Ottawa needs to step up

Parliament resumes in a few days and, when it does, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government had better be prepared to let Canadians — and the world — in on its plans to contribute to the fight against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq and Syria.

Our military appears to be stuck in neutral, awaiting marching orders, as our allies gear up for battle, sidelining us.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan looked feeble this week as news emerged that defence ministers from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands were meeting in Paris to discuss the upcoming American push to dislodge the jihadists from their strongholds in Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria. Sajjan’s office conceded that he wasn’t invited to the meeting of “significant contributors” but insisted it has nothing to do with Canada’s plans to withdraw our warplanes from the fray.

Really? Given that the next phase of the campaign will involve sustained airstrikes over many months, and given that there’s no certainty that Canadian warplanes will be there to take part, it should come as no surprise that Sajjan wasn’t needed at the planning meeting. It looks as if it has everything to do with our planes being pulled out.

Granted, that in itself is no big deal. There are plenty of ways we can and do contribute. We currently have six CF-18 fighter-bombers in Kuwait, along with two useful Aurora surveillance aircraft and a Polaris refueller, supported by 600 personnel. We also have a small contingent of just under 70 special forces in Iraq training Kurdish fighters, close to the action. That’s more exposure than many of our allies are prepared to risk.

Still, Canada’s absence from the Paris meeting has left the Conservatives howling that we’ve been snubbed by our allies. “They see us as a nation in retreat,” complained Tory defence critic James Bezan. That has become the Tory mantra on this issue, and it will hurt the government so long as its plans remain murky.

Indeed, the issue is sensitive enough that the Pentagon felt moved to reaffirm that the U.S. and Canada “are great friends and allies,” working to defeat the jihadists. That ought to have gone without saying.

Undeniably, Trudeau gave his new Liberal government a potential political problem by campaigning on withdrawing the warplanes, even though our U.S. and other allies would prefer they remain. Still, he could have spared himself some grief soon after winning power on Oct. 19 by speedily announcing firm plans to pull our weight elsewhere. Instead, the government has dragged out the process for many weeks, giving the Conservatives a target.

Trudeau has promised to “do more on the training front” — something the U.S. is pushing for — to help teach local forces how to take on the jihadists, and that makes sense. Canada’s military is well qualified for that. We took on that role in Afghanistan, stationing 800 military advisers there. In Ukraine, we now have 200. As the Star has argued before, that would be far more valuable to the alliance than a six-pack of warplanes to an air campaign that the Americans are more than capable of waging without help. Containing and defeating the jihadists can be done only by committed, well-trained, well-supplied Iraqi and Syrian forces on the ground.

Ottawa is reportedly reviewing options that range from beefing up the Canadian units training Kurdish fighters near Irbil, Iraq, to helping the Kurds to build up their own special forces, to stationing Canadians at Iraqi bases to train troops and police.

Of course, exactly nothing the government does will satisfy the Tories, who are still smarting from their election defeat. Still, the Liberals have had three months to review and readjust our contribution. That’s time to have developed a plan. When the House of Commons resumes sitting on Monday, they should spell it out and put this issue in the rear-view mirror.

Canada’s absence from the Paris meeting has left the Conservatives howling that we’ve been snubbed by our allies