U.S. defence chief shares love for Canadian troops
Bonds forged in Afghanistan, Mattis says
• Donald Trump’s defence secretary says he’s so grateful for Canadian soldiers he could kiss them.
Before a meeting at the Pentagon on Monday evening, retired general James Mattis said there’s a reason his first phone call to a foreign counterpart was to Canada’s Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.
The U. S. and Canadian military have been close allies since the Second World War, he said, and he experienced that bond personally in Afghanistan.
He noted that when he was in Kandahar, he wanted to hug and kiss every Canadian soldier he saw stepping off the plane.
He said t he l i ves l ost in the Afghan conflict cemented a deep bond between the countries.
The message from Mattis was striking in its difference from that of his boss: Monday, the president said he expects allies to start doing their fair share and spending more on their military.
Canada spends less on its military as a share of its economy than almost any member of NATO.
Sajjan was at the Pentagon for his first meeting with his newly sworn- in American counterpart.
The two former soldierst urned- cabinet- members scheduled a 45- minute discussion on a broad range of topics including military cooperation both abroad and closer to home.
Key questions could include t he ongoing commitment to NATO, defence spending levels, and peacekeeping operations.
The Canadian government delayed a planned peacekeeping deployment to Africa following the U. S. election, saying it wanted to first discuss a variety of global issues with its closest ally.
Trump’s el ec t i on has prompted uncertainty on several military fronts — he has suggested NATO is becoming obsolete, while at the same time demanding that NATO allies increase defence spending.
He repeated his complaints about NATO spending during a speech Monday at an air force base in Florida.
He s ai d he s upports NATO, but countries must pay their share.
“We only ask that all of the NATO members make their full and proper financial contributions to the NATO alliance, which many of them have not been doing,” he said.
Trump has also been more supportive than his predecessor of Russia, which has caused anxiety in Eastern Europe.
One Canadian- American military analyst said this first meeting could provide some clarity.
Steve Saideman says it will be interesting to see what aspect of NATO was discussed — would it focus on what Trump has talked about, increasing spending, or on what he hasn’t — protecting Eastern Europe from Russian incursions?
“Which NATO issue comes up might actually provide you with some guidance about what’s going on in this administration,” said Saideman, an Americanborn international-relations scholar at Carleton University in Ottawa.
Aside from the future of NATO, he expected them to discuss two other topics — Canada’s peacekeeping plans and fighter-jet procurement. As for NORAD, Saideman doesn’t believe missile- defence is a major priority for Trump’s team.
Canada is 23rd among 27 NATO countries in terms of spending as a share of GDP. Canada’s 2016 spending of 0.99 per cent of GDP was less than half the NATO guideline of two per cent, which only five NATO countries currently meet.