Father of dead N.S. soldier reflects on Taliban talks

The father of a Nova Scotian killed in Afghanistan says he has mixed emotions as the United States and the Taliban set the stage for peace talks

The two sides will meet this week after 12 years of bloody and costly war between NATO led forces and the insurgents.

The Afghanistan government doesn't want any part of the talks, and the move had mixed reviews in Canada.

Jim Davis said he questions if the loss of life in Afghanistan was all in vain. His son was killed in Kandahar in 2006.

"Paul understood why he was going and what he was up against; fighting for the women of Afghanistan," Davis said in Halifax.

"At Pauls funeral an Afghan family came to his funeral to thank me for his sacrifice and to give me their condolences. They had just arrived in this country, they couldnt speak English, they had to talk to me through an interpreter, but I could look into their eyes, their faces and I could see their pain and suffering. And thats when I knew why my Paul had to die in a foreign country," he said.

Davis said there will be a lot of questions and doubt if a negotiated peace deal comes about. He points to the deal North Korea made and what it is costing the world 60 years later.

"Thats my fear in Afghanistan. The enemy is not defeated. We havent broken the enemys back," he said.

Click on the video linkfor more from Stephen Puddicombes interview.