making foreign policy a defining issue in their campaigns, and for good reason.

The Conservatives and Liberals reached a consensus on the immediate future of the mission in Afghanistan, making it difficult for either one to claim a uniquely superior vision of Canada's external role. Indeed, since the election campaign has begun, both parties have reiterated their commitment to pulling our troops out of Khandahar by 2011 (announcements, it should be noted, that created only passing headlines).
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Canadians are largely uninformed about their country's actions abroad and, as a result, lack the visceral attachment to foreign policy necessary to mobilize them to vote for a particular candidate or party. Historically, even the national commitment to foreign aid, one which appears to be so tightly tied to our national values, has been compromised with ease in times of domestic economic difficulties.

Ignore them...until they kill 3000 of your citizens in one attack...yea...sounds good to me.

I think you can talk to them, use your precious diplomacy...then when that does not work...kill them.

No, we should finish what we started. For one thing, it's too late to debate whether or not we should go there because we already are there. Well now that we're there, let's not do the job half-assed.
For another thing, if we did decide to pull out and the country tore itself to pieces all over again, doesn't it also stand to reason that everybody in that nation would have a lot more reason to hate the West and Canada that much more ?

Maybe the Afghan people embrace democracy. Maybe the Afghan people reject democracy. Frankly, for most people in that country this is the break they needed to choose for themselves what they want. They can elect a dictator once we're gone and turn the whole place into some sort of concentration camp if that's what they want. What's important for us though is that we didn't leave them in the lurch or throw them back to the wolves

The comments from some about the election in Spain neglect the fact that Spain has a large Muslim population, and that is where the anti war protests they brign up were coming from. No surprise there. The point about Spain's experience has validity though - will Canadians give in as Spain did?

What concerns me is, given that we already have terrorists living here in Canada, or using Canada to travel to the US as they have, what if terrorists try to back up this threat with action?

There are so many differences between the Canada situation and the Spain situation the comparison is ridiculous.

Also, why the hell would Terrorists travel to the USA from Canada?

If we leave it up to spineless quislings like Layton,

There are enough similarities the comparison is apropos. I don't expect you to see that, given your mindset. Rest assured however, that people with far more experience in these sorts of things do see it and have been concerned about it, and are looking into it - I reference the RCMP and CSIS to name two, so we won't have to worry that anyone in our government with a similar mindset to yours is missing anything we might need to know about.

You usually don't miss the point, but you certainly did here.
FACT: terrorists have demonstrated that they will use terror to affect elections.
FACT: they have made threats towards Canada.

The taliban have released a statement,about canadian elections,declaring that our next choice of government,could result in more deaths for canadians

Why is Canada at war with Afghanistan? What is the mission?

Ostensibly the reason for the invasion was to capture Osama Bin Laden, the unproven perpetrator of the second 911.

If it is a threat, which government do these terrorists suggest we elect?

The NDP are probably the party most favoured by the Taliban. An NDP government would pull the troops out of Afghanistan in a heartbeat and would probably disband or severely cripple the military if given the chance.

The Liberals would be their second choice; the party is less pacifistic but more politically viable than the NDP. The Liberals would probably scale back direct support to security in Afghanistan, and they have a record of neglecting the military. Mainly, I think that the Taliban is opposed to the Conservatives, the party most likely to stand up to terrorism.

Yussef said he's familiar with Prime Minister Stephen Harper but isn't sure about the other candidates or parties running in the Canadian election.

While he doesn't know which party is most likely to withdraw Canadian troops from Afghanistan, Yussef said such a platform will be "good for that party and for their nation and for the Canadian people."

Considering the liberals were the one who authorized the invasion in the first place,