A CF-188 fighter jet is shown here refueling over Iraq in November 2015. (Photo courtesy the Canadian defense ministry)
Last month, Canada was left out as seven major players in the fight against the Islamic State group met in Paris. U.S. defense officials said at the time that the meeting included only those countries with the most “skin in the game,” a comment that made front-page news in Canada considering its long-term partnership with the United States in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Three weeks later, Canada has altered its involvement in the military campaign, saying Monday that it will suspend all airstrikes against the militants by Feb. 22, but significantly boost its financial assistance to the region and triple the number of military advisers it deploys to Iraq to train local forces. Canada also will continue to refuel other coalition aircraft, officials said.
“Today, we recommit to defeating ISIL with a plan that works with our allies and helps those most affected,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a series of tweets, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State. “Our efforts will better reflect what Canada is all about: Defending our interests and freedoms with our allies, and helping those in need.”
The arrangement — billed by the Canadians as an “enhanced whole-of-government approach” — strikes a compromise between officials in Ottawa and Washington. Trudeau had pledged for months to end Canadian airstrikes, but was pressed to reconsider after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November that killed 130 people.
Under the new plan, the number of Canadian troops in Iraq will be increased from 669, including 69 military advisers, up to 830 with about 210 military advisers. They will continue to deploy as Operation Impact, Canada’s military contribution to the campaign against the Islamic State.
Canada also will provide more than $1.1 billion in assistance over the next three years. Some $840 million of that will go to basic needs in areas that are the hardest hit, including food, shelter, water and hygiene. Assistance will also target the most vulnerable, Canadian officials said, including children and survivors of sexual violence.
Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 Hornets are refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker on October 30, 2014, over Iraq.
(U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. Perry Aston)
About $270 million will be used to to provide education, sanitation and help rebuild public infrastructure — critical in a place like Ramadi, a city in western Iraq that was leveled in the last few months as Iraqi forces recaptured it.
“Programming will focus on helping women and youth, improving maternal, newborn and child health and advancing gender equality,” Canadian officials said. “It will also focus on promoting environmental sustainability.”
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said Monday that the U.S. Defense Department welcomed the assistance. Carter will travel to Brussels this week to meet with countries involved in the military campaign, and the “Canadian announcement is the kind of response the secretary has been looking for from coalition members as the United States and our coalition partners push to accelerate the campaign against ISIL,” Cook said.
“The secretary sees these as significant contributions, and he appreciates the decision by the Trudeau government to step up Canada’s role in the campaign at this critical time,” Cook added.
Canada has continued to carry out airstrikes in recent days using its CF-188 fighter jet, a variant of the F/A-18 Hornet. According to a recent Canadian breakdown of operations, CF-188s flying in tandem carried out airstrikes each day from Feb. 3 to Feb. 6, hitting targets near the cities of Ramadi, Fallujah and Mosul.
