He means it this time

The Prime Minister makes his latest statement of certainty on the mission in Afghanistan.

“The end date is firm and final,” he said. “Canada will not have a military mission in Afghanistan after March, 2014.”

NATO secretary-general had told reporters Sunday he wanted Canada to extend the training mission. Mr. Harper said he wished it could end sooner, but 2014 was the earliest feasible date. He said he believed it’s important to press ahead with withdrawing foreign forces from the country. His judgment, he said, is “that the longer a foreign intervention stays, eventually, the less likely its success becomes.”

See previously: A short history of the Harper government changing its mind on the mission in Afghanistan