Op IMPACT: CAF in the Iraq & Syria crisis

[Eye In The Sky]

Are they not a SOA within the DND?

 

[The Bread Guy]

With Canada helping the Kurds and the Iraqis, it looks like some lines are being drawn (or maybe, new lines on maps NOT being drawn?) early on ...

Canada has told the Kurds that it wants to see Iraq remain united and not broken into different parts that would include an independent Kurdish state. But experts say it is only a matter of time before the Kurds, strengthened by Canadian military assistance, try to declare independence.

(...)

A spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada, previously known as the foreign affairs department, says Canada is “committed to the unity and territorial integrity of the Republic of Iraq.” Diana Khaddaj added that “this position is well known to our Iraqi interlocutors, including in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.”

Khaddaj said the government’s decision to expand military support to peshmerga was driven by the needs of its allies in fighting ISIL. She did not say how Kurdish desires for independence were considered or weighed as the Liberal government decided on Canada’s new mission.

As for concerns Canada is contributing to an eventual conflict between the Kurds and the Iraqi government, Khaddaj said: “We are in close contact with the Iraqi authorities on the implementation of our new strategy, which will be carried out with the full consent of the Iraqi government.” ...

 

[Edward Campbell]

With Canada helping the Kurds and the Iraqis, it looks like some lines are being drawn (or maybe, new lines on maps NOT being drawn?) early on ...

Yep, and that's just the sort of "unintended consequence" about which, I suspect, the new government did not have adequate time to deliberate. This was a pressing political problem, a clever political solution has been proffered and, it appears, accepted by most of the critics who matter. (The rabid Trudeauphobes® who have replaced the HarperHaters® on these pages don't matter.) But, of course ...

         

 

[Jed]

... and PMQs do belong to DND.  There is no "not technically" nor contract about it.  CFHA is not a contracted service provider.

Good to know.  I guess you didn't appreciate my question.  [

 

[The Bread Guy]

And the new Info-machine graphic's out - sans CF-18's (source)

 

[Cloud Cover]

And the new Info-machine graphic's out - sans CF-18's (source)

Compare that to to very first post in the thread. The common theme is change of mission year over year. I am trying to decide if this latest move will turn into an escalation by accident rather than design. When will this ground component turn into a PRT supported by a battle group. Have a Liberals again naively set the armed forces up for another 10 year ground war.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Compare that to to very first post in the thread. The common theme is change of mission year over year. I am trying to decide if this latest move will turn into an escalation by accident rather than design. When will this ground component turn into a PRT supported by a battle group. Have a Liberals again naively set the armed forces up for another 10 year ground war.

Deja vu all over again?

 

[McG]

The government is acknowledging that the new mission will be more dangerous than what we have been doing.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/it-is-more-risky-canada-enters-new-role-in-anti-isis-fight-1.2777342

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May also said Canada's new military role will mean troops are more likely to find themselves in combat roles.

"The reality of boots on the ground is, yes, that the Canadian troops who are going to be working with the Kurdish Peshmerga are clearly going to find themselves in combat situations," she said.

Thanks there, Tips!  :

 

[GAP]

Sigh....and here I was just getting used to not hearing  Elizabeth May and her inane comments on all things wonderful....... :

 

[Eye In The Sky]

The way she said that, makes me wonder if she knows there ARE 'boots on the ground' now. 

 

[PPCLI Guy]

The common theme is change of mission year over year.

It is almost like the situation on the ground is evolving, and that the coalition is actually making progress or something....

 

[Cloud Cover]

Heaven forbid that should happen....

 

[The Bread Guy]

News is coming out now that four Griffon helicopters are being sent to Iraq

More on that ...

A week after announcing the withdrawal of fighter jets from Iraq, Canada's defense minister on Tuesday said it is swapping in four armored tactical Griffon helicopters to ferry special forces.

"The Griffon helicopters are being deployed for the safety of our troops in northern Iraq," Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan told parliament.

"They will be used for the transportation of our personnel because they provide increased force protection for our brave men and women in uniform," he said ...

 

[McG]

Armoured Griffons?

 

[The Bread Guy]

Armoured Griffons?

Methinks the reporter may be "projecting" a bit, given this is all the DefMin said in the House yesterday (Hansard here, here and here):

Mr. Speaker, the Griffon helicopters are being deployed for the safety of our troops in northern Iraq. They will be used for the transportation of our personnel because they provide increased force protection for our brave men and women in uniform ... Mr. Speaker, our government is stepping up to the fight. We also know that the defeat of ISIL can only happen on the ground. It cannot be won from the air. Tripling our training capacity and doubling our intelligence is exactly the capability that our coalition needs ... Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member that I was briefed on the attack. Our brave pilots did participate in that, but other coalition jets also participated in that strike. We are tripling our training capacity, doubling our intelligence, and as the coalition commander said to me while at the Munich Security Conference, our plan is forward looking, and that is exactly what they need.

 

[George Wallace]

Could it just be that the writer can not differentiate between "armed" and "armoured"?

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Or one of the editors decided that, since the Minister spoke of increased protection, the journalist meant to say "armoured" instead of "armed" and changed it without consulting anyone.

I know a few written press journalists and they told me in the past that many times, they read an article under their name in their own paper and do not recognize them when compared to what they filed.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I know a few written press journalists and they told me in the past that many times, they read an article under their name in their own paper and do not recognize them when compared to what they filed.

True dat - like in government, once you write something, be prepared to have anyone above you play with it.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I have no objection to anything new they propose, I just object to the removal of the CF-18's and the insistence that the "territorial integrity of Iraq is maintained". Why is that important is not the ability of a people to determine their own fate equally important?