Canada Preparing To Commit Troops To UN Peacekeeping Mission: Source

By: Althia Raj, The Huffington Post

OTTAWA — Canada may soon announce it will commit troops to new peacekeeping missions, The Huffington Post Canada has learned.

A spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion told HuffPost Tuesday the Liberal government wants to “re-energize” Canadian leadership in key areas and in multilateral institutions.

“Canada will increase its support to UN peace operations, extending beyond peacekeeping to include the equally important civilian components of conflict prevention, mediation, and peacebuilding efforts,” said Chantal Gagnon.

Government sources said decisions would be made in the coming months.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion speaks at the NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland on July 9, as Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan listens. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

The United Nations is organizing a meeting in London this September, when pledges will be made and future contributions discussed, a UN spokeswoman told HuffPost.

Over the weekend, the Liberals announced Canada would lead a NATO mission in Latvia to curb Russian aggression and deploy 450 troops, a frigate and up to six CF-18 fighter aircrafts. Dion told The Canadian Press, “It is terribly unfortunate that Canada has to deploy its forces in Latvia instead of having peacekeeping in Africa or in an area of the world where it is much more needed.”

The foreign affairs minister is on a rare vacation and was unavailable for an interview. But his office insisted the new NATO deployment will not prevent the Canadian Armed Forces from participating in new peace and security missions.

“Min. Dion has been clear that we will still implement our renewed peacekeeping strategy and that we've had lots of specific requests from other countries to consider, including in Africa (e.g. CAR [Central African Republic], Mali),” his chief of staff, Julian Ovens, wrote in an email.

Dion’s office would not specify what those requests are, but said they’re currently being evaluated in conjunction with the Department of National Defence.
“... we will welcome additional support, particularly in the areas of training, capacity building, engineering, aviation and medical support. ”
— UN spokeswoman Ismini Palla

The UN said it would welcome additional aid from Canada.

"Peacekeeping is increasingly in need of high-technology assets and specialized skills,” said spokeswoman Ismini Palla.

“While Canada is already contributing to UN Peacekeeping, we will welcome additional support, particularly in the areas of training, capacity building, engineering, aviation and medical support.

“Canada's contribution in this field would be highly beneficial,” she said.

Malian police patrol with the German UN mission in Mali in May. (Photo: Souleymane Ag Anara/AFP/Getty Images)

The two missions cited by Dion’s office are particularly risky.

The UN mission in Mali is the deadliest in the world. Since April 2013, 68 peacekeepers have been killed by what the UN calls “malicious acts.”

In May, five Togolese peacekeepers were killed when their vehicle was ambushed. Days later, a Chinese peacekeeper was killed in a mortar attack on a UN camp. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for that attack. Three people working for a UN subcontractor were also killed that same day in a separate attack.

The UN mission in Central African Republic is also plagued with violence. Last week, the UN’s under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, Hervé Ladsous, told the Security Council that while free elections had been held this winter, the country continues to face “a security climate that remains fragile and reversible.”

More than two million people — or half the population — lack access to food. One-fifth of the nation remains displaced, and armed groups continue to control vast parts of the country, he said. Last month, more than a dozen people were killed, including a Senegalese UN peacekeeper.

Hellen Akello, 38, a victim of the Lira district attacks by members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) militia movement, displays her injuries during a visit by an International Criminal Court prosecutor in northern Uganda in 2015. (Photo: Edward Echwalu/Reuters)

Outside the capital in the country’s southeast, the Lord’s Resistance Army continues to murder, abduct, force sex-slavery and recruit child soldiers, said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein in a July news release.

More than 290 people were abducted between January and April, including 60 children, he said.

Zeid also raised concerns that the Ugandan army deployed to help the country is engaged in “credible” allegations of sexual abuse, exploitation, abduction, forced marriages and rape.


’Effective and targeted contributions’


Gagnon said Global Affairs Canada — the foreign affairs department — was exploring different ways to engage in peacebuilding, such as new training initiatives. In addition to talks with National Defence, the department is consulting with the UN, the RCMP, Public Safety, and Canadian experts, she said.

The government is assessing its own abilities in light of the UN’s needs and wants to provide “effective and targeted contributions,” Gagnon added.

The Liberals are also looking to promote the equality of women and men, and would like to increase the number of female peacekeepers and advisors, she said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the United Nations headquarters in New York in April. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Canada is eager to contribute more to UN peacekeeping efforts, in part because of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s commitment to the organization, and thegovernment’s stated desire to win a Security Council seat in 2021.

Speaking in March at the UN, Trudeau pledged to revitalize Canada's historic role as a key contributor to United Nations peacekeeping. "Canada will increase its engagement with peace operations, not just by making available our military, police, and specialized expertise, but also by supporting the civilian institutions that prevent conflict, bring stability to fragile states, and help societies recover in the aftermath of crisis,” he said.

“Canada would be very welcomed back in peacekeeping.”

The United Nations currently has 16 peacekeeping operations, including nine in Africa.

Of the approximately 1,100 Canadian Armed Forces members deployed in operations around the world, only 31 are working in UN peacekeeping operations, ranging from 12 in South Sudan to one lone member in Cyprus.

An additional 84 civilian Canadians are part of peacekeeping missions around the world, according to Global Affairs Canada.

Bilingual advantage

In February, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Ladsous met with Canadian officials in Ottawa.

“They conveyed the message that Canada would be very welcomed back in peacekeeping,” Palla told HuffPost.

“Our pitch with Canada was also that they can also offer excellent bilingual personnel, in French and English, which is also very important to our peacekeeping operations because half of them are in francophone places,” she said.

Dion: Canada still has leverage in Saudi LAV deal

By: TONDA MACCHARLES, Ottawa Bureau reporter The Toronto Star 

OTTAWA—Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion insists Canada still has leverage over the controversial contract to sell light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia despite the Star’s revelation that the federal government could be on the hook for a multibillion cancellation penalty.

