Justin
Trudeau said fighter jets will be withdrawn from US-led efforts in Syria and
Iraq on 22 February, but Canada will increase military personnel and aid in
region
Canada is pulling its fighter jets out of
the US-led coalition against Islamic State, but will triple
its training mission and increase humanitarian aid to the region instead.
On
Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the six CF-18 jets would cease
airstrikes on 22 February, following through on
a campaign pledge to end Canada’s role in the anti-Isis bombing
mission in Iraq and Syria.
Trudeau,
who was elected to office in November, said boosting security and development
efforts will help create capacity to build long-term stability in the region,
adding that the new contributions will be more effective and better able to
capitalize on Canada’s areas of military and diplomatic expertise.
“I’m
proud of the mission we’ve put forward,” he said. “It’s complete, it’s robust.”
As
the fighter jets are pulled out of the region, Canada will increase
its military personnel from about 650 to 830, which includes adding roughly 140
new special forces troops to the current 69 serving in an “advise and assist”
role to security forces fighting in northern Iraq.
Canada
will also begin sending small arms and ammunition to Kurdish peshmerga and
Iraqi forces battling Isis.
“We
will be supporting and empowering local forces to take their fight directly to
Isil, so that kilometre by kilometre, they can reclaim their homes, their land
and their future,” said Trudeau, using another acronym for the Islamic State.
A
Canadian Polaris aerial refueller will remain in the region supporting other
coalition members on their bombing sorties in Iraq and Syria, as will a
reconnaissance aircraft.
The
Liberal government will also contribute more than CDN$1.6bn over three years to
bolster security, stabilization and humanitarian aid to the region, including
increasing counterterrorism efforts in neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan.
But
officials conceded that the redefined mission will both be more expensive and
more dangerous than Canada’s current contribution.
Last
March, Sergeant Andrew Doiron, 31, a Canadian special forces adviser, was shot
and killed by Kurdish special forces in what has been deemed a tragic friendly
fire incident.
In
December, Canadian forces were involved in an Isis initiated attack against
Kurdish security forces on the front lines in northern Iraq.
Canada’s
top soldier, General Jonathan Vance, told reporters Monday that more troops
meant more risk.
“We’re
putting more people on the ground,” he said. “It’s dangerous, it’s a dangerous
place to work. We’re not in any way shying away from the fact there is risk.
We’ll mitigate it, we’ll manage it.”
Canada
joined the coalition to strike Isis targets in Iraq in October 2014 under
former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, following a direct request
from the US to participate in the operation. Canada’s participation was
expanded to Syria last March. As of 3 February, the CF-18s had conducted 1,344
sorties.
In
recent months, the US has been working to persuade allies in the 65-member
coalition to step up their contributions in the fight against Isis.
In
January, federal defence minister Harjit Sajjan was not invited to an anti-Isis
meeting in Paris with US defence secretary Ashton Carter, which critics
maintained was a snub for Canada’s decision to end the bombing mission.
On
Monday, interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose said Trudeau “is taking a
shameful step backward from our proud traditions by pulling our CF-18s and
Canada out of a combat role against the greatest terror threat in the world”.
Coalition
allies had made it clear they wanted Canada to maintain the bombing mission but
Trudeau said he reassured US president Barack Obama that Canada wasn’t backing
out of the fight.
“He
is thankful that we are stepping up our training and our other areas of
involvement and understands the decision that we took,” he said.
Pentagon
spokesman Peter Cook said Carter welcomed the “significant contributions” and
that he appreciated the decision by the Trudeau government to step up its role
in the campaign.
“The
Canadian announcement is the kind of response the secretary has been looking
for from coalition members as the United States and its coalition partners look
to accelerate the campaign against Isil,” Cook said Monday.
Following
a phone call between the two North American leaders, Barack Obama said he
“welcomed” Canada’s current and new contributions to coalition efforts.
Polls
indicate the majority of Canadians support the airstrikes. Only 27% supporting
the withdrawal of the CF-18s, according to a recent survey by the Angus Reid
Institute.
Parliamentarians
will debate the new mission in the House of Commons next week.
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