Shery

The fact, of course, is that Canada IS aiding and abetting this criminal war, albeit not in the specific ways that the litmus test was designed to detect. Canada IS very deeply complicit, and -- as confirmed by Paul Cellucci this week Canada is MORE complicit most. Compared to most others in the gang that have gathered around the US bully, Canada is acting above and beyond the call of duty. The only condition of our participation is that the US plays along with Canada's desire to keep our role very hush-hush. While publicly, the Canadian government is pretending to have taken the moral high ground by opposing this war, simultaneously -- behind the scenes -- it is doing everything it possibly can to give as much support as possible to aid and abet this illegal US war.

Canada's Support for the War

Canada is by far the leading member of that group of nations that secretly support the "Coalition of the Willing" but who wish to remain nameless.

Here are a few examples of Canada's role in this unsanctioned war:

Providing War Planners: Canadian military "war planners" have been working with US Central Command for months. Canada had planners working with US Central Command when it was located at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida. USCENTCOM is masterminding the entire war against Iraq. Then, on February 11, 2003, Canada disclosed that it had transferred about 25 of our "military planners" from MacDill to the U.S. military's forward command post in Qatar, in the Persian Gulf. This is now the "command-and-control headquarters" for the war. Having Canadian war planners helping to set up, prepare and organize this war for months leading up to its launch is a far more significant role than having a few soldiers fighting on the ground. Canada has helped to determine the whole strategy for fighting this war. We are continuing to help run this war from the inside. Canada is part of the brains behind the whole operation. It is unlikely that very many of the nations that are officially recognized as part of the "Coalition of the Willing" are part of the strategic and logistical planning effort coordinated by CENTCOM that has created the schedule for this war and is now pulling all the strings from behind the scenes.

Commanding the Multinational Naval Force: Canada is leading a multinational naval taskforce in the Persian Gulf. We currently have about 1300 troops on three frigates that are protecting US aircraft carriers. These Canadian frigates have accompanied US warships through the Persian Gulf right up to Kuwait. From there, these warships are serving as "platforms" from which to launch the air war against Iraq. This is all part of Operation Apollo, which originally began as Canada's contribution to the war in Afghanistan, but which has now conveniently mutated into a major Canadian contribution to the US War against Iraq.

Exchange Troops: Canada admits having 31 "exchange troops" engaged in the war against Iraq. Although Chrétien has denied that any are engaged in fighting on the ground in Iraq, Daniel Leblanc says that "Six Canadian Forces members on exchange programs with coalition troops are serving in battle zones in Iraq, despite Ottawa's official policy of staying out of the war" (Globe and Mail, March 27, 2003). "At least one of the Canadians.is with the British 7th Armoured Brigade, a unit now taking part in heavy fighting near Basra" (David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen, March 27, 2003).

These Canadian "exchange troops" under the command of US and British armed forces are serving with combat troops on the ground in Iraq. This "exchange program" with the US and UK has been going on for many decades. It has allowed Canadian navy, air force and army personnel to engage in foreign wars that are not officially sanctioned by the Canadian government. It has also ensured that when Canadian troops are officially at war, they have the guidance and support of US troops in their midst.

Airborne Warning and Control System: Canadian Forces members are also part of crews on Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. These state of the art aircraft are essential to modern air war battles. They are the nerve centres that "safely" guide fighter jets and bombers into battle so that they can "deliver" their destructive "payloads." Chrétien rationalized that the Canadians are on AWACS that oversee more than just Iraq or any single country. "The people who are involved in flying in AWACS claim they are covering many countries in their surveillance, not only one country." he said. (Daniel Leblanc, March 27, 2003)

Freeing Up US Troops in Afghanistan: In an article in the the Globe and Mail on February 5, 2003, Brian Tobin urged Canada to fulfill its obligations to the UN and to the US. He stated "The U.S. needs to free up key logistical and military assets on the ground in Afghanistan for the coming campaign in Iraq. Canada can, and should, offer to fill the gap." This is exactly what Canada did when it announced a week later that a "sizeable contribution" of Canadian troops (between 1000 and 2000) would free up US troops in Afghanistan., making them available for fighting in Iraq.