“Each time you break a contract, there is always the danger of penalties,” Dion said Monday. “I always said that, but this is not the issue, because we’re not — we’ll respect the contract.”

At the same time, Dion insisted Canada’s hands are not tied when it comes to ensuring “that the military equipment that any Canadian company is selling abroad is not used against human rights and the interests of Canada and our allies.”

Dion said the arms “export permits allow Canada to be sure that military equipment . . . sold by Canadian companies is not misused by the country that received them.”

The Star on Saturday reported the cancellation penalty is in the multibillion-dollar range, under the contract signed by the previous Conservative government.

Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of Project Ploughshares, said his greater concern is Dion has made up his mind that the contract will continue despite valid questions about the human rights implications of proceeding with the deal.

In signing export permits for the vehicles, said Jaramillo, Canada has already given up “leverage.”

“They speak of evidence, but the threshold (for export approval) is neither certainty nor evidence, it is reasonable risk” the weaponized vehicles might be used against unarmed populations, he said. “The practical difference is if you use ‘evidence’ — this is something that takes place after the exports have taken place and after the human rights violations have occurred.”

Project Ploughshares joined Amnesty International and other groups in writing an open letter to the Liberal government asking it to halt the sale on the grounds that there is “reasonable risk — the threshold for Canadian export controls — that Canadian-made goods will be used against civilians by Saudi Arabia.”

The sale of an unspecified number of weaponized vehicles, to be built by General Dynamic Land Systems in London, Ont., was signed between Saudi Arabia and the Canada Commercial Corporation, a Crown corporation.

A briefing note for Finance Minister Bill Morneau, released under Access to Information and shared with the Star on condition the source not be identified, states clearly there is a question of liability for the government.

While the international trade minister has direct responsibility to Parliament for the Crown corporation that is the contracting party for Canadian suppliers, the document flags to the finance minister that it is he who approves the corporation’s borrowing plan and also has a direct role in approving CCC’s involvement in large capital projects.

The document, which contains redactions, identifies CCC’s signing of “a record $14.3-billion contact with Saudi Arabia for the sale of light armoured vehicles produced by General Dynamics Land Systems, and says “fees from transactions like this help maintain CCC’s financial viability.”

Liberal MP John McKay, the parliamentary secretary to the defence minister, said in an interview that if there were any move to stop the Saudi contract it would have to involve “very, very serious consideration.”

“There’s reputational damage, there’s financial damage, there’s employment damage and at the end of the day what did you actually accomplish? It’s not if the Saudis wouldn’t be able to buy LAVs. They can buy LAVs. So in an ideal world you wouldn’t have to be discussing this but this is not an ideal world.”

Members of the former Conservative government adamantly defended the contract in interviews with the Star last week. On Monday, Conservative foreign affairs critic Tony Clement clarified previous statements he’d made questioning whether the Saudi regime’s cross-border military efforts in Yemen should result in the contract’s cancellation.

Clement said “if the situation on the ground is the same as when we signed the contract, ie., that the LAVs are going to be used against terrorists, I’m in favour of implementing the contract. If there’s something different on the ground that indicates that the LAVs would be used to crush legitimate internal dissent that’s a different story.”

He now says the issue in Yemen is more complicated than when he suggested the contract should be shelved.

LAV Export Deal Challenged in Court

Published by Defense News, David Pugliese 

VICTORIA, British Columbia — A lawsuit that could potentially derail the largest weapons export deal in Canadian history will be heard in court as early as next month.

Daniel Turp, a law professor and former member of parliament, has filed the legal challenge in the Federal Court of Canada to prevent the export of CAN $14.8 billion (US $11 billion) of light armored vehicles by Canada to Saudi Arabia.

A Canadian LAV-III (Photo: Canadian Army)

Turp argues that the sale of the vehicles, to be built by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada of London, Ontario, violates Canadian law which prevents the export of military goods to a nation that abuses human rights or is engaged in an active conflict.

Related:
After Saudi Executions, New Canadian Leaders Still Back $15B Vehicle Deal

Canadian PM: Human Rights Issues Won't Derail LAV Sale to Saudis

In his submission to the Federal Court, Turp noted that light armored vehicles previously built by General Dynamics Canada are being used by Saudi forces in fighting in Yemen. He has also wrote that Saudi Arabia “consistently, severely and systematically violates its citizens’ human rights.”

He has asked the Federal Court to cancel the export permits issued for the vehicles.

Doug Wilson-Hodge

, manager of corporate affairs for 
General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, declined to comment on Turp’s legal action. Production of the vehicles has not yet begun.

Canada’s Liberal Party Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refused to cancel the contract, which is financially guaranteed by the government. “Fundamentally, this issue is a matter of principle,” Trudeau told journalists. “The principle at play here is that Canada’s word needs to mean something in the international community. It is important that people know when they sign a deal with Canada, when they sign a commercial agreement, a change in government isn’t going to lead to that contract being ripped up.”

The Saudi deal was announced in February 2015 by Canada’s previous Conservative Party government.

The Canadian government has filed its rebuttal with the Federal Court; it acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record but pointed out that the country is supportive of international efforts to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria as well as “countering instability in Yemen.”

"The acquisition of state-of-the-art armoured vehicles will assist Saudi Arabia in these goals, which are consistent with Canada's defence interests in the Middle East," the Canadian government argued in its response.

The case will be heard by the court in Montreal in late May or early June.

The contract has largely been shrouded in secrecy with the Saudis not even acknowledging they are purchasing the Canadian-built light armoured vehicles. Numbers of vehicles to be purchased has not been released. But analysts say Turp’s legal action may force Canada to reveal some of those details in court.

