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March 24, 2003
Canada Won't Withdraw Gulf Ships, 30 Troops
Pulling Canadian ships out of the Persian Gulf area or removing Canadian soldiers from an exchange program with U.S. and British troops would be "cowardly" and would put our allies at risk, Defence Minister John McCallum said Monday. In Question Period, opposition MPs urged the government to reconsider its refusal to remove the about 30 Canadian troops from the Iraq area after at least five U.S. soldiers were captured by Iraqis on Sunday. Images of the prisoners were shown on Iraqi television and by other media around the world.... The Canadian soldiers are working with U.S. and British units that have been deployed along Iraq's border. Opposition MPs also asked Mr. McCallum whether he would consider recalling Canadian ships currently stationed in the Gulf on an antiterrorism mission, escorting U.S. and British vessels.... "If we withdrew one or two or three soldiers, if they are there, it would be very difficult to replace them immediately. We would be endangering the lives of the colleagues with whom they are working. "The opposition is telling us we should take away our ships, just when the risk is higher and I think that would be an act of cowardice," he said. Posted By Christopher Rake at March 24, 2003 11:06 PM | TrackBackComments
When the war is over, those members of the "Coalition of the Unwilling" (Copyright 2003) are going to have to pay the piper. For CANADA, perhaps a boycott of her products or an across the board tariff on all her goods. Canada's Minister of Defence? 30 Canadian troops? WGAF! 1. I already posted about this article here 2. It's just "The Globe and Mail" not 'Toronto Globe and Mail', it's a national paper. 3. I wrote a short essay called "The Coalition of the Unwilling" one day before the war started. Funny how great minds think alike. Posted by: Sean Kirby at March 24, 2003 11:39 PMThere will probably be a cost at the next Canadian election unless the opposition parties are totally inept: most Canadians think Chretien is an old fool. A majority of English-speaking Canadians are with the US. Unfortunately Canada is saddled with a large French-speaking population which complicates things. (And Chretien imagines himself to be a mini-Chirac.) So boycott products from Quebec. Posted by: Mark at March 24, 2003 11:41 PMLet 'em go. They're urgently needed to round out Celine Dion's bodyguard detail. Posted by: Melissa at March 25, 2003 12:00 AMOne point about this story. It asserts that "the opposition" wants the government to withdraw the measly 30 troops Canada is (unofficially) contributing to the war effort. However, the main opposition party, the right of centre Canadian Alliance, wants Canada to be there officially with a full troop contingent. It is smaller leftist parties that want Canada to pull out even our 30 exchange officers. As much as I'd like to think that the Liberal government will pay a price for this, the evidence is that they won't. Chretien's decision not to go to war seems to be very popular here in Ontario, much to my chagrin. The only way they will pay a price is if the Americans penalize Canada economically. If I were George W., I wouldn't be rushing to protect Canada's softwood lumber from congressional protectionism, or to exempt Canada's auto parts industry from delays at the border. Posted by: Mark Cameron at March 25, 2003 12:08 AMOntario... 50% of Canada's immigrants... So let's see... Those who have the LEAST UNDERSTANDING of WHY WE SHOULD STAND WITH OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS.. Hey F.O.B... back on the boat... your ship is sailing back to your POS country. Posted by: Mark at March 25, 2003 01:59 AMJust to amplify what Mark Cameron said above... turns out the MPs asking the questions are members of the NDP (crazy-lefty-fringe socialists) and Bloc Quebecois (Quebec francophone separatists/permanent malcontents). The official Opposition (capitalization deliberate) party, the Canadian Alliance, have been all over the government for its disgusting waffling and temporizing over supporting the US. Posted by: Steve at March 25, 2003 03:18 AMConsidering that Canadian troops are almost fully committed to peace keeping missions around the world and the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, I wonder where these troops that you would like us to commit to Iraq would come from? Do we pull out of Afghanistan, necessitating the Americans to "backfill" with their own troops (that are needed in Iraq. Do we pull out of our committments to peace keeping missions and let things go to hell in a handbasket in those areas? Do we conscript? If nothing else, this war has had its toll on the rational thought processes of the far right in Canada. Posted by: Pete at March 25, 2003 09:28 AMPost a comment
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