(^_^)
2015-01-20 20:58:47 UTC
January 20, 2015 - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
‘If you fire on Canadian forces, they will fire back,’ Defence Minister says
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson says Canada’s special forces soldiers will
continue to direct air strikes from the ground in Iraq and train Kurdish
fighters near the front lines of the battle with Islamic State militants –
where the chances of a firefight are high.
The Harper government, which is being accused by opposition parties of
misleading Canadians on the job military advisers are doing in Iraq, insists
this is by no means an escalation into a ground war role.
“We’ve been very clear from the start that we were there to advise and assist
the Iraqis and we’ve been very clear we’d be participating in air strikes,” Mr.
Nicholson told The Globe and Mail in an interview.
The government says Kurdish forces don’t have the technical know-how and skill
to call down airstrikes and so Canadian troops have ended up doing that.
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“They currently don’t have the means nor the capacity, quite frankly, to
conduct target designation.”
He said Canada will continue to train peshmerga near the front lines “where
necessary” and if that draws fire Canadians will respond in kind. The military
says about 20 per cent of training is conducted near front lines.
“If you fire on Canadian forces, they will fire back. It’s an act of self
defence and I think Canadians expect that of our armed forces,” Mr. Nicholson said.
The Canadian Forces said on Monday that troops on the ground were guiding air
strikes against targets and using sniper fire to fend off enemy attacks at the
front lines. At a news conference at a daycare centre in Toronto on Tuesday,
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said the revelation did not square with Prime
Minister Stephen Harper’s comments in the House when the mission was up for
debate and a vote last fall.
“Mr. Harper cannot get away with telling Canadians ‘There will be no combat by
our troops,’ and then try to explain away the fact they are of course involved
in combat,” Mr. Mulcair told reporters. “He was asked those specific questions
by me, in September, and he told Canadians they would not be involved in
combat. He did not tell the truth.”
There are nearly 70 Canadian special forces soldiers in northern Iraq who are
supposed to be serving as military advisers to Kurdish peshmerga. It is not a
combat mission.
Separately, six Canadian CF-18 jets are part of a combat mission in Iraq –
participating in U.S.-led coalition air strikes against Islamic State militants.
Brigadier-General Mike Rouleau, commander of Canadian Special Operations Forces
Command, revealed in a media briefing Monday that soldiers have directed air
strikes against ground targets 13 times in the past seven or eight weeks, which
means guiding attacks by methods such as “marking the target with a laser so
the bomb hits precisely where you want it to hit.”
The senior officer defended this apparent expansion of the Canadian role in
Iraq by saying allied local fighters “have neither the tools nor the training
whatsoever to be able to do this.”
Brig.-Gen. Rouleau also announced that, for the first time, Canadian military
advisers have engaged in a firefight after coming under attack when they were
at the front lines conducting training.
This is not considered a combat operation because the advisers had not gone
there to engage with Islamic State soldiers. ﴾͡๏̯͡๏﴿ ?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He said Canadian troops are spending 20 per cent of their time near the front
lines and the exchange of fire happened within “the last seven days.”
The Harper government, which sent the soldiers to Iraq early last fall, said in
a parliamentary motion that Canada would not “deploy troops in ground combat
operations.”
Philippe Lagassé, a military expert at the University of Ottawa, said he
considers the actions to be within the parameters of the original mission.
“It ultimately comes down to impressions. I think it’s fair to say this is not
the impression that was being given about what they were doing. That said, if
you are going to get into the technicalities, they never said they weren’t
going to do this,” Mr. Lagassé said.
Speaking at a caucus meeting in London, Ont., Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau
said the troops have the right to defend themselves. However, he added that
Mr. Harper will have to explain why the mission has changed in recent months.
“The Prime Minister established parameters for the mission that he laid out
with great assurance before the House of Commons, and as we found out
yesterday, have not been respected,” Mr. Trudeau said. “The Prime Minister
made statements in the fall around this mission that turn out, today, to not
have been entirely truthful and therefore, the Prime Minister has very serious
questions to answer.”
He said the latest development show that in his view, “troops have participated
in ground combat.”
Loading Image...
