Published in the Monday, February 9, 2016 Ottawa Citizen - NP Section
Mission meets coalition’s needs, U.S. envoy says
"IF YOU THINK CANADA IS A FREE RIDER BECAUSE WE ARE NOT PARTICIPATING ANYMORE TO THE AIRSTRIKES, THEN GERMANY IS A FREE RIDER. AND ITALY. AND ABOUT 50 MEMBERS OF THE COALITION. THIS IS NOT THE CASE." — FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER STÉPHANE DION
The U.S. has headed off a potential controversy by giving the Liberal government a thumbs-up over its plan to stop bombing ISIL in Iraq and Syria, and instead concentrate on military training, diplomacy and aid.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the new mission Monday, as Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan prepared to travel to a NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels. The plan includes tripling the number of troops training Kurdish forces in northern Iraq to 200, while ending the bombing campaign by Feb. 22.
There had been fears the U.S. and other allies would react negatively to the plan to withdraw Canadian fighter jets from the region, particularly at a time when other countries such as the Netherlands and Australia are expanding their participation in the bombing campaign.
But speaking in Washington, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Peter Cook, praised the new mission, describing it as the kind of response U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has been looking for from anti-ISIL coalition members.
“The secretary sees these as significant contributions,” Cook told reporters, “and he appreciates the decision by the Trudeau government to step up Canada’s role in the campaign at this critical time.”
In a separate statement, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman said Canada’s “significant contributions” are “in line with the coalition’s current needs.” That includes trainers, as well as more than $1 billion in humanitarian and longer-term aid. Canada is also beefing up its diplomatic presence in the region.
But Heyman left the door open to more contributions in the future.
“Canada remains an essential partner in the counter-Daesh mission,” he said, using another name for ISIL, “and we will continue to discuss with all coalition partners additional ways to intensify efforts.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said in an interview he had spoken to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and was scheduled to talk with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
“It’s not for me to put words in their mouth, but I’m very confident that both of them will be very positive,” he said.
Carter said two weeks ago there should be “no free riders” in the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIL. While his comments were largely aimed at Turkey and some Arab states, critics of the Liberal government suggested the comment could apply equally well to Canada.
“If you think Canada is a free rider because we are not participating anymore to the airstrikes, then Germany is a free rider. And Italy. And about 50 members of the coalition,” Dion said. “This is not the case.
“In fact, in order to be more effective, we needed to deploy a larger panoply of our expertise, and to do it in a very integrated way with what our allies are doing. We are not alone in this fight. We are part of a coalition, and we looked at the best way for us to be optimally effective within the coalition.”
Experts on both sides of the border said the Americans’ biggest fear was the Liberal government would withdraw the fighter jets as soon as it was elected to power in October. The fact Canada is keeping its surveillance and refuelling planes in Iraq and Syria also helps.
Chris Sands, director of Canadian studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, said the expanded training mission is important because many allies don’t want to put troops on the front lines with the Kurds.
Still, there was skepticism over Washington’s overwhelming praise.
“I’m not sure this will be greeted with a great deal of hand clapping down in Washington,” said former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson, now vicepresident of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. “There’ ll be disappointment because they thought maybe they could change the Liberal government’s mind.”
Added Sands: “I think people here will say ‘OK, fine. At least they’re not walking away.’ ”
"IF YOU THINK CANADA IS A FREE RIDER BECAUSE WE ARE NOT PARTICIPATING ANYMORE TO THE AIRSTRIKES, THEN GERMANY IS A FREE RIDER. AND ITALY. AND ABOUT 50 MEMBERS OF THE COALITION. THIS IS NOT THE CASE." — FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER STÉPHANE DION
The U.S. has headed off a potential controversy by giving the Liberal government a thumbs-up over its plan to stop bombing ISIL in Iraq and Syria, and instead concentrate on military training, diplomacy and aid.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the new mission Monday, as Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan prepared to travel to a NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels. The plan includes tripling the number of troops training Kurdish forces in northern Iraq to 200, while ending the bombing campaign by Feb. 22.
There had been fears the U.S. and other allies would react negatively to the plan to withdraw Canadian fighter jets from the region, particularly at a time when other countries such as the Netherlands and Australia are expanding their participation in the bombing campaign.
But speaking in Washington, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Peter Cook, praised the new mission, describing it as the kind of response U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has been looking for from anti-ISIL coalition members.
“The secretary sees these as significant contributions,” Cook told reporters, “and he appreciates the decision by the Trudeau government to step up Canada’s role in the campaign at this critical time.”
In a separate statement, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman said Canada’s “significant contributions” are “in line with the coalition’s current needs.” That includes trainers, as well as more than $1 billion in humanitarian and longer-term aid. Canada is also beefing up its diplomatic presence in the region.
But Heyman left the door open to more contributions in the future.
“Canada remains an essential partner in the counter-Daesh mission,” he said, using another name for ISIL, “and we will continue to discuss with all coalition partners additional ways to intensify efforts.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said in an interview he had spoken to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and was scheduled to talk with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
“It’s not for me to put words in their mouth, but I’m very confident that both of them will be very positive,” he said.
Carter said two weeks ago there should be “no free riders” in the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIL. While his comments were largely aimed at Turkey and some Arab states, critics of the Liberal government suggested the comment could apply equally well to Canada.
“If you think Canada is a free rider because we are not participating anymore to the airstrikes, then Germany is a free rider. And Italy. And about 50 members of the coalition,” Dion said. “This is not the case.
“In fact, in order to be more effective, we needed to deploy a larger panoply of our expertise, and to do it in a very integrated way with what our allies are doing. We are not alone in this fight. We are part of a coalition, and we looked at the best way for us to be optimally effective within the coalition.”
Experts on both sides of the border said the Americans’ biggest fear was the Liberal government would withdraw the fighter jets as soon as it was elected to power in October. The fact Canada is keeping its surveillance and refuelling planes in Iraq and Syria also helps.
Chris Sands, director of Canadian studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, said the expanded training mission is important because many allies don’t want to put troops on the front lines with the Kurds.
Still, there was skepticism over Washington’s overwhelming praise.
“I’m not sure this will be greeted with a great deal of hand clapping down in Washington,” said former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson, now vicepresident of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. “There’ ll be disappointment because they thought maybe they could change the Liberal government’s mind.”
Added Sands: “I think people here will say ‘OK, fine. At least they’re not walking away.’ ”
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