Conservative Party Prime Minister Stephen Harper also acknowledged human rights violations in Saudi Arabia but said that any of Canada’s allies would have signed a similar defense export deal with that country.

General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada has sold more than 1,400 LAVs to the Saudis over the last 20 years. The vehicles have been equipped with a variety of weapon systems, ranging from 25mm cannons to 90mm guns.

Human rights observers point out that some of those vehicles were sent in 2011 to help Bahrain’s rulers suppress a pro-democracy uprising.

Email: dpugliese@defensenews.com

Manley: We can’t always sell weapons to people we like

By: John Manley, originally published on iPolitics 

It saddens me to watch my successor as minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Dion, attacked and criticized over the sale to Saudi Arabia of light armoured vehicles manufactured in London, Ontario.

A Canadian LAV-III on patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan. 

The minister and his colleagues are, of course, right to say that the sale was negotiated and approved before they assumed office. The fact that the minister’s signature was required on the final export permits in no way contradicts the reality that to have refused to sign those permits would have breached a contract previously entered into by the Government of Canada.

If I sign an agreement to sell my house, the transaction is not completed until the day I sign the papers transferring ownership of the property to the buyer. But if I refuse to do the latter, I am clearly in breach of my prior agreement.

Beyond the contractual obligation, there are plenty of reasons to support the sale of these light armoured vehicles.

First, the defence industry is a key driver of economic activity and an important source of high-value employment. The sector encompasses more than 650 firms, supports more than 65,000 full-time jobs across the country and contributes an estimated $6 billion a year to our country’s GDP. Exports account for half of Canada’s total defence industry revenues.

Some people would prefer that we not be in the arms business at all. But not only does this industry supply some of our own defence and security requirements, it supplies our allies as well.

Should we adopt a policy of refusing to trade with people whose values are out of line with our own? Regrettably, that might leave us with a rather limited number of potential customers.

Whether one believes that Canada should offer its forces only in support of peacekeeping (a view I don’t happen to share), or should play a more robust role in global affairs, our armed forces plainly need vehicles, uniforms and ordinance to carry out their duties.

Given that requirement, it stands to reason that Canadians should want to design and manufacture this equipment — and if we’re doing so, the economics of scale dictate exporting those same products.

Second, Canada has long had interests in the region. Our armed forces have served there. Some 23 fallen Canadian soldiers and peacekeepers are buried in the Commonwealth Gaza War Cemetery near Gaza City.

It’s often said that countries don’t have friends — they have interests. Canada has an obvious interest in stability in a region in which regime change has, to say the least, not gone well in recent years. A strong Saudi Arabia, balancing Iran and its regional allies, is not a bad thing. Conversely, if you dislike the current government of Saudi Arabia (and there are good reasons to do so), you had better ask yourself who and what might replace it.

Third, as a mature country, we have to be able to deal with governments and regimes with which we do not always agree. The world is full of countries that do not share our values and beliefs. Should we adopt a policy of refusing to trade with people whose values are out of line with our own? Regrettably, that might leave us with a rather limited number of potential customers.

Canada, it should be pointed out, is not supplying the Saudis with equipment that can be used in torture or persecution of women. We are selling military vehicles — basically fancy trucks — of the sort that are required by any country’s armed forces, and which we happen to be good at making.

Finally, I find myself wondering whether the people who are now loudly proclaiming that we should block the sale of military vehicles to the Saudis are being equally vigorous in their support of a pipeline from Alberta to the East Coast — a pipeline that would reduce and perhaps end our dependence on oil imports from that same country. Somehow, I doubt it.

In my judgement, selling light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia is good for Canada and Canadian workers, and fully justifiable on moral grounds.

----

John Manley is president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2000 to 2002.

Dion: Canada calls for restraint in Nagorno-Karabakh

As Canada looks for future possible UN Peacekeeping operations, perhaps the next place the UN will end up will be in Central Asia (if Russia allows a Peacekeeping deployment) as a ceasefire over the Nagorno-Karabkh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan fell apart Monday. 

Global Affairs Canada Press Release:
April 3, 2016 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today released the following statement:

“Canada is concerned by the recent escalation of violence between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. We call on all sides to show restraint, immediately return to a true ceasefire, and actively resume dialogue within the framework of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group. Canada firmly believes that there is no alternative to a peaceful, negotiated solution to this conflict.”


Below is the CTV-News article describing the increase fighting in the region.

By:
Avet Demourian, The Associated Press
Published Monday, April 4, 2016 7:29AM EDT
Last Updated Monday, April 4, 2016 2:09PM EDT


YEREVAN, Armenia -- Fighting raged Monday around Nagorno-Karabakh, with Azerbaijan saying it lost three of its troops in the separatist region while inflicting heavy casualties on Armenian forces and the Armenian president warning that the hostilities could slide into a full-scale war.

The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said Armenian forces continued shelling Azerbaijani military positions and front-line villages despite a cease-fire that Azerbaijan unilaterally declared Sunday.

The ministry said that up to 170 Armenian troops have been "neutralized" and 12 Armenian armoured vehicles have been destroyed Monday. Armenian Defence Ministry spokesman Artsrun Ovannisian dismissed the claim as a product of the Azerbaijani military's "wild imagination."

The outbreak of hostilities that erupted Saturday is the worst since a war that ended in 1994, leaving Nagorno-Karabakh under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces and the Armenian military. Armenian forces also occupy several areas outside Karabakh proper.

International efforts to settle the conflict, fueled by long-simmering tensions between Christian Armenians and mostly Muslim Azeris, have brought no results.

The Karabakh military said Monday 20 of its servicemen have been killed since Saturday, another 72 have been wounded and seven of its tanks have been destroyed.

Azerbaijan said earlier that 12 of its soldiers were killed Saturday when the fighting flared up.

The warring parties have put enemy losses in the hundreds, claims which couldn't be independently verified and were promptly denied by the opposing side.

