Canada extends Iraq and Ukraine military missions to 2021 and 2022

By: The Canadian Press

Canada is extending its military missions in Ukraine and Iraq, both of which were due to expire at the end of the month.

The extensions shore up Canada’s contributions to the global effort to curb Russian aggression in Eastern Europe and to the fight against Islamic militants in the Middle East.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland say the mission of about 200 Canadian Forces personnel in Ukraine will be extended to the end of March 2022.


The Forces have been involved in Ukraine since September 2015, helping train the country’s military, which is battling Russian-backed separatist forces.

Canada will extend the Canadian Forces’ contribution to the Global Coalition Against Daesh and the NATO mission in Iraq, until the end of March 2021.

Canada has about 500 military members in Iraq, including 200 who are part of a NATO training mission and 120 special forces who have been helping Iraqi forces root out Islamic State insurgents around the northern city of Mosul.

Those are parts of Canada’s larger Middle East strategy, which also includes humanitarian assistance and diplomatic engagement in Iraq, Syria and the surrounding region.

The decision to extend Canada’s commitment in Ukraine will be welcome news to that country as it continues to cope with Russia’s annexation of its Crimea region in 2014, and the continuing unrest in its eastern Donbass region, which is plagued by separatist rebels backed by Moscow.

“The people of Ukraine know they can count on Canada,” Freeland said in a statement. “We are steadfast in our commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as it works toward a stable, democratic and prosperous future.”

Ukraine is bracing for Russian interference in its upcoming presidential election on March 31.

Former foreign-affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy is leading a delegation of Canadian election monitors to Ukraine.

Freeland said Canada will host an international conference on Ukraine’s economy and political reforms in July that will include foreign ministers from the European Union, the G7 and NATO countries.

Canada's Next Mission in Iraq - Awaiting Iraqi Approval

By: Lee Berthiaume, Global News 

OTTAWA – Canada is waiting for the Iraqi government to sign off before launching the next phase of its fight against the Islamic State militant group, Gen. Jonathan Vance said Thursday.

Canadian special forces are preparing to work with the Iraqi military to secure the war-ravaged city of Mosul, where Vance said ISIL remains a threat even as thousands of displaced families return home.

Yet before that can happen, the Iraqis need to form a new government – which has proven difficult following elections last month – and indicate whether it still wants international forces operating in the country.

“There are a number of factors affecting mission planning for Iraq as we go forward,” Vance said after an event organized by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

“The government of Iraq needs to form a government and signal its intent as it relates to future military operations by coalition or on a bilateral basis in Iraq. So that’s Job 1.”

Canadian troops have been largely on the sidelines in Iraq since October when Canada suspended all assistance to the Iraqi military and Kurdish peshmerga when the two clashed over the latter’s independence referendum.

Up until that point, Canadian special forces had worked almost exclusively alongside the Kurds for more than three years to first stop ISIL’s advance across northern Iraq and then to dislodge it from the region.

Since the suspension of assistance, ISIL has lost control of the last of its territory in Iraq and turned to traditional insurgency tactics such as suicide bombings, while tensions between the Iraqis and Kurds have also cooled.

But friction between the country’s various political parties, none of whom secured enough votes for a majority government, have raised concerns about renewed divisions along religious and ethnic lines.

The Canadian Forces have been conducting reconnaissance and other preparatory work to get ready for the launch of the next phase of their mission in Iraq, Vance said, with a specific focus on helping families return to Mosul.

The country’s second-largest city was held by ISIL for three years, until Iraqi forces – with help from Canada and other international partners – were able to liberate it from the extremist group following nearly a year of bloody fighting.

Hundreds of thousands of people fled the city ahead of its capture by ISIL and during its liberation, and Vance indicated Canadian troops will help Iraqi forces make it more secure so families can return.

“It needs to be secure and there’s still remnants of ISIL there,” he said.

“They’re not actively conducting operations, but they could. So, trying to ensure successful security conditions in Mosul so that people have the confidence to return home is also what we’re looking at.”

Vance also confirmed that Canada has officially ceased operations with the Kurds after years of working alongside the peshmerga in the north of the country, and that it intends to partner exclusively with the Iraqi military.

The military’s current mandate in Iraq is set to expire in March.

RCAF Griffons Still Busy Over Iraq

By: Chris Thatcher, Vertical Magazine 

The battle for the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and an offensive in the Hawija pocket further south may have concluded in the summer and fall of 2017, but the whirl of Canadian helicopters continues to resound over the region.

Iraqi security forces, with the assistance of a coalition of international partners, broke the four-year siege of Mosul by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in July and have continued a sporadic fight against pockets of ISIS, also known by its Arabic name, Daesh, and its supporters across Iraq’s northern provinces.

CH-146 Griffon aircrews have resumed conducting four to five missions per day, seven days a week, a pace similar to the height of the pre-Mosul campaign. Skip Robinson Photo

Though the scope of the conflict has changed, Canadian Special Operations Forces (SOF) continue to train, advise and assist the Kurdish Peshmerga as part of Operation Impact. In support of that effort, a tactical aviation detachment comprised of four CH-146 Griffon helicopters and around 50 aircrew, maintenance, logistics and headquarters personnel continue to provide tactical transport from an airbase near Erbil, carry Canadian and coalition SOF, equipment and ammunition between forward locations.

“There is really no change to that part,” said Maj Sylvain Lapierre, commanding officer of the fifth rotation of the detachment. “We still provide them with liaison, reconnaissance, and material support, and we are on standby for casualty evacuation if it were to be required.”

In the months following the ouster of Daesh from Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, the aviation detachment saw what Lapierre calls a “tactical pause” in coalition SOF operations. But it was only a brief respite. As winter turned to spring, Griffon aircrews have resumed conducting four to five missions per day, seven days a week, a pace similar to the height of the pre-Mosul campaign when special forces helped Iraqi troops establish blocking positions around the city.

“We are task-tailored for 12 hours a day and we routinely do about 16,” said Lapierre of what remains, despite the disintegrating enemy force, a remarkably high operational tempo. In fiscal 2017, the detachment flew over 3,000 hours. “We would have no difficulties surging to 24 hours a day if we needed to.”

As with all commanders since the tactical aviation detachment was first deployed in October 2016, risk management remains the biggest concern.

Lapierre, a helicopter pilot with two tours in Bosnia and one in Afghanistan, as well as two years as a liaison officer with the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence in Fort Rucker, Alabama, said the threat of enemy rocket, mortar and small arms fire is still a threat. But the variable weather, which can quickly reduce visibility, and man-made obstacles, also have to be mitigated.

“Lots of towers, lots of power lines-they are everywhere,” he said. “And they are not necessarily marked to the same standards that we are used to in Canada.”

Still, “rogue actors” in the form of Daesh or their sympathizers remain the preeminent threat to both helicopters and special forces. Aircrews routinely change flight profiles and rely on well-honed tactics, techniques and procedures to transit potentially risky airspace and to protect the aircraft.

Potentially complicating matters further, Turkey, a NATO ally, has been conducting offensive operations across its southern border against Syrian Kurdish militia. While the fighting has not affected the detachment’s missions-it’s a conflict to be addressed at the political level, Lapierre noted-it nonetheless is one more issue to keep an eye on.

“We obviously monitor everything that happens in the region from an intelligence perspective,” he said. “But nothing has really changed the way we are flying or how the [detachment] is operating in the area.”

