Canada pressured over role in Iraq

NATO pushing for more trainers and advisers

Canada is expected to face pressure this week to reverse a recent drawdown of troops from Iraq as the NATO military alliance prepares to expand its presence in the country.

The alliance has persistent concerns about Islamic State extremists and Iranian-backed militias.

NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg predicted this week that defence ministers from across the alliance would approve the deployment of more trainers and advisers to help Iraqi security forces fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan will be among those participating in the discussion during a two-day, closed-door meeting where he and counterparts from across the alliance will also discuss Afghanistan and the threats posed by China and Russia.

“I expect ministers will agree to launch an expanded mission with more allied personnel training and advising in more security institutions across the country,” Stoltenberg said during a news conference on Monday.

“The mission will expand gradually in response to that situation. This follows requests from the Iraqi government, in close co-ordination with the global coalition. So that together, we can ensure that (ISIL) does not return.”

The proposed expansion would see a dramatic increase in the number of troops assigned to NATO’S current training mission — and likely result in pressure on Canada to start sending troops back into Iraq after having withdrawn nearly 200 over the past year.

The current NATO mission was launched in 2018 and involved around 500 troops with the aim of building up Iraq’s military so it could better combat extremist groups like ISIL. Canada contributed 200 of those initial troops and the mission was led by a Canadian general.

The Department of National Defence says only 17 Canadian troops are now working with the NATO mission, command of which was passed to Denmark in the fall.