Tech. Sgt. Jack Sanders
By Scott Taylor
March 19 marked the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
This milestone passed relatively unheralded by the US media for the simple reason that it was a complete and utter disaster.
Under the trumped-up claim that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD’s), the US invoked their right to self-defence as a justification to invade a sovereign country.
Militarily, the Iraqi army never stood a chance, and with a few notable exceptions, Saddam’s soldiers simply melted away.
To break the will of the Iraqi people to resist, US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld boasted to the American people that unleashed he had a campaign of “shock and awe.”
That this plan involved the widespread aerial bombardment of civilian urban centres, meant that Rumsfeld did not just admit to committing a war crime, he actually bragged about it.
In the end, the hostilities ceased briefly, and Saddam went into hiding without Iraq actually using their alleged WMDs. The reason for this is simple: Saddam never had WMD’s, and the US knew it all along.
President George W. Bush illegally invaded a sovereign country in order to replace Saddam with a US friendly puppet government.
Canada did not condemn Bush for his war crime, but we did pride ourselves on the fact that despite intense diplomatic pressure, Prime Minister Jean Chretien chose not to join the invading coalition.
Since the US military’s quick battlefield victory turned into a bloody quagmire of an occupation, Chretien’s decision to sit this war out was validated.
However, that was not to remain the case.
In 2011, President Barrack Obama withdrew the last American troops in Iraq with the hope that the US trained and equipped Iraqi security forces would be able to prop up whatever regime happened to rule in Baghdad.
That pipedream went up in smoke in 2014, when Daesh (aka ISIS or ISIL) rolled across the Syria-Iraq border. As Daesh pushed forward, the Iraqi security forces not only didn’t put up a fight, but they also willingly handed over their vast arsenal of US-supplied weapons and vehicles.
The desperate regime in Baghdad called out the Shiite militias to stop Daesh’s advance. They also called on support from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and in desperation, the USA.
Having learned their lessons during their eight year occupation, the US cobbled together an alliance to assist them in the targeted objective of defeating Daesh.
This time around, Canada said yes. However, then Prime minister Stephen Harper knew that Canadians were averse to our soldiers waging a war on foreign soil – as we had just concluded a fruitless but costly 11-year combat commitment in Afghanistan.
For this reason, Canada’s contribution to Operation IMPACT was limited to a six-pack of CF-18 fighter jets, some transport and a reconnaissance aircraft plus a few hundred special forces personnel. The troops deployed were to conduct, advise, and assist missions, rather than engage in actual combat.
As Daesh possessed no anti-aircraft weaponry, our pilots were only at risk of equipment failure or an accident.
The hodgepodge anti-Daesh alliance that was assembled meant the Canadian military shared some strange bedfellows indeed. The overall commander of the ground forces was a general from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. His disparate force consisted of Kurdish separatist militia – trained by Canadians – was well as Shiite militia and Hamas. By extension to those battling Daesh on the Syrian side of the border, this alliance also included Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian army and his Russian supporters.
The one thing linking all of these factions was the singular objective of defeating and eliminating the Daesh evil doers from their self-proclaimed Caliphate in the Levant. For all intents and purposes that purely military objective was considered to be accomplished in 2019.
Given that Canada has no skin in the game in Iraq, that milestone should have meant a hard exit for the Canadian Armed Forces.
Yet on March 27, 2023, Minister of National Defence Anita Annand announced a further extension of Operation IMPACT until at least March 31, 2025 – two years from now.
The vaguely described official rationale is that, “This extension will allow the Canadian Armed Forces to continue to play an important role in supporting regional partners in the advancement of peace and security.”
On paper, Operation IMPACT authorizes up to 800 personnel to be deployed to the Middle East.
While the actual number currently deployed is considered to be well below that, the truth is that those trained, experienced troops would better serve as trainers here in Canada.
The Canadian military — regular and reserve — force are currently 16,500 personnel short of an authorized combined strength of 105,000.
With a battle group forward-deployed to Latvia and a contingent of trainers advising the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the UK, there is a serious shortage of qualified people left on the ground to train our own soldiers.
The last thing that the CAF needs is this further extension of mission in Iraq, a mission that has no clear aim and zero chance of success. It is a fools’ errand that in no way contributes to the security of Canadians.
