OTTAWA, 6 February 2005 — US President George W. Bush is expected to ask Prime Minister Paul Martin to send Canadian troops to help with the post-war reconstruction of Iraq when they meet later this month, according to a published report here.
The Toronto Star newspaper reported yesterday that no decision has been made, but highly placed sources say Canada is “preparing to discuss the sensitive issue during the NATO summit meeting in Brussels on Feb 22.”
It said while the federal government has steadfastly refused to join the so-called coalition of the willing, which helped the US during the Iraq war, the coming appeal is clearly being considered more favorably than in the past. The Prime Minister’s Office declined to offer any comment.
According to the sources, Canada’s new openness to contributing troops is due to changing circumstance. They cite Sunday’s surprisingly ‘successful’ elections in Iraq and the urgent need to bring peace to the region as important considerations.
But the Martin government’s reluctance to pay the domestic political price of joining the US continental missile defense program is also said to be a factor shaping federal government thinking. Canada is eager to signal to the Bush administration that Ottawa’s refusal to make a decision on the missile shield reflects the realities of minority government, not unwillingness to co-operate with Washington.
Joining the NATO training mission in Iraq would certainly be controversial. One of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s most popular decisions was to keep Canada out of the war and Martin has worked hard to dispel lingering doubts that he would have made the same choice.
According to the sources, the federal government would position any Canadian deployment more as a measured response to Iraq’s fledgling government than as support for the US involvement there. At the same time, Ottawa would argue that helping rebuild failed states is central to Martin’s still emerging foreign policy.
Apparently coincidentally, Martin stressed that role on Friday during swearing-in ceremonies for Canada’s new chief of the defense staff, Gen. Rick Hillier. Martin said while the government needs to help countries fight AIDS and improve health care and education, “none of that will be possible in conflict-ridden states unless security is first established.”
And then Martin said: “The defense of Canada is limited not only to North America but it must be extended around the world.”
Any federal policy change on Iraq would also be made more difficult by the refusal of other major NATO members to join the training mission. France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Greece have all forbidden their nationals from taking part in the training effort.
