Canadian Troops for Iraq?

Harper warns Grits about 'deception' on Iraq
CTV.ca News Staff

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is warning the Liberal government will pay a "severe price" if it sends Canadian troops to Iraq.

"I remembered how the prime minister attacked us during the federal election for wanting to spend more on defence,'' Harper told reporters Saturday in Halifax.

"I sat through an election campaign where the prime minister accused me of having secret plans to send troops to Iraq. If it turns out he has secret plans, this has to be one of the biggest election deceptions in history.''

However, Harper didn't rule out supporting such an initiative if he could be convinced it was safe.

He was in Halifax to inspect the fire-damaged HMCS Chicoutimi and to speak to the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party's annual meeting.

Harper was responding to a report that Canadian troops may be deployed to Iraq to help with reconstruction if Prime Minister Paul Martin agrees to the anticipated request from U.S. President George Bush.

The two leaders are expected to discuss the issue when they meet later this month in Brussels for a NATO summit meeting, the Toronto Star reported Saturday.

The paper says a small contingent of 40 Canadian troops would be sent abroad, joining another 300 NATO forces -- if Martin agrees.

The news comes days after Bush's state of the union address. In it, he called on his allies for more foreign aid and support for Iraq's new government after a Jan. 30 election that Bush deemed "a great and historic achievement."

The mandate of the Canadian troops would be to help train Iraqi troops and prepare the violence-ravaged country for the eventual withdrawal of foreign troops.

The Star reports that sources have told it Canada is considering the notion more favourably after last weekend's successful elections in Iraq.

CTV's Rosemary Thompson told Newsnet the Prime Minister's Office is saying they haven't had an official request yet.

If it did happen and Martin agrees to the request, "it could be fireworks in the House," she says.

"I spoke to two opposition leaders today. They both said that Parliament should be consulted before this happens. They both want a vote in the House of Commons."

The decision would be controversial following the move by former prime minister Jean Chretien to keep Canada out of the war -- a move political analysts said alienated Chretien and Canada from Bush and the United States.

France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Greece banned their nationals from participating in training efforts -- even when NATO increased its training troops from 60 to 300, the Star reported.

Earlier this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said Canada stands behind its southern neighbour.

"We share a lot of priorities with the President of the United States," Pettigrew told reporters on Parliament Hill.

"He can certainly count on Canada to be a steadfast partner in fighting terrorism around the world."

But in October 2004, Martin expressed his hesitance to commit any Canadian troops to Iraq.

"There's a limit to our resources," Martin said at the time.

"And that's why I'm putting the focus right now on Afghanistan, on Haiti.

"Whatever it is that we do, I really want to see us do it in an area that makes a difference," Martin said.

With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press