Parliament narrowly backed a two-year extension of Canada’s Afghan mission to February 2009 on Wednesday, despite serious misgivings by many opposition legislators. The House of Commons voted 149-145 in favor of the motion by the minority Conservative government. It clears the way for Canada to seek a more prominent leadership role in trying to bring security to Afghanistan. A relieved Prime Minister Stephen Harper confessed to reporters afterward to having been concerned that the vote might fail, although he had pledged to go ahead with a one-year extension of the mandate regardless of the outcome. Full Story