Close X
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canada Sending Several Dozen Military Advisers To Iraq As NATO Ramps Up Defences

Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press, 05 Sep, 2014 12:34 PM
    NEWPORT, United Kingdom - Prime Minister Stephen Harper quietly bowed out of the NATO Summit on Friday, announcing a commitment of military advisers for Iraq but skipping a photo-op meant as a display of solidarity in the face of growing international threats in eastern Europe and the Middle East.
     
    Other leaders joked and chatted as transport planes and a flight of fighter jets — including a Canadian CF-18 — swooped low over the rolling Welsh countryside in a demonstration of military precision meant as a signal to both a resurgent Russia and Islamic extremists.
     
    Harper didn't attend, but instead sat down with a handful of his officials in the nearby meeting hall before the morning session, which was meant to put the finishing touches on NATO plans to respond to Russian aggression in Ukraine.
     
    Before his departure, Harper announced the 30-day deployment of several dozen military advisers to Iraq to work with U.S. forces providing tactical guidance to Iraqi troops and Kurdish fighters battling the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, a brutal al-Qaida splinter group.
     
    Those advisers are expected to be drawn from the Canadian Special Operations Regiment. Two Canadian military cargo planes are also ferrying weapons to the Kurds.
     
    The prime minister said the new deployment is not without risk, but it's not a combat mission, something for which the Conservatives have traditionally sought the blessing of Parliament.
     
    He also signalled very clearly that it's not the end of allied action, and that Canada would evaluate further participation as events unfold.
     
    "The measures taken to date, particularly in the north of Iraq, have certainly been successful in halting the advance of ISIL and to some degree pushing back on it," Harper said. "But this is far from truly turning back the advance of ISIL or diminishing its long-term threat."
     
    The allies are also considering further sanctions on Russia, which Canada fully supports, he added.
     
    Despite being one of the harshest critics of President Vladimir Putin's actions, the prime minister was not part of a Thursday meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko convened by the U.S., Britain, Germany, Italy and France.
     
    Harper later met separately with Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose opening remarks on Friday underlined another sore point, a call for NATO members to increase defence spending to a consistent level.
     
    "We must increase capacity," Cameron said. "I hope today we can reaffirm our public commitment to spend two per cent of our GDP in defence and 20 per cent of that money on equipment. This will send a strong message to those who threaten us that our collective resolve is as strong as ever."
     
    Harper resisted the call even before the summit, with his staff declaring it an "arbitrary target" while the prime minister told a British business audience that a nation should be measured by its contribution, not by how much it spends.
     
    The defence budget will increase, as will the tempo of operations for the military, he said on Friday.
     
    "I don't, in any area of government, set a budget and say we'll spend a certain amount and go out and try to spend it no matter how we can spend it," Harper said during his only question-and-answer session with Canadian journalists.
     
    "That's not how we do business and I'm certainly not going spend on a massive military expansion for the sake of doing so. As I say, our allies can be assured and are assured that Canada will spend what is necessary."
     
    NATO rolled out plans Friday to bolster its rapid reaction forces, which will be capable of deploying to countries under Russian threat within days. The alliance's military leaders are still working out the details, including a spearhead force of ultra-high readiness troops.
     
    Harper made no immediate commitment to this effort, saying he has seen "very little in the way of detail." He said he wants to see plans take shape before deciding to spend money on them.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Inquiry into deadly mall collapse to report Oct. 15 in Elliot Lake, Ont.

    Inquiry into deadly mall collapse to report Oct. 15 in Elliot Lake, Ont.
    TORONTO - The public inquiry into a deadly mall collapse in northern Ontario will issue its final report next month.

    Inquiry into deadly mall collapse to report Oct. 15 in Elliot Lake, Ont.

    'I lived out my life's dream:' Canadian cowboy finishes long ride from Calgary to hometown in Brazil

    'I lived out my life's dream:' Canadian cowboy finishes long ride from Calgary to hometown in Brazil
    A Canadian cowboy who has completed a 16,000-kilometre horseback journey to Brazil says he was overcome with emotion at trail's end.

    'I lived out my life's dream:' Canadian cowboy finishes long ride from Calgary to hometown in Brazil

    New Democrats call on director of public prosecutions to review Duffy case

    New Democrats call on director of public prosecutions to review Duffy case
    The NDP is asking Canada's director of public prosecutions to look at the evidence collected by the RCMP in the Mike Duffy case to determine if charges should be laid against other people as well.

    New Democrats call on director of public prosecutions to review Duffy case

    NATO struggles to define collective defence in the age of cyberwarfare

    NATO struggles to define collective defence in the age of cyberwarfare
    Keystrokes could soon replace Kalashnikovs as the harbinger of future wars once NATO leaders endorse an updated policy that places catastrophic cyberattacks in the same league as real-world bombs and bullets.

    NATO struggles to define collective defence in the age of cyberwarfare

    Labour Dispute Between Teachers And B.C. Government Keeps Public Schools Closed

    Labour Dispute Between Teachers And B.C. Government Keeps Public Schools Closed
    Public school students across British Columbia were shut out of the classroom on Tuesday as a bitter dispute between the province's striking teachers and the government continued into the new school year.

    Labour Dispute Between Teachers And B.C. Government Keeps Public Schools Closed

    Labour Day Parade In Toronto: Tom Mulcair Has Harsh Words For Stephen Harper, Justin Trudeau

    Labour Day Parade In Toronto: Tom Mulcair Has Harsh Words For Stephen Harper, Justin Trudeau
    TORONTO - Thousands of people marched Monday in Toronto's annual Labour Day Parade to show their support for local unions, with more than 30 labour organizations taking part in the festivities.

    Labour Day Parade In Toronto: Tom Mulcair Has Harsh Words For Stephen Harper, Justin Trudeau