Ovannisian, the Armenian Defence Ministry spokesman, said Monday that Karabakh militia advanced overnight, "liberating new positions." He also claimed that Armenian artillery hit Azerbaijani units as they were moving to the front line.

Self-proclaimed officials in Karabakh said fighting intensified in the morning in the southeast and northeast with the Azerbaijani troops using Grad multiple rocket launchers.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry blamed Armenian forces for shelling residential areas despite a unilateral cease-fire announced by Baku, warning that "Armenia will bear the blame for possible counterattacks and retaliatory measures by Azerbaijan's armed forces."

Azerbaijan's defence minister warned that his forces will open up an artillery barrage on Stepanakert, the main city in Karabakh, if the Armenian forces don't stop shelling populated areas.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan warned Monday that his country could formalize its ties with Karabakh by officially recognizing its independence if the fighting escalates.

He warned that the escalation of hostilities could lead to a "large-scale war." "It will affect security and stability not only in South Caucasus, but Europe as well," Sargsyan said.

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the Kremlin was "seriously worried" about the continuing fighting in the region and added that Russia will continue its efforts to ensure a cease-fire.

Armenia is a member of Moscow-dominated economic and security alliances, including several ex-Soviet nations, and it also hosts a Russian military base.

At the same time, Russia has sought to maintain friendly ties with energy-rich Azerbaijan, which serves as a key conduit for Caspian oil and gas resources flowing to the West. Despite its close ties with Armenia, Russia also has sold weapons to Azerbaijan.

Sargsyan said that among the weapons used by Azerbaijan in the latest fighting was the TOS-1 heavy flamethrower system. Azerbaijan obtained the powerful weapon that fires thermobaric rockets from Russia in a deal that angered many in Armenia.

------

Aida Sultanova in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, contributed to this report.

Brean: War, Declare Yourself

Written by: Joseph Brean, National Post 

The immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack seems an odd time for a civics lesson. But that is just what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Foreign Affairs Minister, Stéphane Dion, seemed to offer in response to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls’ announcement that his country is at war with ISIL, whose terrorists targeted Brussels this week after Paris last year.

Speak for yourself, said the Canadians. Canadian warplanes may have been bombing ISIL targets until last month, and Canadian special forces are indeed in the northern Iraq war zone today, but what they are engaged in is a “fight,” according to Canada’s government, not a war.

“A war is something that can be won by one side or the other and there is no path for ISIL to actually win against the West,” Trudeau said. “They want to destabilize, they want to strike fear. They need to be stamped out.”

THE CANADIAN PRESS/The National Archives of Canada, Claude P. DettloffThe photo "Wait for me, Daddy" shows Private Jack Bernard, B.C. Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles) saying goodbye to his five-year-old son Warren Bernard as he leaves for the Second World War in New Westminster, B.C., 1940.

“If you use the terminology ‘war,’ in international law it will mean two armies with respecting rules and it’s not the case at all,” added Dion. “You have terrorist groups that respect nothing. So we prefer to say that it’s a fight.”

They are technically correct, says Jack Granatstein, a military historian and fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, but the curiosity of their comments reflects a major historical trend, away from wars that begin with legal agreements between sovereign states, toward the modern scenario of military conflict among non-state actors like terrorist groups, insurgencies, and subnational ethnic groups.

“I don’t think people do it anymore,” Granatstein said of the formal declaration of war, pointing to recent military conflicts such as Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

In Canada, he notes, only one war has ever been formally declared, the Second World War. More commonly, war has been justified either by Canada’s colonial duties, or by a simple vote of Parliament to send troops somewhere.

In Canada’s first military action, against the Red River Rebellion a few years after Confederation, troops were dispatched by a vote of Parliament, just as they were in the North-West Rebellion of 1885.

Canada went to the Boer War without a formal declaration, and joined the Great War in 1914 as a colony of Britain. It was not until war broke out against the German Reich that Canada passed a throne speech and had King George VI formally declare war on its behalf, first against Germany, later against Finland, Hungary, Romania and Japan.


STF/AFP/Getty ImagesCanadian soldiers land on Courseulles beach in Normandy, 06 June 1944 as Allied forces storm the Normandy beaches on D-Day.

“To my mind that suggests what a colonial remnant this country is, that we couldn’t even go to war on our own,” said Granatstein. “That’s our last declaration of war in the formal sense.”

But of course Canada has fought in many wars, no less real for having never been declared. Korea, for example, was famously described by U.S. President Harry S. Truman as a “police action.” Afghanistan was always a security mission, not a war.

One of the best illustrations of the legalities of declaring war in Canada, and how it relates to the Charter and international law, came in 2003, when Canada was caught by the dilemma of Iraq and whether to join the looming American invasion.

Lt. H.G. Aikman/DND/Library and Archives Canada/PA-129128Ranville France, 18 July 1944 -- Personnel of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade taking part in advance around Caen.

Several people brought legal action in an attempt to block a Canadian declaration of war, which in the end was made moot by Jean Chrétien’s decision not to join. In court, Canada argued that any decision to declare war “arises from the prerogative powers of the Crown and is not justiciable in any event,” according to one ruling. In siding with Canada and dismissing the action, a judge found that declaring war, like signing a treaty, is a matter of “high policy,” quite different from the kind of government action that can be rightly reviewed by a court, such as refusal of a passport.

“Where matters of high policy are concerned, public policy and public interest considerations far outweigh the rights of individuals or their legitimate expectations. In my view, apart from Charter claims, these decisions are not judicially reviewable.”

War is as old as society, and the question of when it formally begins has changed in lockstep with history. One constant theme has been a sense of chivalry and honour, in which sneak attacks are frowned on, and noble victory is possible only by declaring one’s intentions and fighting in the clear light of day.

