FACE TO FACE
Should Canada send ground troops into Syria? Stephen J. Thorne says YES
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n its Global Affairs website, the Government of Canada describes the conflict in Syria as “the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today.” It quotes UN figures: 13.5 million people inside Syria in urgent need of help; more than a quarter-million dead, hundreds of thousands wounded; some five million-plus refugees. It’s a catastrophe that is spreading by the day. Efforts to contain it are like putting the proverbial genie back in the bottle. But, bless its big heart, Canada is trying. “To date, Canada has committed almost $1 billion in humanitarian, development and security assistance in response to the Syria crisis,” says Global Affairs. Trouble is, Canada—and the international community—are a day late and a dollar short when it comes to responsible action in Syria and elsewhere in the region. The genie is out and what more havoc he has yet to reap is anyone’s guess. There is no doubt Canada should contribute what it can to alleviate the refugee crisis and assist humanitarian efforts in Syria. But the need for such measures could largely have been prevented had Canada and its allies acted early and decisively to stop the excesses of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the rise of ISIS and the involvement of Russia. That said, opportunities still exist to stem the tide of misery and destruction. And so, as coordinated efforts to defeat ISIS
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gain momentum, Canada needs to weapons on his own citizens. be there, wherever the fight may To be part of the solution, take it, for ISIS is the enemy of us all. Canada must contribute more to Arising out of peaceful anti-govthe fight. We are currently addressernment protests in 2011, the Syrian ing the results of the widespread conflict is no longer a civil war. It unwillingness to get involved. has become an insurgency involving But you can’t claim to be a leader a complex entanglement of diverse and humanitarian, as Canadians combatants whose motives and so proudly believe their country goals comprise conflicting ethnic, to be, while turning your back as religious and political factors that a preventable tragedy unfolds. threaten to plunge the entire region, Decisive military action will save unstable as it already is, into chaos. the lives of innocent people, preVirtually all principle combatserve antiquities, discourage Putin’s ants have a common enemy: opportunism and help stabilize a ISIS, soldiered by international volatile and escalating situation. fighters whose stated aim is nothCanada’s military is far from ing less than to rule the world. the biggest or the best-equipped. An offshoot of al-Qaida, there is But its troops are second to none no negotiating with its fanatics. and regularly punch well above Their methods, from videotaped their weight in areas of conflict. beheadings to enslavement to burning captives CANADA NEEDS TO alive, are more ruthBE THERE, WHEREVER less and barbaric than al-Qaida’s. Their goals, THE FIGHT MAY which have nothing to do TAKE IT, FOR ISIS IS THE with true Islamic beliefs, ENEMY OF US ALL. are uncompromising. Eliminate the jihadist extremists and there is surely a Canada has already gotten its road to peace, albeit a bumpy one. hands dirty in the region. While Russian President Vladimir Putin it has ended bombing sorties in recognized the lack of commitIraq and Syria, its special forces ment among Western allies and, are training, advising and fighting under the pretense of contributing alongside Iraqi troops in milito the solution, rushed to fill the tary operations against ISIS. void. His indiscriminate bombing It’s also providing small arms has killed and injured thousands and ammunition to Iraqi forces, of innocent civilians while willfully Canadian helicopters have been undermining Western aims. He has evacuating wounded, and Canada advanced the interests of Assad, is helping pinpoint ISIS targets. a dictator who has used chemical It can and should do more. L
MARCH/APRIL 2017 > legionmagazine.com
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2017-01-31 2:03 PM
