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Sending Canadian Troops to Iraq - One Canadian's View
By Diane Girard
Canada decided not to send troops to fight in Iraq. This decision was made by our Prime Minister in response to what he sees as prevailing Canadian opinion. (Our Prime Minister is very canny and does nothing without sniffing the air three times to smell out prevailing opinion.) Canada does have a few troops assisting the American forces in a technical role. I understand that some American's feel Canadians should be punished for not fighting beside them in Iraq.
I think Americans should be glad we are not sending some of our few ancient Sea-King helicopters and leaky ships to assist them in the war. Our troops are as capable as any nation's troops of fighting a war (they were in World Wars I and II from the beginning; and perhaps I should not mention the war of 1812). They are also proud to be world-class experts at peacekeeping. Canadian troops will be needed for a very long time after the war ends to help keep the peace. No doubt our country will also contribute substantial monies to international aid and to other humanitarian efforts. That will certainly cost us plenty. Perhaps you could consider those costs as part of settling the score with us.
Canadians tend not to believe in 'my country right or wrong.' We tend to think, should we change the country: who are we: and what does Quebec want now? So, you see, unbridled patriotism is not part of our culture. We have enough trouble just making up our minds to stay together as a country. We always have difficulty deciding to spend any money on defence. As a result, the number of people in the armed forces is low, very low and we do not have enough of the latest military hardware, software or any other ware. We seem to have decided that national health care is where we should spend any budget surplus. I'm not sure why we make these decisions, but so it is.
Canadians know that the people of Iraq are suffering under Saddam's dictatorship. This has been going on for years. Some of us have heard from the many Iraqi refugees living here who vehemently oppose the war. They feel ordinary Iraqis will suffer even more. We also know there are other places in the world where brutal regimes exist unopposed, sometimes with the active help of free-world governments. I suspect we are tentative because we are not sure why this case should be different. Perhaps our understanding of the complexities of middle-east politics is more limited than yours is.
We certainly did not intend to offend the only super-power now left on the planet. At least, I think we did not. You are our closest neighbour and we are aware of your power — very aware. We sometimes choose a foreign policy that differs from yours. I think it is still our right to disagree, but in case I am wrong, I am preparing for sanctions.
I am also praying for peace.