Homer’s epic poetry, for example, is at root a series of tales about how the heroic ideal is expressed in war. Heraclitus, the ancient Greek philosopher, thought the true nature of the universe is war and strife, and that justice arose from the equilibrium in this turmoil. “War is father and kin of all,” he wrote, an idea that simmered in the background of philosophy and showed itself centuries later in Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous quip: “Out of life’s school of war: Whatever does not destroy me, makes me stronger.”

The themes are timeless. The Peloponnesian War, which started without a formal declaration, influenced Plato’s low opinion of Athenian democracy, just as the English Civil War inspired Thomas Hobbes’ dismal view of the state of nature — “a war of all against all” — and the need for a strong social contract under a powerful state.

Saint Augustine was one of the first thinkers to write about the idea of a just war, partly in response to the sacking of Rome by Alaric the Visigoth. His ideas guided Christianity as it came to dominate Europe, and the Christian reluctance to fight gave way to the pressures of statecraft and crusade. From his writings grew the legal doctrine of jus ad bellum, or when it is right to go to war, with typical criteria including a formal declaration by a legitimate authority, for a just cause, as a last resort, with a reasonable prospect of success.

Ken Bell / Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-162651Canadian infantry walking through rubble

Modern versions of this thinking have focused on war as a response to aggression, which gave rise to the notion of declaring war by ultimatum — basically, retreat or suffer the consequences. But formal declarations were more the exception than the rule, with some historical analyses suggesting only about 10 per cent of wars in 18th century Europe were formally declared.

The Hague Conventions aimed to change that when they came into force in 1910.

“The Contracting Powers recognize that hostilities between themselves must not commence without previous and explicit warning, in the form either of a reasoned declaration of war or of an ultimatum with conditional declaration of war,” they read. “The existence of a state of war must be notified to the neutral Powers without delay, and shall not take effect in regard to them until after the receipt of a notification, which may, however, be given by telegraph.”

In the decades since, however, as the Cold War gave way to the War on Terror, the old formalities looked ever more archaic, such that Canada today is in the strange position of fighting a fight while its allies wage a war.

Canada not at war with ISIL, says Trudeau and Dion

Written by: Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The Liberal government says Canada is not at war with Islamic militants — a view not shared by ally France.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion rejected the "at war" label just one day after the bombings in Brussels that killed more than 30 people and injured 270.

After the attacks, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls used the term Tuesday following a crisis meeting called by French President Francois Hollande.

"We are at war," said Valls. "We have been subjected for the last few months in Europe to acts of war." Added Hollande: "This war will be long."

The bombings in Brussels came four months after the attacks in Paris that left 130 dead.

The militant group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has claimed responsibility for both incidents.

Trudeau, who made his comments during a CBC Radio interview, and Dion — speaking Wednesday in the House of Commons foyer — both said the conflict with ISIL does not fit the true definition of war.

"A war is something that can be won by one side or the other and there is no path for ISIL to actually win against the West," Trudeau said.

"They want to destabilize, they want to strike fear. They need to be stamped out."

Dion suggested the notion of labelling the fight against extremists as an actual war might simply be outdated.

"If you use the terminology 'war,' in international law it will mean two armies with respecting rules and it's not the case at all," Dion said.

"You have terrorist groups that respect nothing. So we prefer to say that it's a fight."

A fight, Dion added, that the West is determined to win. "Each of the attacks will only strengthen our resolve."

Last month, Canada withdrew its fighter jets from the American-led coalition that is bombing ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

But it tripled the number of Canadian special forces trainers in northern Iraq, buttressed intelligence gathering assets and also increased federal spending on efforts to help displaced civilians.

"That's why our new mission, which is much more focused on empowering locals on the ground on a military level, on a humanitarian level, on a refugee level, is going to be an extraordinarily strong piece of the coalition's fight against ISIL," Trudeau said.

Canada in Iraq: U.S. Applauds Canada’s Revamped Mission

Written by: Lee Berthiaume,  

Published in the Monday, February 9, 2016 Ottawa Citizen - NP Section 

Mission meets coalition’s needs, U.S. envoy says

"IF YOU THINK CANADA IS A FREE RIDER BECAUSE WE ARE NOT PARTICIPATING ANYMORE TO THE AIRSTRIKES, THEN GERMANY IS A FREE RIDER. AND ITALY. AND ABOUT 50 MEMBERS OF THE COALITION. THIS IS NOT THE CASE." — FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER STÉPHANE DION

The U.S. has headed off a potential controversy by giving the Liberal government a thumbs-up over its plan to stop bombing ISIL in Iraq and Syria, and instead concentrate on military training, diplomacy and aid.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the new mission Monday, as Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan prepared to travel to a NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels. The plan includes tripling the number of troops training Kurdish forces in northern Iraq to 200, while ending the bombing campaign by Feb. 22.

There had been fears the U.S. and other allies would react negatively to the plan to withdraw Canadian fighter jets from the region, particularly at a time when other countries such as the Netherlands and Australia are expanding their participation in the bombing campaign.

But speaking in Washington, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Peter Cook, praised the new mission, describing it as the kind of response U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has been looking for from anti-ISIL coalition members.

“The secretary sees these as significant contributions,” Cook told reporters, “and he appreciates the decision by the Trudeau government to step up Canada’s role in the campaign at this critical time.”

In a separate statement, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman said Canada’s “significant contributions” are “in line with the coalition’s current needs.” That includes trainers, as well as more than $1 billion in humanitarian and longer-term aid. Canada is also beefing up its diplomatic presence in the region.

But Heyman left the door open to more contributions in the future.

“Canada remains an essential partner in the counter-Daesh mission,” he said, using another name for ISIL, “and we will continue to discuss with all coalition partners additional ways to intensify efforts.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said in an interview he had spoken to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and was scheduled to talk with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

“It’s not for me to put words in their mouth, but I’m very confident that both of them will be very positive,” he said.