Providing Billions in Weapons and Military Equipment: Canada is selling billions of dollars worth of military equipment to the US. US orders for Canadian military equipment are guaranteed to increase because of the war. Knowing, as we do, that the US is Canada's biggest military customer and that Canadian military production is thoroughly integrated into the US war machine, we can assume that virtually every major US weapons system, and weapons delivery system, includes at least some Canadian components. Many major components, like aircraft engines for warplanes, are made in Canada. Although Canada claims to have one of the world's strictest sets of guidelines to stop the export of our military goods, Canada has absolutely no restrictions whatsoever on any of our military exports to the US. No Canadian government permits are required. Canada's guidelines state that military exports to countries at war, or preparing for war, are "closely controlled." However, in the case of the US-led war against Iraq, Canada's military exports will show a "closely controlled" increase. No doubt, officials in Industry Canada, the Department of Foreign Affiars and International Trade, the Canadian Commercial Corporation and Export development Canada will be working overtime these days to help Canadian military-related corporations keep up with the increased demand for products that are required for this war..

Cheerleading: As Prime Minister Chrétien appears to waffle between opposition and encouragement for the war, he periodically makes very strong statements that lend strong diplomatic support for the US campaign against Iraq. On March 20, in his first public statement after the air war officially began, Chrétien said in the House of Commons that:

(1) "It was the Americans' privilege and right to make the decision that they made. We respect that. Of course, I hope that the Americans will do as well as possible."

(2) "At this point, I think there is no use debating the reasons why some people think war is necessary and some people think it is not. We should not say anything that would comfort Saddam Hussein." (Since Chrétien is against debating the war, imagine how opposed he must be to those who actually hit the street to protest against it!)

Overflights of US Air Force: Many US warplanes enroute to Iraq are flying through Canadian air space. This may not seem significant but its is one of the things that the US has specifically requested from members to be counted among the "Coalition of the Willing." Some countries have gained entry into the gang merely for letting the US to fly over.

Refueling US Military Aircraft: US aircraft carrying many thousands troops to Iraq are being allowed to stop in St. John's and Stephenville, Newfoundland for refueling and crew changes. "In recent weeks, as the U.S. has used Newfoundland as a refueling stop for military flights en route to the Middle East. 'We've been getting roughly 2 or 3 U.S. flights a day, with probably 1000 troops coming through each day,' said Gary Vey, CEO of the Gander Airport Authority" (Ottawa Citizen, March 22).

These are just nine of the many concrete ways that Canada is currently supporting the US war against Iraq. There are many other more systemic, practical means by which the Canadian government constantly proves its allegiance to US militarism. Just to cite a few of many examples, our government continues to:
* Let US warplanes to test their weapons in Canadian air space,
* Let US pilots to train in Canadian air space,
* Let US submarines to test their torpedoes in Canadian waters,
* Let the Canadian Pension Plan to continue to pour our hard earned dollars into Canadian, US and overseas military companies,
* Gives billions in loans, subsidies and other forms of welfare in Canada's top military exporters,
* Gives money to encourage military R&D efforts that directly benefit the war industry.

On the other side of the coin, the Liberal Party continues to accept large donations from Canada's war industries. If they really had even a thread of any moral fibre within them wouldn't they refuse to accept such blood money into their war chest?

On the Praising of Liberal Hypocrisy

How are those who want to promote the truth about this war, and Canada's role in it, supposed to deal with this troubling situation? There are many Canadians, including some peace activists, who now feel that we should praise and congratulate our government for not committing troops. They quickly add that we should follow our tribute to the Liberals with comments about how the government should go even further to support peace. Their approach is to say that the government should take some additional steps along the path of not cooperating with the US war.

However, we have to worry that this approach will feed into the prevailing myth and give comfort and support to Chrétien and his party. The problem is NOT that our government is proceeding with baby steps towards peace and that we need only encourage them to keep going in that basic direction and to perhaps take some bigger steps. The reality is that the direction in which our government is heading is towards supporting the war while pretending to stand for peace. It's not that the government just needs to tweak its policy a bit and to therefore improve an already existing peace policy that is generally aligned to our way of thinking. What our government really needs is to do is to take an about-face turn away from their almost full-fledged (albeit, still largely hidden) support for US militarism.