Queen’s University political and military expert Christian Leuprecht is available to talk about the end of Canada’s military role in Afghanistan and whether or not the mission was a success.

“If the purpose was to go into Afghanistan to prevent it from becoming a base for future international terrorist attacks, then the mission was a resounding success. How many international terrorist incidents were planned in Afghanistan since 2001? None! Hence the long-standing argument that for years now we've been fighting the wrong enemy in the wrong country,” says Dr. Leuprecht, who teaches in the political studies department and is a fellow in the Queen’s Centre for International and Defence Policy. “The real question is: What sort of involvement should we continue to have in Afghanistan once we (and everyone else) scale down the troops? It currently takes US$40 billion to run Afghanistan a year of which $39 billion is provided by foreigners. The mission, however, has been costing the international community upwards of $100 billion a year. So let's not get stingy on supporting the Afghan government – corruption and other problems notwithstanding – because that's still a bargain compared to what it'll cost us if we have to send troops there again.”

Please note Christian Leuprecht is only available for phone interviews.

To arrange an interview, please contact communication officers Michael Onesi at 613.533.6000 ext. 77513 or michael.onesi@queensu.ca or Christina Archibald at 613-533-2877 or Christina.Archibald@queensu.ca at Queen’s University News and Media Services Department in Kingston, Ont., Canada.

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