However, before granting mission acceptance and launch authority, air task force commanders routinely use a risk assessment scorecard that has its origins in the helicopter missions of Afghanistan. The evolving tool forces leaders to deliberately evaluate the level of risk they are being asked to accept by assigning a score to the nature of the mission, how it is organized, the number and type of aircraft involved, the types of passengers, the degree of reliable intelligence, the availability of supporting enablers, and the environmental conditions.

“When we are looking at communicating the aspects of flight safety, it has become a very important supervision tool,” said Lapierre.

Many of those risks are mitigated by the fact that, although most of the tactical aviation detachment are on their first operational tour, all of the aircraft commanders (AC) are veteran pilots of multiple tours.

“I find myself in a privileged situation,” Lapierre acknowledged. “It makes the risk management aspect a little easier. And they have become outstanding mentors for the newer generation of aircrew that are rotating through theatre that may not have [served] in Afghanistan or on a previous mission. There is great sharing of information, not just among the aircrews but also within the maintenance organization.”

Exercises might train and validate the competency of an air task force, but the repetition of missions on an operation can make it easier to absorb instruction in a way that isn’t always possible in complex exercise scenarios, he observed.

“Sometimes coming to a theatre where the focus is different brings new opportunities to learn. Here we have the opportunity to train our younger aircrew in a real theatre, with real tasks and real control measures, with real users. In some ways it caps everything. What you have learned before as a young aviator, this is the sum of it.”

Despite temperature swings that have ranged between 35 C and below zero since the rotation began, the CH-146 Griffon has exceeded expectations. The detachment, which slimmed down from around 60 to 50 personnel last fall, is largely self-sufficient, managing most aspects of maintenance and logistics, and yet has had little trouble keeping the almost 20-year-old helicopters flying.

“I have outstanding serviceability here,” said Lapierre. “We haven’t seen any loss of performance. Like any other helicopter, there comes a point in the very high heat of the summer where we have to get into the books, look at the performance charts and find efficiencies, which we can do by managing the missions and the timings for the tasks. I think we are doing very well with this aircraft.”
Leading the way

Since the detachment was first stood up in 2016, three squadrons have assumed the leadership, beginning with 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron from Petawawa, Ont., and then 430 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (THS) from Valcartier, Quebec.

Like Lapierre, many of the current detachment are from 408 THS in Edmonton. But over the course of his more than seven-month tour, he has seen members from every tactical aviation squadron in 1 Wing, as well as 417 Combat Support Squadron from Cold Lake, Alta., deployed to Camp Erable, home to Joint Task Force-Iraq Detachment Erbil, a headquarters staff of approximately 30 personnel and a Canadian-led Coalition Role 2 medical facility.

The commander admits he wasn’t sure how well a diverse group would gel without a lot of pre-deployment training. To his surprise, the different helicopter organizations clicked together almost immediately, proving the flexibility the Royal Canadian Air Force tactical aviation detachment concept.

“It’s one of those cases where one plus one equals three,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of synergies with different units. Everybody brought something and it made the sum of everything greater.

“It proves that we have a great deal of interoperability. Regardless of which unit people were coming from, it was easy to integrate them,” he observed as he prepared to hand over command to 430 THS in late May.

“[It’s also] a testament to our level of readiness and how strong and mature our SOPs (standard operating procedures) are. That is one thing I’ll be passing on, that we maintain our solid SOPs and work practices back home-they transfer well into theater.”

If anything, he’s realized how difficult it is to deliver such a high level of service for so long a period.

“One of my challenges is going to be to go back home and maintain the 100 per cent focus people have here,” he said. “Whether it’s maintenance, flying, logistical support-everyone has worked hand-in-hand to make these missions happen.”

CAF Role 2 Medical Hospital in Ebril, Iraq Saying Put until Early 2019

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

The Canadian government is still figuring out how to further contribute to the Iraq mission. But in the meantime it has extended the Canadian military commitment to lead the Role 2 Medical Treatment Facility in Erbil, Iraq, until March 31, 2019. This extension is in response to a request from the United States, the Department of National Defence stated Monday.

Erbil, Iraq. January 23, 2017 – Canadian Armed Forces medical personnel take part in a simulated patient training exercise at the Role 2 hospital in Erbil, Iraq. (Photo: Courtesy of Sgt Josephine Carlson, US Army)

The current Canadian commitment to Iraq is the following: An air mobility Detachment comprised of a CC-150 Polaris aerial refueling aircraft and two CC-130J Hercules aircraft for tactical airlift; Tactical helicopters; A CAF-led Role 2 medical facility; Training, advising, and assisting Iraqi security forces; Intelligence support; and Support to NATO Training Capacity Building Iraq program.

Canada's Iraq Mission Extended until 2019 at Cost of $371 million

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

The Liberal government has extended Canada’s military mission in Iraq for almost another two years.

The mission will be extended until March 31, 2019, the government announced Thursday.

“Canada is providing $371.4 million over two years to support the cost of this renewed contribution to the Global Coalition against Daesh,” the government noted in a news release. Daesh is another name for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The Canadian military will be able to deploy capabilities as needs arise, the government noted. “This extension includes the authority to provide training for new potential partners within the Iraqi security forces and a CC-130J Hercules aircraft for tactical airlift,” it added in the news release.

Canada will also continue to contribute existing capabilities, including:

o Aerial refueling and surveillance capabilities;

o Tactical helicopters;

o Training, advising, and assisting Iraqi security forces;

o Capacity building in Jordan and Lebanon;

o A Role 2 medical facility; and

o Personnel, including intelligence support.
This extension includes the authority to deploy up to 850 military personnel.

Peggy Mason, president of the Rideau Institute in Ottawa, pointed out that the Liberals extended the mission without Parliamentary debate.

“The situation on the ground in Iraq is about to radically change with the impending demise of the territorial phase of the Islamic State enterprise,” Mason said in a statement. “Canadian military trainers may find themselves not only confronting a diffused Islamic state insurgency but a Kurdish independence movement and deep sectarian divisions between the Shia- controlled Iraqi government and the Sunni majority population.”

That type of situation should prompt a full debate in Parliament, she added.

“Instead what we have from the Trudeau government is a press release, after Parliament has recessed, and two days before the July 1st festivities begin, which appears to delegate the responsibility for updating the mission in light of evolving circumstances to the Canadian military, without even the involvement of the government, let alone Parliament,” Mason said.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told journalists on Thursday that the original mission was already debated in the House of Commons.

CAF Expects Anti-ISIL Missing to be Extended

The Canadian Press 

OTTAWA -- The commander of the Canadian Forces mission in Iraq and Syria says he expects the government to extend the operation past its scheduled expiry date at the end of the month.

Brig.-Gen. Dan MacIsaac told The Canadian Press that he's looking forward to seeing a renewed commitment of more than 800 military personnel in the international anti-terror coalition as part of Wednesday's long-awaited defence policy review.

Details of that and other future foreign military deployments are expected to be unveiled when Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of the defence staff, release the government's new blueprint for national defence.

The table for that defence review will be set in a major foreign policy speech Tuesday by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. That speech will affirm "multilateralism and rules-based international systems, human rights, gender equality, the fight against climate change, and economic benefits being shared by all," the government said in a statement.

Freeland's speech will be the Liberal government's attempt to define its military, development, diplomatic and trade priorities, and how Canada plans to navigate a world order thrown into disarray by disruptive events such as the election of Donald Trump and the rise of anti-trade forces, sources say.

The speech is meant to serve as the "umbrella" for Wednesday's defence review and the release of the international development review later this month, said a source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it was still a work in progress.

