A rchive Date
[ 28-03-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Canada ]
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[http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2003/03/24/50136-cp.html
Canadian troops on the ground in Iraq, officials confirm
By STEPHEN THORNE
Thu, March 27, 2003
OTTAWA (CP) - A small number of Canadian troops are on the ground with U.S.-led forces in Iraq, officials confirmed Thursday, even though the federal government isn't formally backing the coalition of which they are part.
And in the House in Commons, all parties unanimously endorsed a Canadian Alliance motion calling for the indictment of Saddam Hussein and other top Iraqi officials for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Prime Minister Jean Chretien again rejected opposition claims Thursday that Canada-U.S. relations are at an all-time low over Canada's failure to back the American war effort.
He noted that he told U.S. President George W. Bush last year that Canada would not participate in an Iraq war without United Nations approval. "I repeated that in August, in September, in November, in December, in January and February, and in March," he told the Commons.
"You cannot be more consistent than that. We were probably the only country who was so clear, so early, with the Americans and the British." Chretien was reacting to fresh criticism in the wake of comments Tuesday by U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci that Americans were disappointed with Canada's lack of support and with anti-U.S. slurs by senior Liberals.
Cellucci confirmed Thursday that he spoke with top U.S. officials before making his comments. "I had had conversations with people in the State Department, with (national security adviser Condoleeza Rice), so they knew," Cellucci said in an interview. "I knew how people felt down there so I thought it was important that we let the Canadian government know how people were feeling. "
In the Commons, Chretien acknowledged a handful of Canadian exchange officers "may be" with the British and Australian forces in southern Iraq. "We are not at war with Iraq," Chretien contended. "We have Canadian soldiers in the British army as well as the Australian army and they may be in Iraq at this time."
Defence officials confirmed Canadian officers are either in Iraq or with units "rotating in and out of theatre." But they are not combatants, Chretien argued. They have been instructed to only use their weapons in self-defence. The officers, mostly majors, are working in logistical support, said a government source. "They are not fighting," Chretien said. "There are 300,000 soldiers and some Canadians are filling duties they were given months ago."
On Wednesday, Defence Department officials acknowledged that Canadians are aboard American AWACS planes helping in the war on Iraq. The planes are used for surveillance, command and control in air operations. It was the first time the government has conceded that any of the 31 Canadians on exchange assignments with coalition forces are involved in the conflict.
The NDP and the Bloc Quebecois seized on the fact Canadians are active in the war. "Can the prime minister tell the people and the families of these soldiers why he states that Canada doesn't support the war against Iraq when, in fact, Canadian soldiers are at war?" Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe asked in the Commons.
Defence Minister John McCallum called that a "slippery slope," and refused to devulge more details on grounds they may jeopardize Canadian lives.
"It seems very clear that the government is well down the slippery slope into war," responded New Democrat MP Libby Davies.
The NDP asked the Speaker to find Chretien and McCallum in contempt of Parliament. "We're asking the Speaker to make a ruling on this, because they have told us that we're not involved," said NDP Leader Jack Layton. "It's very clear that we are involved. "It's absolutely outrageous, and this government is bending over so far backwards to have it both ways that it's time for Canadians to object."
Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper said outside the House that it's "contemptible to send people in harm's way, to deny they're there, then not fully support their action." "If people are going to be there, we should be on side and we should be supporting what they're doing."
Harper said the government position on Iraq has been so fickle that the Americans and British can't help but conclude that it is "unreliable and untrustworthy." "Canadians are going to pay a price for this prime minister and his party's anti-Americanism," said Harper, warning Americans could begin boycotts of Canadian products.
A senior government official said there has been no indication Bush will cancel or postpone his scheduled visit May 5, though he added it would be a distinct possibility if the war was still on.
In the Senate, meanwhile, leave was granted to correct the official record of proceedings to accurately reflect a statement attributed to Liberal Senator Laurier LaPierre which caused a political storm.
The original record of an exchange Tuesday quoted LaPierre as saying "Screw the Americans" when, in fact, an audio tape revealed that he actually said "So did the Americans."
 World Fact Book (CIA)]]
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