What's your reaction to the expansion of the mission against ISIS?
Fighting ISIS: Prime Minister Harper has announced a one-year extension to the bombing campaign in Iraq, and an expansion into Syria. He says it's necessary to stop a brutal force, and to keep the battle from coming to Canada's shores. The opposition parties disagree. They question the legality and say Canada should only provide humanitarian support. What do you think?
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INTRODUCTION
This week the government announced it plans to extend the bombing mission in Iraq a year ....and expand it into Syria.
There is no decision more difficult than the one that sends Canada's forces into harm' s way. Six months ago the government made that move as it agreed to join an international mission to oppose ISIS in Iraq. The bloody and brutal advance of ISIS through Iraq replete with beheadings, enslavement and ethnic cleansing shocked the world. Sixty nations felt the need to do something ...anything to help.
Canada sent six jet fighters along with support staff and equipment as well as a small group of 69 special forces. The opposition parties were not keen to see Canada going in with the intention of bombing. Opposition leader Thomas Mulcair said the mission would inevitably lead to a wider conflict that would kill more civilians than if Canada did not join the battle. Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said while the West should oppose ISIS, Canada should concentrate on humanitarian support.
The opposition is even less keen now that the mission is being both extended and expanded. They raise questions about the legality of bombing Syria without permission. They want more specifics on the goals and objectives of Canada's expanding role there. The original intent as stated by Prime Minster Stephen Harper was to "significantly degrade" the capacity of ISIS, and they feel that is too open-ended.
We want to know what you think?
Does a force as ruthless and brutal as ISIS require speedy resolute action? Is Canada right to jump in ...if not who?
Do you see ISIS as a threat that demands Western military intervention? Should that help go beyond an aerial bombing campaign? Is expanding into Syria a game-changer that raises a whole new set of concerns? Do you worry that this is a fight that will not be won quickly? Do you think such an active role will invite retaliation here at home? What should be done when people in other parts of the world face such a brutal force?
Our question today: "What's your reaction to the expansion of the mission against ISIS?"
I'm Rex Murphy ...on CBC Radio One ...and on Sirius XM, satellite radio channel 169 ...this is Cross Country Checkup.
GUESTS
Jason Kenney
Minister of National Defence and Minister for Multiculturalism.
Twitter: @jkenney
Paul Dewar
NDP MP, Ottawa Centre & Critic, Foreign Affairs
Twitter: @PaulDewar
Bessma Momani
Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Waterloo and the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Canada. She is Senior Fellow at the Centre For International Governance and Innovation (CIGI) an international think-tank in Waterloo, Canada.
Twitter: @b_momani
Houchang Hassan-Yari
Professor of Comparative Politics and International Relations (military and strategic issues) at Royal Military College of Canada.
LINKS
CBC.ca
- Stephen Harper makes his case for Canada to renew its participation in fighting the Islamic State
- ISIS mission debate in Parliament leaves more questions than answers
- Stephen Harper says ISIS unlikely to sue over legality of Syria mission
- Anti-ISIS mission in Syria built on shaky legal ground, critics say
- ISIS mission has support of Canadians, polls suggest, by Éric Grenier
- No plans to boost aid in expanded ISIL mission: Jason Kenney
- U.K. endorses Harper government proposal for anti-ISIS air strikes over Syria
- Canada’s mission against ISIS: Let’s fight our own battles, by Jesse Kline
National Post
- Stephen Harper tells opposition that Canada will fight ISIS threat for ‘as long as it is there’
- Transcript of PM's speech
- The NDP’s alternative to military intervention against ISIS, by Paul Dewar
- Despite the political spectacle, it’s hard to imagine any other decision on ISIS, by Michael Den Tandt
- Opposition parties facing an unanswerable question on Iraq mission extension: If not this, then what? by Michael Den Tandt
- Editorial: Canada’s fight against ISIS is a mission worth extending
- Opposition is selling fairy tales on the mission against ISIS. Canadians are not so gullible, by Terry Glavin
- Why the majority of Canadians support the mission in Iraq, by Boucher, Lagassé & Massie
Globe and Mail
- Harper unveils motion to extend fight against the Islamic State into Syria
- Tories say waging war on Islamic State is a humanitarian effort
- 'Moral clarity' aside, Canada's Syria mission lacks an endgame
- Canada in Iraq: Set clear goals with any new commitment, by Burney & Hampson
- Five ways Canada could still save lives in Syria, by Paul Heinbecker
- On Islamic State, the opposition are right where Harper wants them, by Jeffrey Simpson
- Editorial: Why Canada is in Iraq and should stay out of Syria
Macleans
- Editorial: Why now is not the time to slacken the fight against Islamic State
- For the record: Stephen Harper on Canada’s war against Islamic State
- What the party leaders said about expanding the war against ISIS
Toronto Star
- Canadian jets will hit targets in Syria under Tories’ plan to expand mission
- Stephen Harper’s Syrian foray carries risks, but is a winner on home front, by Tim Harper
- Stephen Harper’s Syrian gambit clarifies divisions over Canada’s latest war, by Thomas Walkom
Chronicle Herald
Centre for International Policy Studies
Policy Options
The Atlantic