Wednesday's defence review is expected to lay out the military's priorities for future overseas deployments, and outline government's 20-year plan for spending billions of dollars on military hardware to upgrade warships and fighter jets, among other things.

Sajjan has said the review will also dovetail with the government's broader innovation agenda and will explain how the military will partner with the defence industry to create jobs by developing of cutting-edge equipment.

For soldiers such as MacIsaac, who is overseeing Canada's contribution to the international anti-terror fight, it will bring more clarity to ongoing military operations.

"We're looking forward to the government releasing the defence policy review, likely in the next couple of days," MacIsaac said in a lengthy telephone interview Monday from his headquarters in Kuwait.

"I foresee government providing defence further direction, and the government of Canada is committed to contributing to defeating Daesh in Iraq and Syria," he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

"We're definitely here past the 30th of June."

The government has not formally announced an extension of the mission, which is Canada's contribution to the international coalition of more than 60 countries that is trying to degrade ISIS.

MacIsaac said the coalition is continually degrading ISIL's command and control, weapons making and financing operations across Iraq and Syria, and has reclaimed a swath of land the size of Nova Scotia.

"They've had to move many a headquarters and many a leader, and we are tracking those changes," he explained.

Though he didn't specifically reference the recent attacks in London, Manchester and elsewhere, MacIsaac said ISIS is losing the ability to direct attacks across the globe.

"There are many Daesh-influenced attacks but I'm not aware of any Daesh-directed attacks," he said. "So it's interesting to watch them now try to claim when someone does something criminal. They're on their hind foot."

Asked if he had a message for war-weary Canadians, MacIsaac replied:

"Canada is fortunate. We live in a safe place. But we have a duty to take collective action with our friends to advance the liberty of others and security at home.

"If you think you have values, you've got to work to show it."

Freeland's speech will address how Canada plans to project the "hard power" of its military and use its "soft-power" diplomacy, sources say.

She will describe how and why Canada was able to play a role in shaping the multilateral order that was built after the Second World War -- because the country suffered heavy losses fighting the two world wars, sources say.

Now, with the world's multilateral order under threat and the globe in a period of constant change, those sources say Freeland will say the country must now work to shape the shifting global forces to the Canada's advantage.

Much of that disruption is due to Trump's "America First" foreign policy -- throwing cold water on NATO and the G7, while dumping the Paris agreement on fighting climate change.

The source said the speech may not mention Trump directly, but it will re-enforce Canada's strong economic ties with the U.S., and how Canada's foreign policy diverges -- notably on climate - with its southern neighbour.

RCAF CP-140 Aurora Quietly Recalled from OP IMPACT

By: Murray Brewster, CBC News 

One of the Canadian air force spy planes assigned to the campaign against the Islamic State has been quietly withdrawn and brought home, CBC News has learned.

The CP-140 Aurora, with a suite of high-tech surveillance equipment, was one of two that had been flying missions over northern Iraq and Syria since the fall of 2014.

The decision to bring one of the turboprop aircraft home was not announced by the Liberal government, which recently extended the deployment of the Canadian military, including special forces trainers on the ground, until the end of June.

A single CP-140 and a refuelling tanker remain in Kuwait, where the Canadian Air Task Force has been based, to continue operations alongside the U.S.-led coalition.

But the decision could signal the beginning of the end of Canada's military involvement in the anti-ISIS fight.

A spokesperson for the military's operations command said the Aurora was withdrawn on May 15 and its departure has not impeded the coalition's air campaign.

"The [Canadian Armed Forces] shared its intent to return the aircraft to Canada with our coalition partners well in advance in order to ensure continuity in the coalition's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations against Daesh," said Capt. Vincent Bouchard, referring to ISIS by its Arabic acronym.
Battle for Mosul

Iraqi security forces and Kurdish fighters are close to liberating the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and when the bloody campaign is completed, ISIS will largely have been driven from country.

In an email, Bouchard painted the decision to remove one of the CP-140s as a routine matter, meant "to effectively balance its expeditionary requirements and domestic commitments." He said the aircraft was needed to "deliver on its full range of missions domestically."

The primary mission of the CP-140s in Iraq was to act as spotters, targeting ISIS combat units and buildings for destruction.

In February 2016, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told the House of Commons that Canada's CF-18 fighter jets had completed their bombing mission in Iraq and Syria. At that time, the Liberal government took pains to underline it was leaving the spy planes and tanker in place. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

When Canada's CF-18 fighter jets were withdrawn from the bombing campaign in February 2016, the Liberal government took pains to underline it was leaving the spy planes and tanker in place to support other coalition members as they continued combat operations.

As of May 20, the Auroras had flown 793 reconnaissance missions.
Special forces in northern Iraq

Canada still has more than 200 special forces troops advising Kurdish and Iraqi forces, as well as a tactical helicopter detachment, a number of intelligence officers and a Role 2 combat hospital deployed in Iraq.

The mission was reviewed in March, but only given a three-month mandate extension, to June 30.

Kurdish Peshmerga commanders have asked that highly trained special forces remain behind once Mosul is freed in order to help with training in counter-insurgency warfare.

Many experts and U.S. commanders have said expelling ISIS from Iraq will not entirely end the fighting and that extremists will likely resort to hit-and-run guerilla tactics.

The Liberal government has been unclear on whether it's prepared to facilitate that kind of training or participate in reconstruction efforts.
Beginning of the end?

The removal of the Aurora, which has been called out by allies for its usefulness, is a signal to defence analysts that the deployment could be coming to an end.

"If this is not the end of the mission, it seems a bit strange they would be pulling out one of these aircraft, which arguably has been one of the most important parts of our contribution," said Richard Cohen, who was an adviser to former defence minister Peter MacKay and served in both the Canadian and British militaries.

Given the deployment of troops to Latvia next month and the Liberal government's plan to return to peacekeeping, he said the military might not have the bodies to sustain an extended commitment in Iraq.

Four Canadian aircrew who fly one of the country's CP-140 surveillance planes leave the flight line at an unidentified coalition airbase in Kuwait on Nov. 13, 2016. (Murray Brewster/CBC)

The question of what Canada is going to do post-Mosul has been met with resounding silence, said Steve Saideman, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University.

The U.S.-led coalition has been organizing the next phase of the anti-ISIS campaign, with a finite number of positions, and Canada has yet to apparently signal interest.

"Canada has no role there," said Saideman. "And what that's going to lead to is dumb politics, shockingly enough."

By not articulating a clear way forward in the fight against ISIS, the Liberals have opened themselves up to criticism from Opposition Conservatives and possibly allies, he said.

The future of the Iraq mission could be made clear with the release of Canada's new long-awaited defence policy on June 7, but Saideman said it's unlikely to change the narrative.

"The fact is Canada may not be needed, and given the tempo of special forces operations, it might be time for them to come home and relax," he said. "But that's not going to be the conversation. The conservation is going to be about [how] Canada doesn't care about Iraq."

Dealing with terrorism, and specifically ISIS, is a top priority for the Trump administration. The U.S. leader recently scored a victory on that front, as NATO commanders moved to endorse a plan to formally join the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria.

Edmonton Helicopter Squadron Deploys to Iraq

The Canadian Press 

EDMONTON—The Canadian military has deployed 60 members of an Edmonton-based helicopter squadron to Iraq as part of Operation Impact, a mission to fight Daesh militants in the country’s north.

The Department of National Defence says the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron will take over from their counterparts from Valcartier, Que., who have been providing tactical support since October 2016.

The 408 squadron operates out of 3rd Canadian Division Support Base in Edmonton.

