The only thing we are certain about Iraq and Syria is that Canadian Forces will be there for a while. That news comes after the prime minister stood in Parliament this week and announced plans for an extension of the mission.
Ever the astute politician, the PM used his considerable power to extend the mission for a whole year, rather than another six months. Why risk having this go sideways on us in the heat of a federal election?
And the mission isn't just going to run a year longer. It's also going to expand into the borders of Syria, where a dictator and largely Islamist rebel opposition have been deadlocked in a bloody civil war for years.
There's no question that ISIS is amoral and thrives on cruel brutality.
It would be nice to think that a few bombs and raids would set things right again. But there is not a finite number of terrorists to be killed, nor a nest that can be burned.
Military intervention in the Middle East has an uncanny pattern of producing unintended consequences.
We question whether the preferred way to deal with a violent quagmire should be yet another violent quagmire.
Any use of our military in a foreign land needs to have crystal clear goals, a well thought out plan to ensure we achieve them and markers to know when the mission's been accomplished. That's over and above having a justification that Canadians can stand behind. That's not what we're getting.
So, flash forward a year, a few hundred million dollars and some more dead soldiers and what will we have?
Then what?
- Guest editorial from the North Shore News