============================================================================
Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it
deserves it. ~ Mark Twain
============================================================================
‘If you fire on Canadian forces, they will fire back,’ Defence Minister says
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson says Canada’s special forces soldiers will
continue to direct air strikes from the ground in Iraq and train Kurdish
fighters near the front lines of the battle with Islamic State militants –
where the chances of a firefight are high.
The Harper government, which is being accused by opposition parties of
misleading Canadians on the job military advisers are doing in Iraq, insists
this is by no means an escalation into a ground war role.
“We’ve been very clear from the start that we were there to advise and assist
the Iraqis and we’ve been very clear we’d be participating in air strikes,” Mr.
Nicholson told The Globe and Mail in an interview.
The government says Kurdish forces don’t have the technical know-how and skill
to call down airstrikes and so Canadian troops have ended up doing that.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“They currently don’t have the means nor the capacity, quite frankly, to
conduct target designation.”
He said Canada will continue to train peshmerga near the front lines “where
necessary” and if that draws fire Canadians will respond in kind. The military
says about 20 per cent of training is conducted near front lines.
“If you fire on Canadian forces, they will fire back. It’s an act of self
defence and I think Canadians expect that of our armed forces,” Mr. Nicholson said.
The Canadian Forces said on Monday that troops on the ground were guiding air
strikes against targets and using sniper fire to fend off enemy attacks at the
front lines. At a news conference at a daycare centre in Toronto on Tuesday,
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said the revelation did not square with Prime
Minister Stephen Harper’s comments in the House when the mission was up for
debate and a vote last fall.
“Mr. Harper cannot get away with telling Canadians ‘There will be no combat by
our troops,’ and then try to explain away the fact they are of course involved
in combat,” Mr. Mulcair told reporters. “He was asked those specific questions
by me, in September, and he told Canadians they would not be involved in
combat. He did not tell the truth.”
There are nearly 70 Canadian special forces soldiers in northern Iraq who are
supposed to be serving as military advisers to Kurdish peshmerga. It is not a
combat mission.
Separately, six Canadian CF-18 jets are part of a combat mission in Iraq –
participating in U.S.-led coalition air strikes against Islamic State militants.
Brigadier-General Mike Rouleau, commander of Canadian Special Operations Forces
Command, revealed in a media briefing Monday that soldiers have directed air
strikes against ground targets 13 times in the past seven or eight weeks, which
means guiding attacks by methods such as “marking the target with a laser so
the bomb hits precisely where you want it to hit.”
The senior officer defended this apparent expansion of the Canadian role in
Iraq by saying allied local fighters “have neither the tools nor the training
whatsoever to be able to do this.”
Brig.-Gen. Rouleau also announced that, for the first time, Canadian military
advisers have engaged in a firefight after coming under attack when they were
at the front lines conducting training.
This is not considered a combat operation because the advisers had not gone
there to engage with Islamic State soldiers. ﴾͡๏̯͡๏﴿ ?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He said Canadian troops are spending 20 per cent of their time near the front
lines and the exchange of fire happened within “the last seven days.”
The Harper government, which sent the soldiers to Iraq early last fall, said in
a parliamentary motion that Canada would not “deploy troops in ground combat
operations.”
Philippe Lagassé, a military expert at the University of Ottawa, said he
considers the actions to be within the parameters of the original mission.
“It ultimately comes down to impressions. I think it’s fair to say this is not
the impression that was being given about what they were doing. That said, if
you are going to get into the technicalities, they never said they weren’t
going to do this,” Mr. Lagassé said.
Speaking at a caucus meeting in London, Ont., Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau
said the troops have the right to defend themselves. However, he added that
Mr. Harper will have to explain why the mission has changed in recent months.
“The Prime Minister established parameters for the mission that he laid out
with great assurance before the House of Commons, and as we found out
yesterday, have not been respected,” Mr. Trudeau said. “The Prime Minister
made statements in the fall around this mission that turn out, today, to not
have been entirely truthful and therefore, the Prime Minister has very serious
questions to answer.”
He said the latest development show that in his view, “troops have participated
in ground combat.”
Loading Image...
============================================================================
Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it
deserves it. ~ Mark Twain
============================================================================