'NATO needs more Canada,' President Obama says in Ottawa

By: Josh Dehaas, CTVNews.ca Writer

In a mostly praise-filled speech from U.S. President Barack Obama, one notable exception was his urging that Canada “contribute its full share” to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“As your ally and as your friend, let me say that we’ll be more secure when every NATO member including Canada contributes its full share to our common security,” the president told Parliament.

“Because the Canadian Armed Forces are really good,” he added. “If I can borrow a phrase, the world needs more Canada. NATO needs more Canada. We need you. We need you.”

Obama made the remarks after stating that “when nations violate international rules and norms, such as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the United States and Canada stand united, along with our allies, in defence of our collective security.”

Canada currently spends less than one per cent of its GDP on defence, despite a commitment made by all NATO countries to spend at least two per cent of GDP.

Most NATO countries do not meet the two per cent target, but some do, including the U.S. which spends 3.5 per cent, France which spends 2.2 per cent, and the United Kingdom which spends two per cent, according to theWorld Bank.

The prodding of Canada to boost its military contribution was only a small part of a speech around the broad theme that countries are better off when they work together on things like trade and security, rather than “building walls.”

Obama’s position on NATO is in stark contrast to Republican Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called NATO “obsolete” and a waste of money.

Democrat Hillary Clinton has called Trump’s suggestion dangerous. "Putin already hopes to divide Europe," Clinton said in March, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "If Mr. Trump gets his way, it will be like Christmas in the Kremlin,” she added.

In a speech last week, former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney also made the case that Canada should once again spend two per cent of its GDP on defence -- as it last did when he was in charge -- in part due to a rising threat from Russia.

“President Putin clearly wants to restore Russia’s great power status by forging, by force if necessary, a new Eurasian union dependent on Russia for its economy and security, adapting Lenin’s phrase of 'pushing the knife in,' until it hits NATO bone,” he said.

“He’s sharpening that knife with a 40 per cent increase in military spending since 2013, far and above anything committed by the West,” Mulroney added.

Mulroney said that NATO should be a top defence priority for Canada. “What we cannot do is talk about Canada “being back” in the world without making tangible commitments that will anchor our aspirations,” he said.

Fighting ISIS: UK PM Cameron Tries to Push for Expansion into Syria

While Canada is planning on withdrawing from the Coalition Airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the UK is looking to expand their attacks into Syria. Although  Canada has expanded into Syria, the RCAF CF-18s have only targeted ISIS in Syria twice since March 2015...so it is hardly the expansion the former Conservative Government was looking for. 

Written by Jill Lawless, The Associated Press Published Originally by CBC

Prime Minister David Cameron tried to persuade reluctant lawmakers to back airstrikes on the Islamic State group in Syria, saying Thursday that the Paris attacks have given the fight new urgency and Britain owes it to key allies to act.

Cameron told the House of Commons that U.S. President Barack Obama and French President François Hollande had urged Britain to join the military campaign in Syria.

"These are our closest allies and they want our help," he said.

Cameron said if Britain didn't act after ISIS-claimed attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, friendly nations might well ask, "if not now, when?"

The Royal Air Force is part of a U.S.-led coalition attacking the militants in Iraq, but not in Syria. Cameron has been reluctant to seek backing for strikes in Syria since lawmakers voted down his 2013 plan to launch RAF strikes against the forces of President Bashar Assad.

Earlier this month Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee urged caution, saying British airstrikes would be "incoherent" and ineffective without a plan to end Syria's four-year civil war.

Cameron replied Thursday with a 36-page letter, arguing that Britain should act to deny the Islamic State group a "safe haven" in Syria from which to plot mass-casualty attacks around the world.

He said airstrikes should be part of a "comprehensive overall strategy" to destroy IS, end the Syrian war and help rebuild the country.

Attempting to allay legislators' concerns, he argued that military action is legal under the UN charter's right to self-defence. And he said that while ground forces would be needed as well, they would not be British.

Cameron said airstrikes will not increase the danger of attack in Britain, already considered high. He said British authorities have foiled seven attacks in the past year either planned or inspired by ISIS.

Cameron wants to hold a vote in Parliament, but said he would only do so if "there is a clear majority for action, because we will not hand a publicity coup to ISIL" — another acronym for the militant group.

He's likely to decide after Thursday's Commons debate whether to hold a vote next week.
Cautious reaction

Initial reaction from opposition lawmakers was cautious. Jeremy Corbyn, the left-wing leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said military action could have "unintended consequences" — as it did in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan.

Angus Robertson of the Scottish National Party said his legislators would not support "a bombing campaign without effective ground support in place or a fully costed reconstruction and stability plan."

The debate is shadowed by the legacy of Parliament's divisive 2003 decision to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. That decision was made on the basis of flawed intelligence about Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction, and in the absence of an adequate plan for postwar reconstruction.

"This is about learning the lessons of Iraq," Cameron said, stressing that "we are not in the business of dismantling the Syrian state or its institutions."

Trudeau to Obama: RCAF to Leave Bombing Campaign

Article written by CNN's Jethro Mullen 

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister-Elect in a 2013 photo in
Washington D.C. 

(CNN)Canada's new leader-in-waiting says he intends to follow through on his campaign promise to pull the country out of the U.S.-led bombing campaign against ISIS militants in Syria and Iraq.

Justin Trudeau, who led the Liberal Party to a stunning victory in elections Monday, said he has already told U.S. President Barack Obama of his plans.

"He understands the commitments I've made around ending the combat mission," Trudeau told reporters Tuesday, without giving a time frame for when Canada's airstrikes would stop.

Trudeau is expected to take office in the coming weeks, replacing Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who sent Canadian warplanes to carry out airstrikes against ISIS.

Canada's bombing raids started hitting the Islamic extremist group's positions in Iraq in November 2014 and expanded into Syria in April.

As of last week, Canada's six CF-18 Hornet fighters in the region had flown 1,048 sorties in the anti-ISIS operation, according to the military, which didn't specify how many of the flights involved airstrikes. Other aircraft have conducted hundreds of refueling and reconnaissance missions.

For a full list of Canada's OPERATION IMPACT Airstrikes, see here. 

Canada to 'engage in a responsible way'

Trudeau said Tuesday that Canada would remain "a strong member of the coalition" against ISIS but would "engage in a responsible way."

His party wants to provide more humanitarian aid in Iraq and Syria and for the Canadian military to take part in a larger training  role rather than bombing missions, CNN partner CBC reported.

The White House statement on the phone call between Obama and Trudeau didn't mention the Canadian leader's intention to withdraw from the air campaign. It said the two leaders "committed to strengthening the countries' joint efforts" on combating terrorism and other issues.

Other nations that have taken part in the U.S.-led coalition's airstrikes against ISIS include Australia, France and Britain as well as Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

As of early October, the coalition had carried out more than 7,000 strikes, nearly two-thirds of them in Iraq, according to the Pentagon. The U.S. military has conducted close to 80% of all the strikes.