(ಠ_ಠ)
2014-11-28 01:18:31 UTC
Remember that little TV theme "Have gun, will travel . . ." ?
Seems the Harper government is looking for a war to fight in. What a bloody
joke on Canadians with the mission estimated at "up to $266 Million for 6 months".
____________________________________________________
Postmedia News | November 27, 2014
With little for Canadian jets to do in Iraq, expanding mission to Syria may be next
Canadian military aircraft tasked with fighting ISIS in Iraq are spending most
of their time on the ground, which could bolster arguments for extending the
war into Syria.
Canada is contributing six CF-18 fighter jets, two Aurora military surveillance
aircraft and a Polaris refuelling plane to the U.S.-led bombing campaign
against militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham, commonly known as
ISIS.
Canada’s Iraq mission by the numbers
116: Total sorties flown by Canadian military aircraft in Iraq since Oct. 30
42: Sorties flown in the first week
26: Sorties flown in the second week
35: Sorties flown in the third week
13: Sorties flown in the fourth week
4: Canadian airstrikes since the start of the mission
0: Canadian airstrikes in the past week
The aircraft began flying sorties on Oct. 30, and by the end of the first week
had logged a total of 42. Those included an airstrike that destroyed four ISIS
construction vehicles.
The pace has since slowed, particularly over the past week. While the CF-18s
and other aircraft flew a combined 26 and 35 sorties in the war’s second and
third weeks, only 13 sorties were flown between Nov. 20 and 26. (The military
counts a sortie every time one of its planes embarks on a mission. If two
planes are involved in the same mission, it is counted as two sorties.)
Of the 13 sorties, six were flown by the CF-18s, or exactly one mission per
fighter jet over the entire six-day span. The Auroras flew four while the
Polaris flew three. Each sortie is believed to run about four to six hours.
A U.S.-led command centre is responsible for assigning missions to all
coalition aircraft, and the Canadian commander on the ground, Col. Daniel
Constable, said Thursday that Canada accomplished all the missions asked of it.
But Constable also admitted two weeks ago that coalition forces were having a
hard time finding ISIS targets, and the latest figures indicate the situation
hasn’t gotten any better.
This was the first week where Canadian warplanes did not launch an attack
against ISIS targets after destroying the construction vehicles, an artillery
piece, a warehouse and a bunker over the previous three weeks.
Constable said the most noteworthy Canadian mission over the past week was
escorting an allied transport plane dropping water, tents, blankets and other
supplies to Iraqi civilians.
He would not say what country was behind the humanitarian drop, how much aid
was delivered, when the mission happened, or where it occurred, citing concerns
the information would help ISIS forces.
With Canadian warplanes having little to do in Iraq, the discussion turns to
the future of the six-month combat mission. In particular, the government will
be faced with the question of whether to end operations or, conversely, expand
into Syria.
Syria has been embroiled in a complex and bloody civil war since 2011, and
unlike in Iraq, the Syrian government has not invited Canada or its allies to
fight ISIS within its borders. That has created legal hurdles as well as fears
of being drawn into a broader conflict.
But while the country has been off limits to the Canadian military, the U.S.
and some Arab allies sidestepped the Syrian government to launch attacks
against ISIS forces there since the summer. There has been speculation in
recent weeks that Canada will follow suit.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s spokesman, Stephen Lecce, would not comment
Thursday on the possibility of expanding the mission into Syria.
“Canada is focused on our current mission: air strikes against [ISIS] in Iraq,
and soldiers performing an advise and assist function,” he said, referring to
the several dozen Canadian special forces troops working with Kurdish and Iraqi
government forces in northern Iraq.
However, Justice Minister Peter MacKay told the CBC last weekend that the
government had discussed the idea of expanding the mission with other allies,
and that lawyers in his department were working to eliminate the legal hurdles.
“We’re operating against an enemy that does not respect any borders,” he said.