They will fly and maintain up to four CH-146 Griffon helicopters at Camp Erable near Erbil, Iraq.

Maj.-Gen. Christian Drouin, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, says the squadron will provide support to both Canadian and coalition partners.


There are currently 830 Canadian military personnel based in both Iraq and Kuwait as part of Operation Impact.

“The men and women of 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron will continue to provide agile, reliable and dedicated service that Canada’s Special Operations Forces and our coalition allies have come to expect from the RCAF,” Col. Jeannot Boucher, commander 1 Wing, said in a news release.

Ottawa Appears Likely to Extend Military Mission in Iraq

By: Bruce Campion-Smith, Toronto Star

Ottawa appears likely to extend Canada’s military deployment in Iraq by several months as the fight for Mosul continues and then consider a longer-term plan for the counter-Daesh mission, the Star has learned.

The mission, which includes some 200 special forces soldiers on the ground near Erbil, plus air force crews operating reconnaissance and refuelling aircraft, was due to wrap up at the end of March.

Ottawa will consider what kind of military contribution is needed if Canada decides to recommit to the counter-Daesh coalition in Iraq. (RYAN REMIORZ /THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO)

But with Iraqi and peshmerga forces still fighting to reclaim Mosul and surrounding territory from Daesh insurgents, the federal government now seems likely to extend the mission by several months, a source told the Star. A final decision is expected shortly.

During the extension, the government will consider what kind of military contribution is needed if Canada decides to recommit to the counter-Daesh coalition.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan declined Tuesday to say what the government may do next but did say that consultations are ongoing with allies.

“That’s what we’re doing now is making sure that we’re talking to our coalition partners, looking at the situation on the ground. It is very fluid, and we just want to make sure that we have the right resources,” Sajjan told reporters on Parliament Hill.

“We will continue to look at any type of adjustments so that we are a responsible coalition partner,” he said.

The mission was originally launched by former prime minister Stephen Harper in the fall of 2014 and included deploying troops to northern Iraq in an advise-and-assist role to train peshmerga troops and dispatching an air-to-air refueller, reconnaissance aircraft and six CF-18 fighters that join in coalition bombing campaigns.

After taking power, the Liberals ended the bombings by the CF-18s but boosted the number of troops on the ground. More recently, Canada has taken over command of a military hospital in Erbil to treat casualties from the ongoing offensive launched by local forces to beat back Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL).

Though it’s ostensibly a non-combat mission, Canadian troops have several times engaged in firefights with Daesh insurgents to protect themselves or the Kurdish troops they are with.

Taylor: Canada’s Actions in Iraq are Sending Mixed Messages

By: Scott Taylor, The Chronicle Herald 

From 2002 to 2014 the Canadian military had one primary mission and a singular focus and that was, of course, the mission in Afghanistan. The rotations of contingents into Kandahar became so routine that the Canadian Army constructed a full-scale replica of the southern Afghanistan region at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright for training purposes.

Canadian Forces members in southern Afghanistan in 2006. 

In preparing for their deployments, troops would spend upwards of six months conducting exercises in mock Afghan villages with civilian actors playing the part of Afghans, including pretend local journalists because, as we all know, perception can soon become confused with reality.

We did not win the war in Afghanistan but those days of purpose and clarity have been replaced with a perplexing set of new challenges for the Canadian military.

We currently have approximately 200 elite commandos deployed to train Kurds in northern Iraq. These Kurds are battling Daesh — aka ISIS evildoers — and this is a good thing. However, the Kurds fly the flag of Kurdistan and proudly display that same symbol on their uniforms. As a show of soldierly camaraderie, the top-level decision was made to allow Canadian trainers to also wear the bright red, white and green flag of Kurdistan on their uniforms.

The problem with this practice is that Kurdistan is not a recognized state, and the Canadian government’s stated policy is to support a unified, post-Daesh Iraq (i.e., not an independent Kurdistan).

The Kurds have clearly stated they are fighting to establish their own country and will therefore not submit to the central Iraq authority that Canada purports to support.

The last Daesh stronghold in Mosul is under an allied siege that, although it may take months yet, will result in a Daesh defeat. At that juncture Canada will have to make some serious choices, as the most likely scenario will see the present allied, anti-Daesh coalition begin to battle each other for the spoils.

Since the summer of 2015, a contingent of approximately 200 Canadian trainers has been deployed to Ukraine on a mission that is due to expire at the end of this month. The rationale for our troops being there is to boost the capability of the Ukrainian military to resist pro-Russian Ukrainian rebels in the country’s eastern provinces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been widely condemned for assisting the pro-Russian Ukrainian rebels with the provision of weapons and training.

But it begs the question: If it is wrong for Putin to take sides in a simmering civil war in Ukraine, even when it is on his doorstep and involves ethnic Russians, how can it be a good thing for Canada to be facilitating a military build-up on the other side of the battle lines? Training and equipping young men to fight does not seem like the smartest path towards a peaceful resolution in any conflict.

Then there is the commitment to put 450 Canadian troops in Latvia on a non-permanent, rotational basis beginning this June. The Canadian contingent is part of a 4,000-strong multinational NATO force intended to deter Russian aggression against Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. As full-fledged NATO member states, all three Baltic States have the alliance’s assurance of collective defence.

This virtual handful of NATO combat troops is being described by some as a tripwire, with defence analysts speculating that an actual Russian attack would capture the Baltic States within 60 hours — with or without these 4,000 allied soldiers. In other words, unless the NATO treaty is not worth the paper it is printed on, we are committed to protecting the liberty of these nations. Having our troops dangle as bait up on the Russian border therefore seems an unnecessary provocation.

Canada does not have an unlimited defence budget and therefore any money spent on building necessary infrastructure to house our contingent in Latvia means infrastructure dollars not spent on upgrading our bases here in Canada.

Then, of course, there is the long-delayed decision on where to send an additional 450 peacekeepers in Africa. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remains adamant that Canada will send in this force of UN Blue Helmets — along with a mission budget of $500 million. He just still doesn’t know exactly where or why.

Almost makes one yearn for the good old days of the war in Afghanistan.

Canada's Future in Iraq Uncertain

By: Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

ERBIL, Iraq — A baby's cry pierces the din as dozens of people wait to see a doctor or nurse at what's surely one of the busiest health clinics in the Middle East: inside a sprawling refugee camp that's home to 18,000 displaced men, women and children.

The clinic's future is as unclear as that of its clientele.

The facility is just one of several projects Canada is supporting in Iraq as part of its efforts to help those affected by the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — help those on the front lines say is desperately needed.

"It's very important for the people here that they have this clinic and they can get services here," Azad Murad, a nurse with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said through a translator.

"And it's really good that the Canadian government … helps the clinic, because it is a great help for the people here."

But as welcome as Canada's support is, the UN and other aid agencies say more is needed from the international community — now and going forward.

"One of the things we are nervous about inside the humanitarian community is once (ISIL) is gone in the next couple of months, the world is going to turn its back," said Lisa Grande, the UN's humanitarian chief in Iraq.

"They're going to look at Syria and Yemen and other places that have a crisis. But we know the humanitarian crisis in Iraq is not going to be over when the fighting is."

The Liberal government pledged last year to provide $840 million over three years in humanitarian aid to Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon as part of its revamped mission against ISIL.

On Monday, International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau revealed the latest details, announcing that $52 million would be directed to different NGOs working with refugees in Iraq.

The funds will be directed to three key areas: health care, clean water and sanitation, and providing psychological help and counselling for those affected by conflict, especially women and children.

