Canada to conduct airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Friday pledged military aircraft for the fight against Islamic State, joining the list of major U.S. allies contributing assets to the campaign in Iraq but putting similar limits on their use.
Canada outlined plans to contribute six CF-18 fighter jets, one air-to-air refueling aircraft and two surveillance aircraft while extending the deployment of up to 69 army personnel to advise Iraqi forces.
The prime minister said that if left unchecked, the threat of Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, will expand. Like other foreign leaders contributing to the fight, he said that the extremist group poses a threat at home.
“In the territory ISIL has occupied, it has conducted a campaign of unspeakable atrocities against the most innocent of people,” Mr. Harper said.
Like other U.S. allies, though, Canada put limitations on its involvement. Mr. Harper said that the mission will last up to six months and involve no combat troops. Canada’s efforts will be focused on Iraq and not Syria, unless Damascus invites foreign forces in, as Baghdad has.
U.S. officials have repeatedly said international partners are far more important than the small number of aircraft they may contribute. Every sortie flown by a Canadian aircraft is one less flight the U.S. has to do, officials said. Perhaps more importantly, allied contributions demonstrate international backing that is critical for the U.S. in maintaining support for the airstrikes both at home and abroad, these officials said.
Mr. Harper said the current military operation won’t defeat the terrorist group, but will contain it.
“While ISIL will not be eliminated, the risks presented from the territory in which it operates will be significantly reduced to those of other, similar, ungoverned spaces in the broader region,” he said.
The Canadian commitment comes as other key allies send their own warplanes to the area. On Thursday, Australia said it would send six F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft and around 200 special-forces troops. France and Britain have also committed planes, as has the Netherlands and a hand full of other European states.
Canadian lawmakers will vote on the issue Monday, but Mr. Harper’s parliamentary majority means Canada’s increased involvement is expected to be approved.
A recent poll showed 64% of Canadians supported the use of the country’s jets to strike at Islamic State. But many are wary of a long fight and are unclear about its endgame. Canada’s decadelong involvement in the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan ended in comparatively high casualties and left the public wary about lengthy commitments to foreign campaigns.
“Let me assure Canadians that the government is seized with the necessity of avoiding a prolonged “quagmire” in this part of the world,” Mr. Harper said.
Canada’s opposition lawmakers have mainly opposed Canadian military involvement, saying Ottawa should focus its attention on humanitarian aid.
Canada’s aging warplanes, and a public not looking for a long fight, underscore some of the limitations of America’s attempts to spread the burden of the battle against the militant group.
U.S. officials won’t say how many planes the Pentagon has used to conduct strikes in Iraq or Syria. But the U.S. has dozens of planes flying off the USS George H.W. Bush and from air bases in Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Given the size of the U.S. military, and the limitations of allied contributions, such assets aren’t essential to the campaign but important to show that the U.S. is “not the only flag taking part,” said David Perry, a senior defense analyst at the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank.
Though Mr. Harper is often seen as a military hawk, Ottawa’s military spending has remained around 1% of gross domestic product.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization asks its members to spend over 2% of GDP on defense, but with the exception of the U.S., France and the U.K., almost all don’t. /End/