Carter said two weeks ago there should be “no free riders” in the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIL. While his comments were largely aimed at Turkey and some Arab states, critics of the Liberal government suggested the comment could apply equally well to Canada.

“If you think Canada is a free rider because we are not participating anymore to the airstrikes, then Germany is a free rider. And Italy. And about 50 members of the coalition,” Dion said. “This is not the case.

“In fact, in order to be more effective, we needed to deploy a larger panoply of our expertise, and to do it in a very integrated way with what our allies are doing. We are not alone in this fight. We are part of a coalition, and we looked at the best way for us to be optimally effective within the coalition.”

Experts on both sides of the border said the Americans’ biggest fear was the Liberal government would withdraw the fighter jets as soon as it was elected to power in October. The fact Canada is keeping its surveillance and refuelling planes in Iraq and Syria also helps.

Chris Sands, director of Canadian studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, said the expanded training mission is important because many allies don’t want to put troops on the front lines with the Kurds.

Still, there was skepticism over Washington’s overwhelming praise.

“I’m not sure this will be greeted with a great deal of hand clapping down in Washington,” said former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson, now vicepresident of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. “There’ ll be disappointment because they thought maybe they could change the Liberal government’s mind.”

Added Sands: “I think people here will say ‘OK, fine. At least they’re not walking away.’ ”

Dion: Canada Cannot Say 'Yes' to All Coalition Requests visa-vi ISIS

Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, January 28, 2016 10:19AM EST
Last Updated Thursday, January 28, 2016 12:18PM EST

OTTAWA -- Canada will have to say no to some of the requests that its allies are making in the fight against Islamic extremists, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said Thursday.

But the minister wouldn't say if some coalition members have asked Canada to keep its fighter jets in Iraq and Syria.

"We cannot say yes to everything," Dion said.

Dion was discussing Canada's future contribution to the mission against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant at a major gathering of foreign affairs experts in Ottawa. He insisted the new Liberal contribution will be meaningful."When our plan will be out, it will not be all what our allies are asking us to do, but it will be pretty close of what they hope from us."

The Liberals plan to withdraw Canada's six CF-18 fighter jets from the US-led bombing coalition, which has sparked criticism from the Opposition Conservatives.

Dion will not say when the government will announce its new plan, but he says there would be no gap in Canada's contribution to the air war in the meantime.

"The plan is not out because the current plan is still there. There is no gap. We are still involved."

He also said he will travel to Rome next week for another major meeting of coalition partners.

Dion played down the fact that Canada was not invited to a recent coalition meeting led by the Americans. He such "ad hoc" meetings occur, but Canada is always fully briefed by the United States.

He said Canada is conducting two to three per cent of the coalition airstrikes and he said it is "doable" for the coalition to replace that contribution.

David Perry, a senior analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said Canadian warplanes may have been flying a relatively low percentage of bombing missions, but the contribution has been more meaningful than statistics would indicate.

"Canada's been flying a lot of the more difficult missions for quite some time and that will end."

Was Canada Snubbed From ISIS Meeting?

OTTAWA — Canada has not been invited to a meeting of defence ministers in Paris this week to discuss the fight against ISIL militants, media reports say.

Jan 20th Globe and Mail Cartoon

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s office has confirmed to CBC News and the Globe and Mail that he won’t attend Wednesday’s meeting.

The reports say defence ministers from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands will take part in the talks.

Sajjan spokesman Renee Filiatrault told the Globe that Canada’s plan to pull its CF-18s from the fight against ISIL had nothing to do with Canada’s exclusion from the meeting.

Omar Alghabra, the parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion, told the CBC it wasn’t a surprise as those seven countries meet regularly without Canada and the only thing different this time it that defence ministers will be there.

But Conservative defence critic James Bezan said the apparent snub shows Canada is no longer seen as a valuable ally.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is brushing off suggestions Canada was snubbed from an anti-ISIS coalition meeting that several other countries, including Australia and the Netherlands, were invited to attend on Wednesday in Paris.

“Meetings happen all the time,” Sajjan told reporters Tuesday in Saint Andrews, N.B.

However, sources inside the Department of National Defence told CTV’s Mercedes Stephenson they were surprised by the lack of an invitation, initially thinking it was a mistake.

Retired Maj.-Gen. David Fraser told CTV’s Power Play he believes the lack of an invitation is a result of the Trudeau government’s plan to pull Canada’s CF-18 fighter jets from the mission against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

“The United States are the ones who determine who comes to the meeting and (we’re) considered now, apparently … not a significant contributor and they don’t want to hear what we have to say,” he said.

Fraser said the Americans view Canada’s current contribution of CF-18s “as very significant,” adding that they are currently making a difference on the ground.

“If you don’t come to the game standing shoulder to shoulder, sharing the burden and the risk of the hard fighting, you will not be included in the conversation,” he added.

Former defence minister Peter MacKay told Power Play he sees the lack of an invitation as “downgrading of Canada’s perception and our role in the world.”

“Any way you want to try and spin it, it signals a diminished role for Canada in this mission and in the world,” he said.

MacKay urged the Liberals to “put aside the partisan campaign promise” to pull the six jets.

Conservative defence critic James Bezan said earlier Tuesday that the omission was “predictable,” because of the Liberals’ promise to pull CF-18 fighter jets from the bombing mission against ISIS.

“It is important that Canada be part of these discussions,”Bezan told CTV News Channel Tuesday. “We have a role to play and we have things to say, but unfortunately, under this government, nobody is taking us seriously.”

Conservative interim leader Rona Ambrose echoed Bezan’s comments in a speech to the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce.

“Six months ago we hosted the (anti-ISIS coalition) meeting,” she said. “Enter Trudeau, we’re not even invited to the meeting.”

