Canadians are discussing mission creep in Iraq theater. What is really going on?

originally posted by: darkorange
a reply to: intunewithmyself

No #. I thought we
exercise freedom of speech.

Think again.

Yea freedom of speech doesn't cover military secrets.

At least I assume thats what you were getting at. Trying to piece together your comments is difficult.

People need to be aware:

The only way to end the terrorism threat is to us fight it.

Not outsource it to someone else.

And to go directly after the source.

Our, the west's so called 'allies'.

They fund it.

They train them.

They aid and abet it.

And go after their money. Ban their GD oil from the world stage.

Then American,Canadian,British,Australian,German, and even the French.

Cowboy the hell up, and help them meet their maker.

Anything else ?

Just an exercise in futility.

A western alliance for,of, and by us.

Exactly like we did during WW2.

originally posted by: neo96
People need to be aware:

The only way to end the terrorism threat is to us fight it.

Not outsource it to someone else.

And to go directly after the source.

Our, the west's so called 'allies'.

They fund it.

They train them.

They aid and abet it.

And go after their money. Ban their GD oil from the world stage.

Then American,Canadian,British,Australian,German, and even the French.

Cowboy the hell up, and help them meet their maker.

Anything else ?

Just an exercise in futility.

A western alliance for,of, and by us.

Exactly like we did during WW2.

sometimes when you fight fire with fire everyone ends up burnt.

a reply to: neo96

Now that is war.

I think the Canadian operation in Iraq is on the 'edge' of mission creep. From what I've heard the JTF special forces are training Iraqi 'spotters' for bombing missions. Clearly teaching someone how to lite up a ground target with a laser is going to require getting pretty close. So the 'official' line can follow that and simply say they came under fire during training and it is reasonable.

The truth is more likely that some Iraqi special forces are being trained, snipers most likely. Everything goes along nicely then all of a sudden Daesh starts attacking and need to be neutralized quickly or people are going to die. Suddenly the sniper trainer lets loose and neutralizes some critical targets.

I understand Canadians have a right to know what their armed forces are doing. If the government isn't simply training elite Iraqi forces then they should come out and say they are providing support. However I don't think they are tasked for operational support or staffed for it. Just a sniper doing what they do when people attack them or their buddies.

originally posted by: aboutface
...Harper clearly controls the message and when Gen Lawson speaks it is usually brief, and his comments back the Harper message.

Harper has been controlling the message for many years now. The man is a one-man democracy killer.

So why would the military Special Forces release that info to the press, unless it had been cleared though Harper? Politically he wants to be seen as supporting the troops and enjoys denigrating the opposition members as being unsupportive. After all there's an election coming in October. Could this all be politically motivated?

No doubt Harper accepted the risk to JTF. The truth is they are highly respected around the world so it's no surprise they are being asked to help in this manner. I think the headlines of Canadian special forces engaging Daesh on the battlefield are being politically played up to gain support heading into an election. They easily could have kept it all quiet, but some political brain trust checked the polling numbers and feels engaging Daesh directly will boost support.

a reply to: noeltrotsky

Thank you for your most helpful and educational post. It makes me feel so much better. We do stand behind our troops and wish them success and godspeed in their mission.

originally posted by: noeltrotsky

originally posted by: aboutface
...Harper clearly controls the message and when Gen Lawson speaks it is usually brief, and his comments back the Harper message.

Harper has been controlling the message for many years now. The man is a one-man democracy killer.

So why would the military Special Forces release that info to the press, unless it had been cleared though Harper? Politically he wants to be seen as supporting the troops and enjoys denigrating the opposition members as being unsupportive. After all there's an election coming in October. Could this all be politically motivated?

No doubt Harper accepted the risk to JTF. The truth is they are highly respected around the world so it's no surprise they are being asked to help in this manner. I think the headlines of Canadian special forces engaging Daesh on the battlefield are being politically played up to gain support heading into an election. They easily could have kept it all quiet, but some political brain trust checked the polling numbers and feels engaging Daesh directly will boost support.

A hearty 'Of Course!' to that polling observation. Lord help us all, the campaign hasn't even been revved up yet.
We are in for one hot long summer.

I can't wait till Canadians stop following order from their Southern Lying Neighbors. Sooner or Later Canadians Population will realize they are being used for American fake Wars. We all know America is gonna back stab Canada one day. It is already consuming Canada culturally.

originally posted by: noeltrotsky
I think the Canadian operation in Iraq is on the 'edge' of mission creep. From what I've heard the JTF special forces are training Iraqi 'spotters' for bombing missions. Clearly teaching someone how to lite up a ground target with a laser is going to require getting pretty close. So the 'official' line can follow that and simply say they came under fire during training and it is reasonable.

The truth is more likely that some Iraqi special forces are being trained, snipers most likely. Everything goes along nicely then all of a sudden Daesh starts attacking and need to be neutralized quickly or people are going to die. Suddenly the sniper trainer lets loose and neutralizes some critical targets.

I understand Canadians have a right to know what their armed forces are doing. If the government isn't simply training elite Iraqi forces then they should come out and say they are providing support. However I don't think they are tasked for operational support or staffed for it. Just a sniper doing what they do when people attack them or their buddies.

that's pretty much bang on the button. It's what special forces do best and it goes right back to the roots of SF work. Let the indigenous population do the grunt work and provide specialist support. Then pick out the men who are quick to learn and switched on and start teaching them how to snipe, set ambushes, call in air support or operate communications equipment quickly and effectively. It's what made 22 so effective in the 60s and 70s and earned them the reputation they have now. For an operator on the ground it's actually quite exciting stuff because it's exactly the kind of situation he will thrive in.