Another $187.5 million will go toward similar projects in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.

Speaking from Erbil after touring the nearby Ashti refugee camp, Bibeau said she saw and heard first-hand how Iraqis are struggling with the traumas associated with war.

That's why Canada has put a special emphasis on psychological support, she said.

"They've been through horrible things, and they were telling me how this support from our humanitarian partners is important for them," Bibeau said.

"And not only talking about the food, but the needs they have in terms of psychosocial support."

Women and girls have been a particular focus for Canadian assistance; one such initiative, visited recently by The Canadian Press, is a women's centre in the Khanke refugee camp near the city of Dohuk.

Established by the UN Population Fund in October 2014, the centre features a women's-only health clinic, including reproductive education, recreational activities such as knitting, and job training.

"Before coming I was not comfortable, I was crying," Baran Shmo Yosf, who fled with her family when ISIL attacked their town more than two years ago, said through a translator. "Now I can keep going on."

Bibeau said Canada is unique in having pledged its money for a three-year period, a strategy meant to give its UN and NGO partners confidence to run their programs over a longer stretch of time.

Yet Bibeau would not commit to making Iraq what the government refers to as a "country of focus" for Canadian assistance, except to say that the government is reviewing its aid policy.

"Part of the review is to reconsider where we work. The idea of the countries of focus and partner countries is on the table right now," she said.

"Obviously the Middle East is a fragile area and a fragile region, and this is in my mandate, to refocus international assistance on the most vulnerable and on fragile states."

Grande did not single Canada out specifically, but said the international community has "responsibility" to continue to support Iraq as it tries to rebuild following years of war.

"The planning horizon for coming out of a civil war is a generation," she said.

"If we're lucky, that's 10 years. If it's a miracle, it's five years. On average, it's best to assume it's 20 years. However we look at it, the Iraqis have a difficult road ahead of them.

"Part of our responsibility in the international community is to realize this and walk shoulder-to-shoulder with them on the road — however long it may be."

- Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter

Canada is Considering its Next Military Deployments

By: Bruce Campion-Smith, The Toronto Star 

OTTAWA—Canada's military is facing a critical few weeks as the federal government weighs renewed deployments to Iraq and Ukraine, ponders the fate of a long-awaited peace mission, lays out a new vision for the armed forces and decides the budget to pay for it all.

It all sets the stage for what promises to be a busy year for Canadian soldiers — one that could leave supply lines stretched — as they continue ongoing deployments in eastern Europe, the Middle East, embark on a new mission to Latvia and finally move ahead on the peace mission that could take them to Africa.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan used his oft-repeated line Tuesday that the Liberal government is taking the time it needs.

“We want to make sure that we actually spend the time to get the analysis right and that it goes through the appropriate government process before we make any announcements,” Sajjan said after a cabinet meeting.

In the meantime though, the defence department hangs in limbo as it waits for announcements.


“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” said Dave Perry, a senior analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

Military deployments to Ukraine and Iraq are due to expire in March though observers expect both missions to be extended.

The former Conservative government dispatched 200 Canadian troops to Ukraine in 2015 in a non-combat role to train local soldiers, as part of efforts to bolster eastern European countries in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. It’s expected that a renewed mission in Ukraine will be announced soon.

“Canada is dedicated to the future good fortune of Ukraine. I am preparing options for the government to consider,” Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of defence staff, said last week.

Vance said the military has also laid the groundwork to continue its deployment in Iraq, where some 200 special forces soldiers are helping train and advise Peshmerga troops in their fight against Daesh near Mosul. The military operates a hospital near Erbil that has treated 100 patients since November while an air-to-air tanker and surveillance aircraft operate out of airfields in Kuwait.

“Canada is committed to this coalition and options will go before government on how to stay committed to it,” Vance said.

The big question mark continues to hang over the Liberals’ peace mission. After an announcement last August that the government could deploy up to 600 soldiers and 150 police officers on such a mission, a flurry of fact-finding trips to Africa by cabinet ministers, and promises of a decision by Christmas, the file has gone quiet since Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president.

Vance said the world has “changed a little bit” since planning for the mission began and said the government now needs to weigh those changes before deciding where troops are best deployed.

“The government has options before it but I think we’re finding that kind of set piece decision-making doesn’t work very well sometimes in a very, very fluid world where things are changing,” Vance told reporters.

“Where will coalition efforts occur next? What are our allies doing? What do they think?” Vance said.

Since taking over, Trump’s administration has turned up the heat on NATO member nations to pony up more for defence. The Liberal government has made the case that it matters more what Canada — which ranks near the bottom of the spending list — does with its military rather than simply measuring the bottom line. But that dynamic could be forcing the government to reframe its peace mission to account for U.S. concerns.

“I guess it’s understandable that the government wants to wait and see how the security environment unfolds given the U.S. election,” Perry said.

“They may be looking to make sure that any kind of operation we do is connected as much as it possibly could be to a broader alliance,” he said.

Still, the delay in an announcement has likely meant that plans conceived last fall will have to be updated,” Perry said.

“The mission doesn’t sit static, frozen in time while Canada decides whether or not we’re going to participate,” he said.

The other two big pieces of the defence puzzle are the upcoming budget — expected in the coming weeks — and the defence policy review which will lay out a new blueprint for the Canadian Armed Forces for the next 20 years.

According to the government, that strategy will deliver “a modern, more agile and better-equipped military.” It’s expected to touch on everything from procurement process, to whether the navy should have subs, what kind of fighter jets are required for the air force to how the military looks after its personnel.

“What are the capabilities that are required for this and what investment is going to be needed,” Sajjan said during a visit to NATO headquarters earlier this month. “Yes, we will be investing.”

But Perry said the military — which has a budget of $18.6 billion in 2016-17 — needs more money just to maintain the status quo.

“Unless the government directs them to do fewer things than it’s done before, they can’t make do with the existing funding,” he said.

Canadian Generals Defend Strategy for Defeating ISIL

By: The Canadian Press

PERSIAN GULF — Two senior Canadian generals have defended the current strategy for defeating Daesh (also known as ISIS) in Iraq and Syria, which U.S. officials have put under review following scathing criticism by President Donald Trump.

U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis was in Iraq this week after Trump gave the retired Marine Corps general until the end of the month to come up with a plan for speeding up the campaign.

During last year’s presidential election, Trump repeatedly criticized the slow pace of progress and promised to introduce a new approach that would hasten Daesh’s defeat.

But Brig.-Gen. David Anderson and Brig.-Gen. Stephen Kelsey say they are hard-pressed to think of ways to improve the existing strategy, which they have watched unfold firsthand for the better part of a year.

And they worry that rushing to destroy Daesh could in fact undermine the progress that has been made in dealing with the root causes that led to the extremist group’s rise in the first place.

“I can’t think of a different way to do this that doesn’t create all the problems that have been there from the past,” Anderson said Monday, before Mattis’s unannounced arrival in Iraq. “I think we’ve got it right.”

Anderson and Kelsey are both based in Baghdad. And while they’re Canadian, each holds a key position within the larger international coalition for defeating Daesh.

Since last spring, Anderson has led a multinational team of military advisers posted inside the Iraqi defence ministry in Baghdad, where they have helped formulate and implement the current campaign strategy.

Kelsey has helped oversee the actual fighting on the ground, which is being largely conducted by Iraqi forces with significant assistance from Canada and other countries.

Mattis hasn’t said what changes he wants to see in the campaign plan, but reports suggest the options under discussion include putting more U.S. troops on the ground and having them do more of the fighting.

