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NATO seeks Canadian troops for the Balkans
By JEFF SALLOT
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Ottawa â †George Robertson, the Secretary-General of NATO, says he expects Canada will send fresh ground troops to support the alliance's peacekeeping missions in the Balkans so that U.S. troops can move on to possible Middle Eastern combat.
It is an idea that was first floated by Washington and has been under consideration by Ottawa for more than a week. But it was not among the military commitments announced Monday by the government to help the United States in the antiterrorism campaign.
Lord Robertson is to meet Prime Minister Jean Chré'©en in the nation's capital Tuesday, making the request for Canadian ground troops in the Balkans hard on the heels of Ottawa's announcement that it is sending naval and air forces to the Middle East.
Lord Robertson said he thinks Mr. Chré'©en will agree. "I've got indications that the Canadians would be willing to do that if they were asked to do it."
He added, "It might be that the Prime Minister will be volunteering."
Lord Robertson said he's not shy about asking Canada and other countries in the 19-country North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance to help "backfill" the operations in Bosnia and Kosovo.
Canada has about 1,600 soldiers serving with NATO in Bosnia. But the Canadian Forces were forced to withdraw from Kosovo last year because the army was overextended.
The United States has about 10,000 troops in the Balkans. The Pentagon had been interested in shedding the peacekeeping missions even before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Many military analysts say it will be difficult for Canada to deploy more soldiers to the Balkans without extending the tours of duty.
At the moment, a Balkans tour lasts six months, after which the soldier is supposed to be back home for 18 months. Extending tours to 12 months would allow Canada to make a larger commitment.
The Canadian Forces might also have to call up additional reservists to fill out army units. About 20 per cent of the troops in the Canadian Kosovo contingent are reserve soldiers.
Lord Robertson, who once compared Canadian defence budgets unfavourably to other NATO countries, was effusive in his praise of Canada on the eve of his meeting with Mr. Chré'©en.
Monday's announcement of ships and aircraft for the Middle East shows that "Canada yet again proves to be a stalwart ally in times of trouble," he said.
Unlike the Kosovo air campaign two years ago, NATO is not taking the lead role in the operations against terrorists believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.
"We are not in the lead. We do not seek to be in the lead," Lord Robertson said in an interview with Canadian journalists at the government guest house across the road from 24 Sussex Dr.
The United States is taking the lead because it was attacked.
Nevertheless, Lord Robertson said, NATO is "acutely relevant" in the campaign.
For example, he said, five of NATO's AWACS air command and radar surveillance planes â †some with Canadian crews â †are being sent from Germany to patrol North America. This frees up U.S. Air Force AWACS for operations near Afghanistan.
NATO is moving a joint naval task force from the western part of the Mediterranean to the east, closer to Middle East hot spots, Lord Robertson added.
NATO is unlikely to be directly involved in planning and executing military operations in the antiterrorism campaign, many analysts believe.
They say U.S. military and political officials don't like NATO's cumbersome decision-making process, requiring a consensus among the 19 members.
Some U.S. military analysts have also said that many of the European NATO allies do not have the type of units that would be useful in the antiterrorist campaign.
Lord Robertson and Mr. Chré'©en are scheduled to address the NATO Parliamentary Association in Ottawa Tuesday.
Well, it looks like there is a chance that there could be more than just one reserve company going. Does anyone else see this as the beginning of the end of the CF as we know it now?
By JEFF SALLOT
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Ottawa â †George Robertson, the Secretary-General of NATO, says he expects Canada will send fresh ground troops to support the alliance's peacekeeping missions in the Balkans so that U.S. troops can move on to possible Middle Eastern combat.
It is an idea that was first floated by Washington and has been under consideration by Ottawa for more than a week. But it was not among the military commitments announced Monday by the government to help the United States in the antiterrorism campaign.
Lord Robertson is to meet Prime Minister Jean Chré'©en in the nation's capital Tuesday, making the request for Canadian ground troops in the Balkans hard on the heels of Ottawa's announcement that it is sending naval and air forces to the Middle East.
Lord Robertson said he thinks Mr. Chré'©en will agree. "I've got indications that the Canadians would be willing to do that if they were asked to do it."
He added, "It might be that the Prime Minister will be volunteering."
Lord Robertson said he's not shy about asking Canada and other countries in the 19-country North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance to help "backfill" the operations in Bosnia and Kosovo.
Canada has about 1,600 soldiers serving with NATO in Bosnia. But the Canadian Forces were forced to withdraw from Kosovo last year because the army was overextended.
The United States has about 10,000 troops in the Balkans. The Pentagon had been interested in shedding the peacekeeping missions even before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Many military analysts say it will be difficult for Canada to deploy more soldiers to the Balkans without extending the tours of duty.
At the moment, a Balkans tour lasts six months, after which the soldier is supposed to be back home for 18 months. Extending tours to 12 months would allow Canada to make a larger commitment.
The Canadian Forces might also have to call up additional reservists to fill out army units. About 20 per cent of the troops in the Canadian Kosovo contingent are reserve soldiers.
Lord Robertson, who once compared Canadian defence budgets unfavourably to other NATO countries, was effusive in his praise of Canada on the eve of his meeting with Mr. Chré'©en.
Monday's announcement of ships and aircraft for the Middle East shows that "Canada yet again proves to be a stalwart ally in times of trouble," he said.
Unlike the Kosovo air campaign two years ago, NATO is not taking the lead role in the operations against terrorists believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.
"We are not in the lead. We do not seek to be in the lead," Lord Robertson said in an interview with Canadian journalists at the government guest house across the road from 24 Sussex Dr.
The United States is taking the lead because it was attacked.
Nevertheless, Lord Robertson said, NATO is "acutely relevant" in the campaign.
For example, he said, five of NATO's AWACS air command and radar surveillance planes â †some with Canadian crews â †are being sent from Germany to patrol North America. This frees up U.S. Air Force AWACS for operations near Afghanistan.
NATO is moving a joint naval task force from the western part of the Mediterranean to the east, closer to Middle East hot spots, Lord Robertson added.
NATO is unlikely to be directly involved in planning and executing military operations in the antiterrorism campaign, many analysts believe.
They say U.S. military and political officials don't like NATO's cumbersome decision-making process, requiring a consensus among the 19 members.
Some U.S. military analysts have also said that many of the European NATO allies do not have the type of units that would be useful in the antiterrorist campaign.
Lord Robertson and Mr. Chré'©en are scheduled to address the NATO Parliamentary Association in Ottawa Tuesday.
Well, it looks like there is a chance that there could be more than just one reserve company going. Does anyone else see this as the beginning of the end of the CF as we know it now?
