Posted on 04/29/2003 4:49:39 PM PDT by Dog Gone
TORONTO (AP)--Canada offered police, legal experts, engineers and transport planes Tuesday to help in the reconstruction of Iraq, signaling the end of a rift with the United States over the war.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien said three C-130 Hercules aircraft in the Gulf region would expand their role and that Canada could send ``police, corrections and legal officers'' as well as units of Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team.
He said the offer responds to U.S. requests for assistance, and that further contributions could be made.
``There are engineers that will be available to help restore water and electricity,'' Chretien said after a Cabinet meeting held in Toronto to show government support for the city during its SARS outbreak. ``We will also send a few police officers ... in order to train the Iraqi police force.''
Chretien angered the Bush administration by refusing to join the coalition forces fighting Saddam Hussein, and the offer to help in postwar reconstruction was considered a fence-mending gesture.
On Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham and Defense Minister John McCallum said Canada also would consider joining the proposed U.S. missile defense system.
U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci, who previously has criticized Canada for low military spending and staying out of the Iraq war, called the Canadian steps encouraging.
``As we move forward on defending North America, we think missile defense is something that both of our countries should be working on,'' Cellucci said.
He also said, before Chretien's formal offer of help in postwar Iraq, that the United States expected Canadian assistance and ``we're grateful the help that Canada will provide.''
The defense minister said Canada was unable to offer everything the U.S. government requested when it asked for help in postwar Iraq two weeks ago.
``They might have wanted a large number of soldiers but ... we have committed 1,800 soldiers to Afghanistan in August and a further 1,800 six months later,'' McCallum said.
``When I discussed this with (U.S. Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld, I made it very clear that this would preclude substantial numbers of soldiers in Iraq, whether it was a situation of war or a situation of peace,'' he said. ``He understood that and he accepted that.''
Canada already has committed more than $68 million to humanitarian efforts in Iraq.
However... after the exchange rate, that comes down to a canoe,2 Mounties and a flying squirrel.Shouldn't the moose come with the squirrel?
I don't really care about Iraq. The real news here is about missile defense. That is a huge step in the right direction.
Oh, now they realize there is a threat and they're willing to allow our systems to protect Canada. What a lovely and gracious bunch these cretins are. STOP THE IMMIGRATION OF ISLAMIST TERRORIST into your country FIRST, before we even considering letting you beg for us to help you. Oh Canada....
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