American troops, like the roughly 200 Canadian special forces in northern Iraq, have largely stayed out of the fight and instead provided training, advice and some battlefield support from behind.

Anderson and Kelsey insisted it is up to the U.S. to decide its own approach to defeating Daesh; but any change would affect all countries involved in the effort.

That includes Iraq itself, which has been the scene of more than a decade of violence and strife after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 tore the country apart along ethnic and religious lines.

Kelsey said what’s different in Iraq this time around, and what he believes will end the cycle of violence, is that Iraqi troops are the ones doing the fighting and dying for their own country.

“What’s happening now with the strategy . . . is we are enabling our (Iraqi) partners to defeat Daesh,” he said. “We’re also creating capacity for the longer term.

“And in trying to accelerate that or do it for them, we then start owning the problem and affect their ability to create their own capacity, which is the key to long-term stability in the region.”

The two generals heaped praise on the Iraqi government and military for the progress they have made over the past two years in fighting Daesh while also dealing with various economic and political challenges.

And they said despite the fact Daesh remains a threat in Iraq and Syria more than two years after Canada and other countries intervened militarily, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“We are closer than we think,” Kelsey said. “And that’s the adult discussion that’s going to play out here in the next little bit.”

CAF Special Forces Monitor ISIL Near Syrian border

By:  Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

ERBIL, Iraq — Canadian special forces have shifted their operations in northern Iraq to put pressure on ISIL in places outside the strategic city of Mosul — including along the border with Syria.

The objective: To figure out the good guys from the bad so Iraqi military forces and coalition aircraft can attack.

Canadian special forces look over a Peshmerga observation post, Monday, February 20, 2017 in northern Iraq. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

High atop a rocky hilltop Monday, two Canadian soldiers sat in a makeshift bunker located more than a kilometre behind the frontline between Kurdish forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

One bearded soldier looked through a high-powered viewfinder, scanning the small community that lay below, while the other took notes. A camera sat between them in case something interesting appeared.

When the first Canadian soldiers arrived in the country in September 2014, their mission was to help train the Peshmerga to stop and hold back a confident and, until then, undefeated ISIL hoard.

That was the first phase of the now nearly two-and-a-half-year-old mission, before ISIL lost the upper hand.

Now, flying by helicopter from Erbil, the Kurds' capital in Iraq, to the Mosul Dam, one can see the barricades of dirt and defensive positions that helped the Peshmerga stop ISIL from overwhelming northern Iraq.

The trenches and stone buildings hastily constructed during that period two years ago lie abandoned today, as the war — and Canada's role in it — shifted from defence to offence.

Kurdish forces, supported by the Canadians, kicked off a long-anticipated attack to free Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, from ISIL in October.

But the Kurds and their Canadian comrades stopped short of Mosul, as planned. Instead, they shifted to fighting the extremist group in other ways and let the Iraqi military enter and clear ISIL from the city.

Briefing reporters on Monday at Camp Erable, the Canadian military camp in Erbil, a special forces officer said the mission has turned toward identifying and monitoring potential ISIL targets in the region.

That includes keeping tabs through optical sights and other means, on "key enemy movement corridors" between Iraq and Syria as well as areas inside and immediately outside Kurdish territory.

The officer said such monitoring helped locate ISIL forces inside a large town that was sidestepped during the early parts of the Mosul offensive and needed cleaning up.

It also means a decline in the number of times Canadian soldiers have actually fired their weapons in recent months, the officer said, as potential targets are relayed to the Iraqis and coalition for destruction.

Canadian special forces man an observation bunker, Monday, February 20, 2017 in northern Iraq. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

The special forces officer, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, said the nature of the Mosul offensive had meant Canadian troops often found themselves in situations where they were required to fire.

That isn't the case now, he said, adding that Canadian soldiers are specifically told to set up in locations where such circumstances are unlikely.

The Canadians continue to work with the Peshmerga. At the hilltop encampment, a number of fighters from the Kurds' elite Zeravani stood guard on the perimeter while others relaxed inside.

In fact, the special forces officer said his soldiers have started working on a program that will train some Kurds to take on the role of instructors themselves.

Capt. Dhyab Mohammed Omar, commander of the Peshmerga fighters, praised his Canadian comrades and the contribution they had made in helping the Kurds fight ISIL.

"We are always honoured to have them at our positions," he said. "It was my wildest dream to work with the Canadians. Having them show up and help us, we would die for them."

While much of the attention surrounding Canada's mission in northern Iraq has been focused on the role being played by the special forces, they aren't operating alone.

Roughly 150 Canadian troops are stationed in Erbil, including a helicopter squadron, logistical staff, and medical personnel, all in support of the special forces mission and broader coalition fight against ISIL.

Four Griffon helicopters from Canadian Forces Base Valcartier ferry troops and equipment from Camp Erable to the special forces troops in the field every day, zipping low like dragonflies over fields, around hills and past isolated communities to avoid enemy fire.

"The challenge here is the more (power) wires and the weather during winter," said Maj. Mathieu Bertrand, commander of the helicopter squadron. "We had some fog. But generally, the weather is good."

A Canadian Forces Griffon helicopter flies over a Internal Displaced persons camp near Erbil, Iraq, February 20, 2017.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Meanwhile, a Canadian military hospital located within Camp Erable's small footprint, which itself is part of a larger coalition base dominated by the U.S., stands ready to provide aid to those wounded in battle.

While the hospital, whose personnel hail from CFB Petawawa, has treated more than 100 patients for various injuries, Lt.-Col. Richard Morin said only 13 had received battlefield wounds. None were Canadian.

"The predominance of cases we're getting are emergency department-type casualties or patients that you would get when you get over 5,000 military troops all in one place," he said.

The hospital has also treated a handful of ISIL fighters who were wounded and detained by coalition forces, which Morin said falls in line with the laws governing war.

"We actually understand even in conflict, there are rules that you need to follow that … respects the dignity of life," he said. "That's what makes us different."

The entire effort is underpinned by logistical personnel, led by Lt.-Col. Dominique Dagenais, who are responsible for Camp Erable and ensuring that everything runs smoothly.

Dagenais said the biggest challenge he faces is ensuring new personnel get their Iraqi visas in time to replace those who are nearing the end of their deployments.

The Iraqi government has in the past dragged its feet when it comes to Canada's mission against ISIL, including delaying deployment of the military hospital and signing off on a plan to arm the Kurds.

— Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter

RCAF Active over Syria; Canada Waiting on US before Extending OP IMPACT

By: Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

PERSIAN GULF – Canadian military personnel involved in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are waiting to see what shape their mission will take in the coming months – a decision that could be heavily influenced by U.S. President Donald Trump.

More than 800 service members are currently deployed in half-a-dozen locations across the Persian Gulf region, after the Liberal government revamped Canada’s contribution to the American-led war against ISIL last year.

Two Canadian surveillance planes have flown hundreds of sorties to identify potential targets for coalition airstrikes.

While the majority of those missions have been over Iraq, a senior Canadian commander revealed Sunday that the aircraft have also flown dozens of times over Syria in recent months.

“We have done work in Syria,” Brig.-Gen. Shane Brennan, commander of Canada’s Joint Task Force-Iraq, told reporters during a media tour of the mission, though he added: “There’s lots of work to do in Iraq. We are looking at all of the areas.”

The flights over Syria have also included a different Canadian plane that has been refuelling coalition aircraft directly responsible for bombing or otherwise destroying ISIL forces and other targets.

