Sajjan Pledges Support for Anti-ISIS Mission - But Does not Extend Canadian Mission

The Canadian Press

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan pledged Canada’s enduring support for Iraq and the war against Islamic State group on Thursday – but stopped short of extending Canada’s military mission in the region, most of which is set to expire next spring.

Rather, after hosting a meeting with representatives from more than a dozen countries to discuss the future of Iraq and Syria and plot next steps in the effort to destroy ISIL (also known as ISIS), Sajjan said the government continues to weigh Canada’s long-term role in the region.

“Today, we reaffirmed our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS’s own network of foreign terrorist fighters, financing and propaganda,” the minister said in a statement after the meeting at a government-owned estate on Meech Lake, near Ottawa.

“Moving forward, the coalition’s continued collaboration and partnership remains crucial, and the strategic advice and direction provided during this morning’s meeting will be essential in shaping our next steps toward winning this fight.”

The comments came shortly after Canada’s top general told a parliamentary committee that while progress has been made in the fight against ISIL, it’s still too early to say when Canadian soldiers might no longer be needed in Iraq.

Defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance said many of the political, economic and social problems that contributed to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s rise more than four years ago remain.

And while ISIL has lost all the territory it once held in Iraq, Vance says ISIL remains a threat and that Canada and its allies must remain on guard against any attempts to re-assert itself.

“At some point in the future, I would look forward to being able to provide the advice that Iraq has come far enough and (ISIL) has gone backwards enough that we don’t need the military forces there anymore,” Vance said. “We’re not at that point right now.”

A recent U.S. Defense Department report that said that ISIL has started to dig roots as an “effective” insurgent group – and that it could take “years, if not decades” before the Iraqi military can deal with it on its own.

Canada earlier this year assumed command of a NATO training mission that includes 250 Canadian troops and whose aim is to train the Iraqi military so that it can ensure security.

However, hundreds of other Canadian soldiers not assigned to the training mission have continued to fly transport and refuelling aircraft, collect and analyze intelligence and provide medical assistance to coalition efforts against ISIL, also known as ISIS.

Vance also revealed that Canada still has an undisclosed number of special-forces soldiers in Iraq who have been working with Iraqi security forces as the latter hunt down ISIL forces left over from earlier battles.

Without an extension, the non-NATO mission is set to expire in March.

The question heading into Thursday’s meeting at Meech Lake was whether the federal government would opt to keep them in Iraq longer, change the overall mission or begin to withdraw from the country.

Sajjan and his co-host, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, said coming out that they had “reaffirmed our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS and defined our vision moving forward.

© 2018 The Canadian Press

CAF Drawing up plans to Extend Iraq Mission

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- The Canadian military is drawing up options to extend its mission in Iraq even as growing political instability and competing foreign interests threaten to plunge the country into yet another cycle of bloody violence.

The mission, which includes hundreds of special forces soldiers, transport and refuelling aircraft, a military hospital and counter-explosive experts, recently entered its fifth year and is currently set to expire at the end of March.

But Brig.-Gen. Colin Keiver, the commander of Joint Task Force-Iraq, said the Iraqi government will continue to rely on Canada and other international partners for the foreseeable future despite the Islamic State's defeat last year.

"They recognize they need continued assistance in order to ensure security and work on stability and prosperity in Iraq," Keiver said on a call with reporters on Friday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in June that Canada would contribute 250 soldiers to lead an expanded NATO training mission in Iraq whose focus will be helping local forces bring peace and stability to the country.

But military planners have started working on proposals for an extension to the rest of Canada's mission beyond March, which Keiver expects will be presented to cabinet ministers for a decision sometime this fall.

Peace and stability appear a long way off for many Iraqis, thanks to political infighting and deep ethnic and religious divisions across the country.

Keiver said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has become a shadow of its former self thanks to sustained pressure by Iraqi and allied forces, but the militant group that once threatened to take over the whole of the region remains a threat nonetheless.

"What we see is them trying to reconstitute and trying to regroup to potentially do bigger things in the future and the Iraqi security forces are really keeping the pressure on them right now," Keiver said of ISIL.

"We watch it very closely. It is something that Iraq has to stay on top of."

