The Canadian Press
Murray Brewster
BRUSSELS—Stephane Dion walked through NATO’s doors today suggesting he won’t have to do much of a sales job over the impending withdrawal of Canada’s jets from the U.S.-led bombing campaign against militants in Iraq and Syria.
Other countries, including North Atlantic allies, understand the warplanes have played only a small part in the effort, and that Canada will be more effective in a training role, Dion said on his way into a meeting of foreign ministers.
“There are a lot of things where Canada may be a great supporter, instead of delivering two percent of the airstrikes,” the global affairs minister said.
Dion also indicated the signals he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have received at other international conferences is that Canada’s new policy is “well understood.”
It remains unclear when the jets will be coming home—or what a beefed-up training commitment would look like—but Dion could see a menu of opportunities before him during the two-day ministerial meeting.
The war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIL or ISIS, is not a NATO mission, but almost all members contribute in one form or another to the U.S. coalition.
The alliance announced last summer it was embarking on a “capacity-building” training program for the Iraqi military, but gave no timelines for the training at sites in Turkey and Jordan.
It was looking at a wide series of measures, including countering improvised explosive devices, bomb disposal, de-mining, civil-military planning, cyberdefence, military medicine, and medical assistance.
How far along the plans might be, and whether the contingents are fully staffed, is uncertain.
But what is clear is that the Trudeau government is more prepared to embrace the alliance initiatives than the Harper government had been over the last few years.
Under the Conservatives, Canada was pulled more tightly into a U.S. orbit with a series of policy changes and agreements, and was more willing to act in ad-hoc coalitions, like the one bombing ISIL.
“Canada will be a positive partner,” Dion pledged.
“We want to re-engage Canada in multilateralism and NATO is at the core of that,” he noted.
The alliance conducted a military training mission in Iraq but it was shut down when the U.S. withdrew its forces in 2011.
The reconstituted undertaking bears a passing resemblance to what NATO has been doing in Afghanistan with some success—a mission that included nearly 900 Canadians for three years.
Afghan forces, despite taking a pounding from a renewed insurgency, largely have held their ground, whereas Iraqi forces melted away in the face of last year’s ISIL onslaught.
NATO’s future role in Afghanistan, and how to fund the country’s fledgling security forces, was up for debate today among foreign ministers.
“Afghan forces have faced great challenges but they have shown tremendous courage and determination,” said NATO secretary general Jen Stoltenberg.
“This has been a year of challenges, but it also been a year of progress,” he added.
“Supporting a stable Afghanistan is in the interest of our own security.”
The ministers will approve a continued deployment of roughly 12,000 trainers and advisers to mirror a recent U.S. decision to extend its presence in the war-torn country past 2016.
Canada no longer has training troops in Afghanistan.