The increased Canadian military activity over Syria, which Brennan described as between 20 and 30 missions in the past few months, is only one indication that the war against ISIL is shifting into a new phase.

As Brennan was speaking at an airfield, the location of which the military didn’t want revealed for security reasons, Iraqi forces were launching their long-awaited assault on western Mosul.

READ MORE: Mosul civilians trapped indoors as Iraqi forces bombard ISIS targets

The battle, which comes about a month after Iraqi forces declared the eastern part of the city free of ISIL, has been billed as a defining moment in eventually freeing Iraq from the extremist group’s grip.

While the fight for the city’s western half is expected to be much harder than what came before, Brennan was adamant that victory was a certainty.

“There is a battle that is ongoing and will be won,” Brennan said. “It’s an inevitable event.”

Less certain is what role Canadian troops will play when the current mandate, which also includes a military hospital, special forces troops and a helicopter detachment in northern Iraq, expires in March.

Military commanders are drawing up options based on a number of factors, including the expectation that ISIL will become a traditional insurgency in Iraq, which would require more police and counter-terrorism forces.

Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Anderson, who is leading an international team of military advisers in Iraq’s defence ministry, said his group recently submitted a two-year plan focused on exactly that.

There are also concerns that the group will try to spread outside Iraq and Syria, which is why Canada helping strengthen border security in Jordan and Lebanon.

The military will present three options for the government to choose from in the coming weeks in deciding the future of the mission.

Yet one big wild card is what direction the U.S. military will go, after President Trump blasted the slow progress of the fight against ISIL and ordered a 30-day review to consider new options.

U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis is expected to visit Iraq in the next week or so before presenting his recommendations later this month.

Exactly what Mattis will recommend, both in Iraq and Syria, is wide open for speculation.

But Brennan said the results could have a big impact on what Canada decides to do given the need to ensure a unified and co-ordinated international effort in the fight against ISIL.

“It does depend what happens,” Brennan said. “We are waiting as well. I think the question is: What else needs to be done or could be done?”

Operation IMPACT Tactical Aviation Detachment Conducts Change of Command

DND Press Release

By: Capt Matt Zalot, Public Affairs Officer, Joint Task Force Iraq Detachment Erbil (JTF-I Erbil)

Major Mathieu Bertrand assumed command of the Operation IMPACT Tactical Aviation Detachment in Northern Iraq from Lieutenant-Colonel Carol Potvin at a ceremony on January 14, 2017. Major Bertrand previously served as the detachment’s Operations Officer and Deputy Commanding Officer.

Colonel Luc Guillette, Commander of Air Task Force-Iraq, presided over the change-of-command ceremony, which took place at Canadian Camp Érable near Erbil, Iraq. During the ceremony, Lieutenant-Colonel Potvin spoke briefly about the work performed by the squadron during his watch. Major Bertrand also spoke to the attendees, noting the need to build on past accomplishments for future missions.

“The Tactical Aviation Detachment will continue to play an important role in the advise and assist mission to counter Daesh,” said Major Bertrand. “We have all made a contribution to the Coalition’s efforts and the squadron will continue to work hard and build on our previous successes.”

Major Bertrand joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1999 and has amassed significant experience in the world of search and rescue. He served at 439 Combat Support Squadron, based out of Bagotville, Quebec, before being posted to 430 Tactical Helicopter Squadron in Valcartier, Quebec. As part of 430 Squadron he served in Afghanistan and Haiti. Before his deployment to Iraq, he served as Detachment Commander and Deputy Commander for Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre Quebec.

Since October 6, 2016, when they took over from 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron, 430 Squadron has been leading the Royal Canadian Air Force’s tactical aviation efforts in Erbil, Iraq. The CH-146 Griffon helicopters provide tactical transport of Canadian troops, equipment, and supplies.

Canada remains a committed partner to the Global Coalition against Daesh. As part of Joint Task Force-Iraq, Air Task Force-Iraq contributes to Coalition air operations against Daesh to improve security in Iraq and in the region.

Trump’s vow to use torture against ISIL won’t affect how Canada fights in Iraq

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to use torture if necessary in fighting ISIL won’t impact the Canadian Forces, which intend to follow the rule of law and their own values, says a top Canadian general.

Trump declared Wednesday he believes torture works and he has no qualms in using it in the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Asked specifically during an ABC News interview about the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding, Trump cited the extremist group’s atrocities against Christians and others and said: “We have to fight fire with fire.”

Trump said he would consult with new Defence Secretary James Mattis and CIA Director Mike Pompeo before authorizing any new policy, but said he had asked top intelligence officials in the past day: “Does torture work?”

“And the answer was yes, absolutely,” Trump said.

That could pose problems for troops working with U.S. forces in Iraq if it became known that detainees captured on the battlefield could end up being sent to CIA prisons or other locations to be tortured. The Canadian Forces hospital in northern Iraq has treated at least two detainees for their wounds. Their current status is not known.

Canadian Forces Brig.-Gen. Shane Brennan, commander of Joint Task Force — Iraq, said at a briefing Thursday he couldn’t speculate about how Trump’s views might affect the overall battle against ISIL.

But he vowed that Canadian military personnel would always follow the rule of law when it came to prisoners. “We will be not be going to any type of activity like that,” he said, referring to torture and enhanced interrogation techniques. “We know what our values are.”

Canadian commanders, however, declined to provide an update on what Canadian special forces were doing in Iraq. That update is supposed to come at some point, but military officers didn’t even know in what month that might happen.

During the last mission update, in November, the Canadian military revealed Canadian special forces had engaged in a substantial number of clashes with ISIL gunmen, had fired anti-tank missiles and exchanged gunfire.

Iraqi security forces, as well as Canadian-backed Kurdish troops, have been involved in assault on the ISIL stronghold of Mosul and have engaged in heavy combat.

The number of such clashes involving Canadian commandos was “substantial” and involved several dozen incidents, special forces commander Maj.-Gen. Mike Rouleau said at the November briefing. Canadian special forces used anti-tank missiles on three occasions to destroy ISIL suicide vehicles, Rouleau noted.

At Thursday’s briefing, Canadian officers said they didn’t have any information about when Kurdish forces will receive the military equipment promised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau said last February that Canada would be providing the Kurds with lethal military equipment but nothing has happened since then.

“The intent remains to deliver the equipment as quickly as possible once the government of Canada has completed the administrative arrangements in securing an end-user agreement with the government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq,” Maj. Mark Peebles said. “Concurrent to these efforts, the process of equipment acquisition has commenced. The exact time lines for the acquisition are still to be determined as they are dependent on industry’s ability to secure the quantities sought.”

Sajjan: Aleppo is a Tragedy; But Canada Not Getting Involved in Syria

By: David Pugliese, National Post 

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says that though what is happening in the city of Aleppo is a tragedy, Canada will not be getting involved militarily in the Syrian civil war.

Aleppo had been under siege by Syrian government troop with support from Russian forces, leading to massive casualties and widespread destruction of the once-bustling city.

Under the terms of a new deal, up to 4,000 rebel fighters and their families will be allowed to leave parts of the city Thursday, which is now mostly under control by Syrian government forces after a four-year battle.

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“What is happening in Aleppo is tragic and it needs to change,” Sajjan told journalists Thursday on a conference call from the London, where he attended a meeting of defence ministers from the nations contributing to the war against ISIL.

But when asked whether Canada would join other nations in training moderate Syrian forces, who are fighting both the Syrian government as well as troops from the extremist Islamic State, Sajjan said the Liberal government has no plans to get involved.