“These kinds of signals matter.”

Ambrose told reporters after her speech that it’s “obvious” why Canada wasn’t invited.

“When you’re not a full partner, you don’t get invited to the table,” she said. “We were asked to join by the United States and other partners and now we’ve said we’re pulling out of that bombing mission,” she added.

“I’ve called on the prime minister to keep our CF-18s in the fight against ISIS and stand resolutely with our allies,” Ambrose said.

But Sajjan brushed off suggestions that Canada has been sidelined in the fight against terror.

“Meetings happen all the time,” Sajjan told reporters Tuesday in Saint Andrews, N.B.

Although Canada won’t participate in Wednesday’s meeting, Sajjan said he is actively engaged in anti-terror talks and will be discussing ISIS with Canada’s allies at two other upcoming meetings.

That includes another coalition meeting of defence ministers on Feb. 11.

Sajjan also said that Canada is contributing to anti-terror efforts around the globe, including the aftermath of the November attacks in Paris and the more recent attack in Burkina Faso.

“We are actively participating on a meaningful basis,” he said. “We’re not just looking at the current situation in Syria and Iraq, we’re actually looking at the overall threats around the world as well.”

But Bezan said that the Liberals have been sending “confusing messages” about Canada’s role in the fight against ISIS. Despite the promise to withdraw fighter jets from the bombing missions in Iraq and Syria, a timeline has not yet been given.

Bezan said the Tories “firmly believe” that Canada’s CF-18s should stay in the battle. The party also supports a more robust training mission for local troops on the ground, he said.

“Prime Minister Trudeau wants to talk about his sunny ways and that Canada is back on the international scene, and quite the opposite is true,” he said.

“We should be sitting at the table. We have made significant contributions until now.”

The Globe and Mail reported that Wednesday’s meeting is for “significant contributors” to the anti-ISIS coalition, including the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands.

Canada in Iraq: CAF Could be Joined by Police for Larger Training Mission

Written by: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press

BRUSSELS -- The scope of the Trudeau government's reconfigured mission in Iraq will be broader than just the military and could include a sizable police training contingent, Canada's foreign affairs minister said Wednesday.

Stephane Dion found himself repeatedly buttonholed in the polished hallways of NATO headquarters over the last two days, sometimes by countries eager for Canada to join their endeavours, as the United States made clear it expects allies to do more in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

"It's more than just military, but it's always about security," Dion told The Canadian Press in an interview.

"You can't have security only with military. You have security when people feel secure with their institutions and they believe in them."

One of his nine bilateral meetings included the Italian foreign minister and the possibility of Canada joining Italy in Iraq's Kurdish north. More than 100 Carabinieri -- Italy's national police force -- are training local police in areas recaptured from ISIL.

"Is it an area where we may have a contribution that would be welcome? It is something we have to discuss with the Americans, with the Italians and others," said Dion.

He added that Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is leading the drive to recraft the mission following the withdrawal of CF-18 jetfighters from combat, which is expected to happen sometime this winter.

During the election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised a beefed-up mission to train local forces in Iraq, over and above the existing 69 special forces instructors working the Kurdish peshmerga in the north of the country. The government has yet to provide details on what the mission would look like.

The pressure is not only on Canada, but all NATO allies. Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a tough, unambiguous message, saying the United States expects them to do more in the war against ISIL.

He told his 27 other counterparts that the international coalition "must strike at the core" of ISIL and strangle its efforts to set up networks elsewhere.

"I called on every NATO ally to step up its fight against Daesh," Kerry said, using the Arabic acronym for the militant group, also known as ISIL and ISIS.

"I was very gratified that a number of allies are already bringing more to this battle -- or are planning to increase their contributions."

He praised British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose Parliament is poised to vote on expanding airstrikes into Syria and Germany, which plans to deploy ships and surveillance aircraft to support operations against ISIL.

"It's a very important step, we applaud his leadership on it," said Kerry, who met with Dion one-on-one. "It is important for the world to join together in this initiative and we welcome Germany's efforts."

Although he didn't reference the Canadian combat withdrawal, Kerry did give the Liberal government an opening by saying that there are a number of countries willing to step up and the contributions don't necessarily "have to be troops engaged in kinetic action."

Kerry said the U.S. has specifically asked for special forces instructors, police trainers and so-called "enablers," such as transport and medical facilities.

As a further reminder that Washington isn't prepared to let allies off the hook, he said the U.S. government will follow up with each country on a military-to-military basis as well as a diplomatic basis "in order to secure additional help."

Also Wednesday, NATO foreign ministers formally invited the tiny Adriatic nation of Montenegro to join the alliance, despite opposition from Moscow. There was also discussion about fully reactivating the NATO-Russia Council, which, prior to the annexation of Crimea, had been a forum for dialogue between the former Cold War adversaries.

"I will now explore how we can use the council as a tool for political engagement," said secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, noting that the recent downing of a Russian fighter jet by Turkey along with other border incidents makes dialogue important.

He insisted it is not a sign of weakening resolve in the face of the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine and for the moment the embattled country's foreign minister seemed prepared to accept the shifting position.

Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraine's minister for foreign affairs, said he was for the moment satisfied that it "would not be a return to business as usual."

Dion said there must be constructive engagement with Moscow, but added that Canada will insist that the situation in Ukraine be put on the agenda of any future council meeting.

Canada in Iraq: Stephane Dion: Canada Can Do More in ISIS Fight, than 2% of Airstrikes

Written by the Canadian Press

Other countries, including North Atlantic allies, understand the warplanes have played only a small part in the effort, and that Canada will be more effective in a training role, Dion said on his way into a meeting of foreign ministers.

“There are a lot of things where Canada may be a great supporter, instead of delivering two per cent of the airstrikes,” the global affairs minister said.

Dion also indicated the signals he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have received at other international conferences is that Canada’s new policy is “well understood.”

