Posted on 03/25/2006 9:59:11 PM PST by Lorianne
While Canadians rejoiced at the news that two of their citizens were rescued from captivity in Iraq, some were surprised to learn Canadian special forces were involved in the mission and curious as to how many troops are on the ground. Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters Thursday that a handful of Canadian troops have been stationed in Iraq since the beginning of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation, which is still widely unpopular at home. But he insisted the special forces who helped rescue Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden, along with Briton Norman Kember, were in Iraq only temporarily with the express goal of obtaining the hostages' release. The former Liberal Party government declined in 2003 to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq unless it came under the U.N. umbrella, and many Canadians have been critical of U.S. methods in Washington's war on terror. Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said about 20 Canadian troops and other personnel were in Iraq working quietly since shortly after the kidnappings of the Christian Peacemaker Teams workers on Nov. 26. "We were there with our very best," he told The Globe and Mail for Friday editions. "We had everyone fully engaged in this operation from day one." The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, intelligence officers and diplomats were also involved, he said. "Canada should not (be) and is not passive when it comes to its own citizens and the protection of their lives," MacKay said. It is believed that members of Canada's elite and secretive Joint Task Force 2 were also involved, but the government would neither confirm nor deny this. Harper did confirm Thursday, shortly after the men were rescued, that an unspecified number of Canadians have been embedded with coalition forces since the beginning of the war. "I'm not free to say anything more than that because this involves national security," he said. He denied Canadian troops were involved in the war, however, saying: "Any involvement that Canada has had on the ground in this particular matter was obviously targeted simply at the issue of Canadian hostages." Canadian Defense spokeswoman Lt. Morgan Bailey told The Associated Press on Friday that only a handful of Canadian troops were on the ground in Iraq. She said one soldier is serving with a U.N. assistance team helping to draft a new constitution and coordinate humanitarian operations; three other Canadian soldiers are on an exchange with British forces. "They do their normal job, only with the British unit," she said. "If their job is to be an engineer, they would do that job with the British." But she declined to say whether there were special forces in Iraq. "It's our policy not to speak about special operations abroad," she said. In March 2003, when Parliament was debating whether to send troops to Iraq - some Conservatives believed it was imperative to help the Bush administration remove Saddam Hussein from power - several MPs said special forces had secretly been on the ground in Afghanistan, though Prime Minister Jean Chretien's government denied it. Some Canadians were also surprised to learn that a dozen troops had been embedded with British and U.S. troops during the invasion of Iraq, in what are known as training exchanges. Eric Walton, foreign affairs critic for the Green Party of Canada, said he didn't think most Canadians would oppose Canadian Forces in Iraq to help their own. "My feeling is, you don't need permission for a rescue mission, if it's in and out," Walton said. "But the issue I have a problem with is the way the invasion occurred, against international law, and I think Canada should have taken a stand and pulled its troops out of those exchanges." John Pike, a defense analyst and director of GlobalSecurity.org, a military policy think tank in Alexandria, Va., asked: What's the big deal? "It would seem to me that the scandal would have been if they hadn't been there," Pike said. "The lives of Canadian nationals were at stake. If there had been no Canadians involved in this and it had come to grief, then the outrage would have been: `You allowed trigger-happy American cowboys to kill our people.'" He said it is common for countries to send their special forces quietly to train in live combat situations, as the experience is invaluable. "I certainly have the sense that there is a much larger special operations presence in Iraq than is widely understood," Pike said. "This type of combat experience is precious."
What happened to the Canadian Mounties? I always liked the way they sing
Singapore Area:
total: 692.7 sq km
land: 682.7 sq km
water: 10 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Singapore Population:
4,425,720 (July 2005 est.)
They have more troops than Canada...
LOL!
You have to be a "South Park" fan to get it.
They had to include those Canadian SpecOp guys as translators. Our people probably don't speak Canadian.
You have to be a "South Park" fan to get it.
Blame Canada! Blame Canada! It's seems that everything's gone wrong since Canada came along! Blame Canada! Blame Canada! They're not even a real country anyway!
I never expected John Pike offered a comment on this article until I reached the portion.
That is getting pretty old, no?
Nice spin there.
I also would like to thank those Canadians involved with this effort. Men of honor in Canada's bilingual military are few, and men of honor in Canadian Politics? Non-existant over the last 30 years, until now maybe.
Past recommended Conversation:
Est-que tu veut que je tire en Francais ou en Anglais , Msr. Tango?
Depeche-toi! Une moment! Dites La, Fancais ou Anglais!
Arabien? Mais non, je parle seulment Anglais et Francais!!Je ne tire pas en Arabien!
Je coupe et cour maintenant! Au revoir!!!!
Vive Le Quebec Libre!!!!
Les soldats d'Amerique sont garbages.
(Sarcasm)
I thought this polidiot Harper was supposed to be a breath of fresh air for Canookistan ?
Sounds like a scared puppy pissing under the porch vs anthing close to a leader.
Why should they spend their own money on security? They know dam_ straight the USA will defend them if the need arises.
Agree, only wish a couple more would have gone. kerry and klintoon come to mind.
Did you know there were hundreds of Canadians that came south and enlistd or got drafted and served in the American Army during Vietnam.
No, I did not know that. Wow! Thanks for the info. Enjoyed your reminiscing about MSgt. Ledbetter.
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