“Our focus has always been in Iraq and that is our focus now,” he said. “Right now we have no plans to be militarily involved in Syria.”

Canada is contributing surveillance aircraft and a refueling plane to the coalition fighting ISIL in Iraq. It also has around 200 Canadian special forces on the ground, advising Kurdish forces involved in advance on the ISIL-held city of Mosul. Canadian special forces have taken part in the fighting, firing anti-tank missiles at ISIL forces and engaging in gun battles.

Sajjan said Canada’s involvement in the Iraq mission will continue in 2017 but there could be changes to that contribution once Mosul is retaken.

Battle for Mosul will shape Canada's ground commitment in Iraq

Canadian special forces launch a mission from a base in Erbil, Iraq, on Nov. 14, 2016 (Murray Brewster/CBC)

By: Murray Brewster, CBC News 

Canada will continue to have a military mission in Iraq through 2017, but the size and scope of it have yet to be determined, the country's defence minister said in advance of an international meeting with allies battling ISIS.

Defence planners have been spinning various scenarios for months, but the Liberal government committed — when it overhauled the mission against ISIS last February — to reviewing the deployment of special forces, helicopters, surveillance planes, an air-to-air refueling jet and a military field hospital.

The assessment is due by March of next year, but the last budget numbers put before Parliament have set aside only $41 million for the operation, less than one-third of what's being spent in the current budget year.

'We need to make sure that troops we have trained are up to the level where they can hold the gains they have [made].'
- Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan

Earlier in the fall, the country's operations commander, Lt.-Gen. Steve Bowes, said the military had been given orders, but its "posture is not oriented towards" an extended mission.

Asked on Wednesday whether the military commitment would continue, Sajjan told CBC News: "Absolutely."

Iraqi security forces are still involved in the battle to retake Mosul, the country's second-largest city, from deeply entrenched ISIS fighters. Iraqi forces are being aided by Canadian and allied special forces soldiers, who are providing not only advice, but covering fire.

"We need to make sure that troops we have trained are up to the level where they can hold the gains they have [made]," Sajjan told CBC News.

Whether the Kurds and the Iraqis can effectively provide security is a fundamental question and consideration, he said.

"We entered when Iraqi security forces couldn't hold the ground and do what they are supposed to do. So, the last thing you want to do is just leave without making sure you've answered that question."
Teaching new lessons

If you listen to the Kurds, whom Canadians have been training since the fall of 2014, the answer is they need a different kind of support once Mosul has been cleared of extremists.

One of the Kurdish Peshmerga commanders taking part in the battle, Brig. Adel Rash, recently made a pitch to Canada's deputy commander of special forces for specialized training in counter-insurgency warfare.

The training Canadian special forces have provided to the Kurds thus far involves traditional combat skills, not the intelligence-driven shadow warfare that characterized the decade-long combat commitment in Afghanistan.
ANALYSIS | What happens once Mosul is recaptured from ISIS?
Canadian forces shooting first at ISIS to protect civilians, allies

Most military planners, including many at the Pentagon, expect ISIS to revert to a guerrilla war once it has been driven out of Mosul.

"We are in need of training courses," Rash said in an interview with CBC News. "ISIS activity is changing towards an insurgency and we need to be prepared. We expect Canadians to play a good role."

A CH-146 Griffon lands in a field northwest of Erbil. The helicopter detachment is a recent addition to Canada's mission in Iraq. (Murray Brewster/CBC)

Government ministers from countries taking part in the campaign to defeat ISIS will get an update on where the fight could be headed at a meeting in London on Thursday.

Sajjan was asked whether he is laying groundwork within the Liberal government for an extended mission that would involve preparing the Kurds for a guerrilla war, in much the same fashion that Canada trained Afghan forces to take on the Taliban.

He left the door open to that possibility.

"The goal is always to eliminate the threat," Sajjan said. "That is the goal, but we will have to assess, at the time, what is needed."

A liberated Mosul will need police forces, reconstruction and development to get back on its feet, and those will be major considerations in the upcoming assessment, he added.

If it is any indication, military engineers recently put the finishing touches on a semi-permanent military camp in Erbil, which houses different elements of the mission.

Major construction only started in June and some barracks just opened last month at the $3.75-million centre.

Canadian Weapons Arriving to Kurdish Fighters

By: Scott Taylor The Chronicle Herald 

It was with very little fanfare that Canada announced last week that the Iraqi government has finally agreed to let us provide weapons to Kurdish militiamen. The weapons were originally promised by Prime Minister Trudeau back in February, but that’s when things got a little bit sticky.

In the fall of 2014, the Harper Conservative government sent Canadian Special Forces trainers to Iraq for the purpose of combating the spread of the then-rampant Daesh evil-doers. Canadians were told that our troops were going to Iraq because it made things seem a little simpler than was actually the case. Our Special Forces Operatives were sent to the city of Erbil and when they stepped off the plane, they were greeted by a sign reading Welcome to Kurdistan.

It has indeed been Kurdish fighters that our soldiers have been training and assisting for the past two years. These Kurds are very open about their desire to establish an internationally recognized, independent nation. They already consider themselves to be a separate state; they fly their own flag and sing their own anthem.

Yes, they have proven to be motivated and effective fighters against Daesh, but they have also clashed with Iraqi security forces loyal to the Baghdad regime and their Shiite militia allies. Canada’s official position is that we are supporting a unified Iraq under one central Baghdad government. Naturally, that same Baghdad regime did not like the idea of Canada supplying weapons to Kurdish troops, whose openly stated, and oft repeated aim, is to break away from Iraq.

That sentiment of not providing more weapons to the Kurds was echoed by the Turkish government. Turkey is a NATO ally and they are presently dealing with a full-scale insurgency by Kurdish separatist forces in their eastern provinces. The revolt in Turkey is spearheaded by the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), which is recognized by Canada, the U.S and the European Union to be a terrorist organization. Given the blurred lines between the various Kurdish militias, there are no doubt grave concerns on the part of the hard-pressed Turkish security forces that Canadian-supplied weapons will end up in the hands of the PKK, or worse, the Al-Qaeda Kurdish Battalions (AQKB).

While Canadian officials have not yet identified exactly which type of weapons we will provide the Kurds — or at what cost — their shipment has admittedly not yet been sent.

Which means there is still time to rethink this flawed logic.

The allied campaign to recapture Daesh-held Mosul is now well underway. Progress has been slow and Daesh defenders have been determined, but the end result is not in doubt.

So if Canadian-supplied weapons will not arrive in time to assist in driving Daesh from Iraq, that means that they will only reach the battlefield in time to assist in the post-Daesh mayhem that will inevitably ensue.

Iraq has been engulfed in a horrific orgy of inter-factional bloodletting for the past 13 years and somehow the Canadian answer to the problem is to send in more weapons and to specifically train just one of the warring factions? Is training more young men to be soldiers the pathway to peace? Human Rights Watch recently reported that the Kurdish militias trained by the Canadians, and loyal to warlord Massoud Barzani, have been engaging in the ethnic cleansing of non-Kurdish minorities. This, of course, is not being done under the watchful eye of Canadian trainers — the Kurds are too clever for that.

Off the record, Canadian officers have admitted their Kurdish fighters are not angels, but they are the best of a bad lot.

Unlike those factions already involved in the conflict, Canada does not need to compromise its values or align with dubious allies. Thankfully, we have no dog in this fight and ultimately we will have no say in the final resolution. Which makes it all the more ludicrous that we would start pouring more weapons and munitions into an already raging conflagration over which we have zero control.