The more immediate threat appears to be political infighting, corruption and public anger.

The country remains without a government four months after parliamentary elections, and there are concerns that tensions between different political groups -- some backed by the U.S. and others by Iran -- will erupt into civil war.

Those fears have escalated in recent weeks after Iran destroyed a Kurdish political headquarters in Iraq, a protest destroyed the Iranian consulate in the oil-rich city of Basra and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was shelled. Iranian-backed militias also continue to prowl the country.

Violent protests have also erupted in recent weeks over the slow pace of reconstruction and rampant government corruption and many Iraqis are angry at the lack of economic opportunity and development within the country.

The different challenges have not directly affected Canadian military operations in Iraq, Keiver said, though he added that officials are watching developments closely and feel Baghdad needs to start taking action or risk further problems.

"They've got to get on with the business of forming a government," he said. "They've got to address things like unemployment and reconstructions and all these things like that. (ISIL) can't exploit those potential opportunities, but they're working hard to get there."

TAPVs Well Suited for New Iraq Mission

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

Canadian military planners are currently going over options for the upcoming mission to Baghdad starting in the fall. The deployment includes a force protection group of about 125 personnel. They will provide on-site security for the NATO headquarters in the Iraqi capital city as well a mobile force protection group. The force will be outfitted with armoured vehicles for transportation, according to the Canadian government.

Defence Watch asked Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s office if LAV-llls were going to be sent. But Byrne Furlong, Sajjan’s press secretary, said no final decision has been made yet on the type of armoured platform troops will use.

One Department of National Defence official suggested that armoured SUVs could be used since the patrols will largely be in Baghdad.

Which raises the question- what about using the new Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle?

The vehicle is highly mobile and provides a very high degree of protection for its crew, according to the Canadian Army. It is not as big as the LAV-lll and could be better suited for an urban environment.

Furlong said more information on the composition of the mission and equipment it will use will be released at a later date.

While security is tight in Baghdad, there still attacks. The United Nations reported that 19 people were killed and 18 injured in various attacks in the city in June. In January, suicide bombers killed 38 people and injured more than 105 others

New Iraq Mission Deploys Four Additional Griffon Helicopters

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

Canada’s ongoing Iraq mission has a maximum cap of around 850 personnel, according to Department of National Defence officials. There are only around 500 to 600 assigned to the mission currently. So the commitment announced this week by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of 250 personnel will be new personnel heading from Canada to Iraq.

A Canadian Forces Griffon helicopter flies over a Internal Displaced persons camp near Erbil, Iraq, February 20, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz ORG XMIT: RYR112

The new mission will need up to four Griffon helicopters. That will be in addition to the four Griffons already based in Erbil in Northern Iraq.

“This is a new deployment of up to four helicopters, as requested by NATO,” Byrne Furlong, press secretary for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told Defence Watch.

“This detachment will be capable of transporting personnel and equipment around the NM-I Joint Operations Area,” she added. “These helicopters will be based out of the Taji Military Complex in order to best support of NATO in and around the Baghdad area.”


The heavily fortified complex is in a rural area, 27 kilometres north of Baghdad.

The helicopters will be in Iraq for the next 12 months.

Canadian special forces will remain in Iraq separate from the NATO mission, Furlong explained. “They will continue what they have been doing in the north in and around Mosul,” she added.

Trudeau announces new Canada-led training mission in Iraq

The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Canada will assume command of a new NATO training mission in Iraq.

This will include the deployment of up to 250 Canadian Armed Forces personnel for one year beginning in the fall of 2018.

They will be deployed to Baghdad and the surrounding vicinity along with up to four Griffon helicopters to support NATO activities.

Trudeau made the announcement this morning at a discussion session as part of the NATO summit in Brussels.

He described the mission as a natural next step for Canada in the fight against Islamic State militants by continuing to help build institutional capacity in Iraq.

Canada’s leadership of this new NATO training mission will complement existing efforts in the global coalition against ISIL.

Under Operation IMPACT, the Canadian army is already providing training and assistance to the Iraqi security forces and helping regional forces build their capacity.

Canada also contributes mobile training teams to NATO’s counter-improvised explosive device capacity building efforts for Iraq.