_______________________________________
Seems Harper's Canada is also operating without any borders . . . .
Seems the Harper government is looking for a war to fight in. What a bloody
joke on Canadians with the mission estimated at "up to $266 Million for 6 months".
____________________________________________________
Postmedia News | November 27, 2014
With little for Canadian jets to do in Iraq, expanding mission to Syria may be next
Canadian military aircraft tasked with fighting ISIS in Iraq are spending most
of their time on the ground, which could bolster arguments for extending the
war into Syria.
Canada is contributing six CF-18 fighter jets, two Aurora military surveillance
aircraft and a Polaris refuelling plane to the U.S.-led bombing campaign
against militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham, commonly known as
ISIS.
Canada’s Iraq mission by the numbers
116: Total sorties flown by Canadian military aircraft in Iraq since Oct. 30
42: Sorties flown in the first week
26: Sorties flown in the second week
35: Sorties flown in the third week
13: Sorties flown in the fourth week
4: Canadian airstrikes since the start of the mission
0: Canadian airstrikes in the past week
The aircraft began flying sorties on Oct. 30, and by the end of the first week
had logged a total of 42. Those included an airstrike that destroyed four ISIS
construction vehicles.
The pace has since slowed, particularly over the past week. While the CF-18s
and other aircraft flew a combined 26 and 35 sorties in the war’s second and
third weeks, only 13 sorties were flown between Nov. 20 and 26. (The military
counts a sortie every time one of its planes embarks on a mission. If two
planes are involved in the same mission, it is counted as two sorties.)
Of the 13 sorties, six were flown by the CF-18s, or exactly one mission per
fighter jet over the entire six-day span. The Auroras flew four while the
Polaris flew three. Each sortie is believed to run about four to six hours.
A U.S.-led command centre is responsible for assigning missions to all
coalition aircraft, and the Canadian commander on the ground, Col. Daniel
Constable, said Thursday that Canada accomplished all the missions asked of it.
But Constable also admitted two weeks ago that coalition forces were having a
hard time finding ISIS targets, and the latest figures indicate the situation
hasn’t gotten any better.
This was the first week where Canadian warplanes did not launch an attack
against ISIS targets after destroying the construction vehicles, an artillery
piece, a warehouse and a bunker over the previous three weeks.
Constable said the most noteworthy Canadian mission over the past week was
escorting an allied transport plane dropping water, tents, blankets and other
supplies to Iraqi civilians.
He would not say what country was behind the humanitarian drop, how much aid
was delivered, when the mission happened, or where it occurred, citing concerns
the information would help ISIS forces.
With Canadian warplanes having little to do in Iraq, the discussion turns to
the future of the six-month combat mission. In particular, the government will
be faced with the question of whether to end operations or, conversely, expand
into Syria.
Syria has been embroiled in a complex and bloody civil war since 2011, and
unlike in Iraq, the Syrian government has not invited Canada or its allies to
fight ISIS within its borders. That has created legal hurdles as well as fears
of being drawn into a broader conflict.
But while the country has been off limits to the Canadian military, the U.S.
and some Arab allies sidestepped the Syrian government to launch attacks
against ISIS forces there since the summer. There has been speculation in
recent weeks that Canada will follow suit.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s spokesman, Stephen Lecce, would not comment
Thursday on the possibility of expanding the mission into Syria.
“Canada is focused on our current mission: air strikes against [ISIS] in Iraq,
and soldiers performing an advise and assist function,” he said, referring to
the several dozen Canadian special forces troops working with Kurdish and Iraqi
government forces in northern Iraq.
However, Justice Minister Peter MacKay told the CBC last weekend that the
government had discussed the idea of expanding the mission with other allies,
and that lawyers in his department were working to eliminate the legal hurdles.
“We’re operating against an enemy that does not respect any borders,” he said.
_______________________________________
Seems Harper's Canada is also operating without any borders . . . .