It remains unclear when the jets will be coming home — or what a beefed-up training commitment would look like — but Dion could see a menu of opportunities before him during the two-day ministerial meeting.

The war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIL or ISIS, is not a NATO mission, but almost all members contribute in one form or another to the U.S. coalition.

The alliance announced last summer it was embarking on a “capacity-building” training program for the Iraqi military, but gave no timelines for the training at sites in Turkey and Jordan. It was looking at a wide series of measures, including countering improvised explosive devices, bomb disposal, de-mining, civil-military planning, cyberdefence, military medicine and medical assistance.

How far along the plans might be and whether the contingents are fully staffed is uncertain, but what is clear is that the Trudeau government is more prepared to embrace the alliance initiatives than the Harper government had been over the last few years.

Under the Conservatives, Canada was pulled more tightly into a U.S. orbit with a series of policy changes and agreements, and was more willing to act in ad-hoc coalitions, like the one bombing ISIL.

“Canada will be a positive partner,” Dion said. “We want to re-engage Canada in multilateralism and NATO is at the core of that.”

The alliance conducted a military training mission in Iraq, but it was shut down when the U.S. withdrew its forces in 2011.

The reconstituted undertaking bears a passing resemblance to what NATO has been doing in Afghanistan with some success — a mission that included nearly 900 Canadians for three years. Afghan forces, despite taking a pounding from a renewed insurgency, have largely held their ground, whereas Iraqi forces melted away in the face of last year’s ISIL onslaught.

NATO’s future role in Afghanistan and how to fund the country’s fledgling security forces was up for debate Tuesday among foreign ministers.

“Afghan forces have faced great challenges but they have shown tremendous courage and determination,” said NATO secretary general Jen Stoltenberg.

“This has been a year of challenges, but it also been a year of progress…. Supporting a stable Afghanistan is in the interest of our own security.”

The ministers will approve a continued deployment of roughly 12,000 trainers and advisers to mirror a recent U.S. decision to extend its presence in the war-torn country past 2016. Canada no longer has training troops in Afghanistan.

They were also asked to approve a plan to raise $4 billion per year from the international community to fund Afghan security forces up to 2020. Stoltenberg said the matter will be discussed when leaders meet in Warsaw next year, and he declined to provide a provide a specific figure after the meeting.

Donor countries began paying the bills for Afghan troops and police following the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago. The Harper government made a $330 million commitment up to 2017.

Despite a nearly decade-long NATO combat mission, which included the deaths of 158 Canadian soldiers, the Taliban and other extremist groups remain a persistent and lethal threat in Afghanistan — something that was evident a few weeks ago when the northern city of Kunduz fell to insurgents.

It was eventually recaptured by Afghan forces with the help of U.S. air support, but it raised fresh questions about the readiness of local forces to carry on the fight without western help.

The Obama administration recently reversed a plan to entirely withdraw American forces. On Monday, Doug Lute, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, underlined that Washington expects allies to match the commitment to keep 10,000 troops in the country through next year.

A senior NATO official, speaking on background Tuesday, said the alliance’s mission in Afghanistan is strictly an advisory and training commitment and that no one anticipates a return to a combat mission.

The official described the effort to secure the initial round of commitments as “a demanding ask” for western countries that were still limping out of the global financial collapse.

The upcoming request could also be challenging, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

“I hesitate to say whether in 2011 the global financial situation was more or less difficult than now, but we will again have to make the case for the connection between the security of Afghanistan and our own security.

“We will be making that argument in the coming months.”

(the above was written by the Canadian Press)

Afghanistan: NATO to ask Canada and Allies for More Money

Written by Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press - CTVNews

BRUSSELS -- NATO's future role in Afghanistan and how to fund the country's fledgling security forces is up for debate Tuesday among the military alliance's foreign ministers meeting.

It's expected they will approve an extended deployment of roughly 12,000 trainers and advisers to mirror a recent U.S. decision to extend its presence in the war-torn country past 2016.

The ministers, including Canada's Stephane Dion, are also being asked to approve a plan to raise $4 billion per year from the international community to fund Afghan security forces up to 2020. Canada no longer has training troops in Afghanistan.

Donor countries began paying the bills for Afghan troops and police following the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago and the Harper government made a $330 million commitment up to 2017.

"Supporting a stable Afghanistan is in the interest of our own security," Secretary General Jen Stoltenberg said at the opening of the meeting. "Afghanistan is important to NATO. We have been focused on Afghanistan for several years and we remain focused on Afghanistan."

Despite a nearly decade long NATO combat mission, which included the deaths of 158 Canadian soldiers, the Taliban and other extremist groups remain a persistent and lethal threat -- something that was evident a few weeks ago when the northern city of Kunduz fell to insurgents.

It was eventually recaptured by Afghan forces with the help of U.S. air support, but it raised fresh questions about the readiness of local forces to carry on the fight without western help.

The Obama administration recently reversed a plan to entirely withdraw American forces and the U.S. ambassador to NATO Doug Lute underlined on Monday that Washington expects allies to match the commitment to keep 10,000 troops in the country through next year.

A senior NATO official, speaking on background Tuesday, said the alliance's mission in Afghanistan is strictly an advisory and training commitment and no one anticipates a return to a combat mission.

The official described the effort to secure the initial round of commitments as "a demanding ask" for western countries that were still limping out of the global financial collapse.

The official conceded the upcoming request could also be challenging.

"This time around it will be a demanding ask again,"

"I hesitate to say whether in 2011 the global financial situation was more or less difficult than now, but we will again have to make the case for the connection between the security of Afghanistan and our own security. We will be making that argument in the coming months."

The current funding deal runs out in 2017 and it's unclear what the Trudeau government intends to do. Stoltenberg says Tuesday will mark the beginning of the campaign to raise funds.