Two CF-18 fighter jets, from 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Bagotville,
fly over the Mediterranean Sea near Trapani, Italy, in this Canadian Forces
handout photo dated March 29, 2011
Posted on 07/19/2011 7:54:58 AM PDT by Clive
OTTAWA — The NATO mission in Libya has dragged on longer than most had expected and Canada’s top soldier suggests things might be different if the rules of engagement allowed for boots on the ground.
It’s an idea that all involved countries have been adamantly against, but Gen. Walt Natynczyk suggested it can be limiting.
“It’s always about precision and from 20,000 feet, you only get so much precision,” he said in an interview with Postmedia News.
The NATO force, which includes about 650 Canadians, has been able to gather good intelligence with the resources it has, he added, but having people on the ground is “always better.”
That said, the mandate from the United Nations is clear and not unlike the one Canada and other nations operated under in Kosovo.
“Protect civilian lives but you can’t put forces on the ground,” he said.
As such, “collateral damage” is out of the question.
“We’re not pushing the risk factors here because our job is to protect those folks and at the same time trying to stop [Libyan leader Muammar] Gaddafi from shelling civilians,” Natynczyk said.
“The challenge in any of these campaigns is having patience.”
A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed Monday that “we will not deploy boots on the ground in Libya.”
“The Harper government’s position is clear,” said Dimitri Soudas in an email to Postmedia News. “Our government’s approach to protecting Libyan civilians has been under the umbrella of the United Nations in close collaboration with our allies.”
The three-month mission began in March and Parliament recently extended it until the end of September. Opposition parties have clearly stated they would not support the use of ground troops and may not be so quick to rubber stamp another extension should one be sought.
[...]
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
Two CF-18 fighter jets, from 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Bagotville,
fly over the Mediterranean Sea near Trapani, Italy, in this Canadian Forces
handout photo dated March 29, 2011
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Rommel and Monty are scratching their heads wherever they are.
Sorry...The idea that there are no boots on the ground is absurd.
“...longer than most had expected...”
Who is most? Given recent experience, how could anyone have expected a quick and decisive resolution?
#daysnotweeks #obamalied
I do believe the general has a little Hitler complex. What other countries does he wish to attack.
Note the MSM doesn’t post any stories or pics of “errant” bombs wiping out neighborhoods or other massings of innocent folk? Everything is apparently just peachy.
“Gen. Walt Natynczyk suggested it can be limiting.”
Sure, that’s easy for him to say.
"I do believe the general has a little Hitler complex. What other countries does he wish to attack."I was waiting for that.
Gen Natynczyk is not asking for boots on the ground. He is simply pointing out that the job will take longer without sufficient assets on the ground. For example, Canadian aircraft have had to return to Sicily with their ordnance even though there were targets that need to be hit. That is because the targets were too close to or intermixed with civilians and tehre were not FOOs to illuminate the targets.
It is not his job to publicly advocate mission creep. It is his job to make sure that the civilian leadership understands the implications of any course of any military adventure. It is then his job to do whatever the civilian leadership wants done, to the best of the ability of the forces under his command, in accordance with national law and the laws, customs and uses of war.
In this case his job extended to deploying, as set out in the article, "... seven CF-18 fighter jets, a CC-150 Polaris refueler, two Hercules tanker aircraft, a pair of CP-140 Aurora Maritime patrol aircraft and a frigate ..." and to provide the logistics support for the deployed assets.
The use to which those assets are put in theatre is under the direct command and control of a NATO senior officer, who coincidentally happens to be a Canadian.
Forget about it . Libya is not our problem
We should be supplying equal weapons and intel to both sides, until they’re all dead.
BS. I took the position, as I still do, that we don`t belong there. I cheered when Gaddafi`s forces were kicking the snot out of the rebels... in an INTERNAL conflict. This differs greatly from NATO`s bombing campaign, which is getting no scrutiny.
Get it straight.
You mean, AL Qaeda? Eastern Libya has more AQ per capita than Saudi Arabia.
Why any Canadian is proud of the fact that RCAF murder civilians on behalf of Al Qaida is beyond me. Especially having in mind that 150+ Canadians died in the war against AQ allies in Afghanistan.
There are only two words to describe it: eternal disgrace.
Canadian WWII heroes who died in Libya fighing against Nazism are spinning in their graves.
Western Libya are the “good muslims” though, right?
Yep, that's what West point report says.
Daffy was U.S. ally since W presidency . All AQ came from Cyrenaica (eastern tribes). Benghazi and Darnah are the hotbeds. So, it is no secret any longer- U.S. openly supports AQ gain a footholf in North Africa.
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