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notyoueither
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of naught
Aug 2001
time: 22:26
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Why do I want to slap this guy?
http://www.canada.com/news/national...51-8df4fa5a113b
quote:
Martin to pay political price for military woes, Iraq flip-flop, says Harper
Murray Brewster
Canadian Press
February 5, 2005
HALIFAX (CP) - Fresh from his first inspection of the charred insides of HMCS Chicoutimi, federal Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said Saturday he has reservations about possibly sending Canadian troops to Iraq as part of post-war reconstruction.
The Canadian military is stretched far too thin and often faces dangers with inadequate equipment, Harper told a standing room only crowd at the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party's annual meeting in Halifax.
"It took a terrible tragedy aboard a submarine, HMCS Chicoutimi, to remind us of some of the challenges our military does face," he said during a luncheon speech.
"I have great reservations about whether we have the capacity to safely send additional troops on yet another mission."
Both Harper and deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay toured the crippled submarine and met with members of its crew Saturday, one day after the warship was nudged into the Halifax naval dockyard by tugboats.
The tour took place as a report from the Toronto Star said the Liberal minority government was expecting - and would consider - a call from the Bush administration to send a small group of Canadian troops to Iraq.
"I remembered how the prime minister attacked us during the federal election for wanting to spend more on defence," Harper said.
"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."
Sources told the Toronto newspaper the sensitive issue would be discussed at a NATO summit in Brussels later this month.
If Ottawa agrees to the alleged plan, 40 Canadian soldiers would join 300 soldiers from other countries in Baghdad to help train the new Iraqi army.
The Prime Minister's Office has yet to comment on the possibility of an Iraq commitment.
"If the prime minister is planning this kind of a flip-flop, he is going to pay a severe political price for it in Parliament," Harper said.
When the U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003, Harper supported the notion of sending Canadian troops. And despite the rhetoric Saturday, Harper did not rule out getting behind a new initiative.
However, he said he would "have to be convinced it was safe," especially in light of the submarine tragedy.
In October, Harper was one of a number of federal politicians at the Halifax airport when the body of Lieut. Chris Saunders, 32, was returned home.
Saunders died after battling the blaze that stranded one of four used, diesel-electric submarines Canada had acquired from Britain off the coast of Scotland.
At the time, Harper said, he had wanted to remind the prime minister that defence is not all a political game.
"When we put men and women in uniform and ask them to defend and protect us, it is our obligation to do everything we can as parliamentarians to defend and protect them." |
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04-02-2005 02:37
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