Canada's mission in Afghanistan: Was it worth it?

Monday marked the official end of the Canada's mission in Afghanistan. On Saturday, Afghans will go to the polls in a crucial presidential election.

But what future did Canada shed so much blood to secure?

On a special edition of CBC News Networks' Power & Politics, that question is explored by an array of key players, including Gen. Dean Miller, Canada's last commander in Afghanistan, and his Afghan counterpart, Gen. AhmedHabibi.

• Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism: Chris Alexander
• Video: Former Afghan translator's goal: To run for president
• Video: Peter MacKay's regrets over the war in Afghanistan

Journalist and writer Graham Smith talked to host Evan Solomon from Kabul, where, Smith argues, the war was lost.

Other guests include Chris Alexander, Canada's former ambassador to Afghanistan and now immigration minister, and Justice Minister Peter MacKay, who served as minister of defence for several years, and panels of experts, diplomats and journalists who covered the war, its effects and its cost all in front of a live studio audience, many of whom have a close connection to Afghanistan and the conflict.

Watch the full two-hour special edition of Power & Politics above and read more of our in-depth material on Afghanistan and the war below, as well as a graphic from The Canadian Press.

• Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan: a video timeline
• Special report: Afghanistan
• The faces of Canada's casualties in Afghanistan
• Canada's mission in Afghanistan formally ends, CBC readers weigh in

Mobile users, view the Afghanistan graphic here.