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[quote:e5b19]Canada's rank and file get ready for Iraq mission

David Pugliese
The Ottawa Citizen

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Soldiers at Canadian bases in Petawawa, Ontario and Gagetown, New Brunswick have been quietly told their next mission could be to Iraq.

But military officials stress that no official orders have been issued to the troops to prepare for a war in the Middle East and any suggestion otherwise is inaccurate.

Some officers have privately said that discussions about the Iraq mission were circulating among the Royal Canadian Regiment at CFB Petawawa and CFB Gagetown in early December. It was not clear whether such a mission would involve taking part in a war or a follow-up peacekeeping operation after a U.S.-Iraq conflict.

But Canadian Forces spokesman Lt.-Col. Yvon Desjardins said nothing has been issued from National Defence headquarters in Ottawa about preparations for an Iraq campaign.

"Nobody has been put on alert," said Lt.-Col. Desjardins. "There's been nobody put on standby, no warning order, nothing."

Other officers have suggested the word is unofficially being spread through the units as a matter of prudent planning.

Lt.-Col. Desjardins said CFB Gagetown is home to the 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, part of the army's immediate reaction force. "They're on standby for anything, both domestic or international," he noted.

Members of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment at CFB Petawawa also make up the immediate reaction force, according to Defence department officials. As such, the units would be the first to be used on any future operation since they are at a state of high-readiness.

Advance elements of the immediate reaction force are designed to head out on a mission within 72 hours of receiving the word from National Defence headquarters.

The 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, located in Edmonton, was the immediate reaction force last year when war broke out in Afghanistan. The unit was eventually sent to that country.

Defence analyst and retired Maj.-Gen. Dan Loomis said it is not uncommon for officers at lower levels to warn their troops about potential upcoming missions. "It would be prudent given the circumstances," he noted. "People have to anticipate this."

But Mr. Loomis added there is a big difference between informal warnings about potential missions and the final decisions made by the politicians.

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has stressed Canada would not take part in any action in Iraq unless it was approved by the UN.

But the U.S. has already presented Canada with a list of equipment and personnel it would be interested in if it had to go to war with Iraq. On the list were ground troops, commandos from Joint Task Force 2, CF18 fighter aircraft and ships.

Some defence analysts have suggested Canada's contribution to a war effort could be warships or ground forces such as JTF2. Others have ruled out the use of CF18 fighter aircraft as they do not carry the required equipment to communicate with U.S. planes.

The U.S. has been building up its forces in the Persian Gulf in the wake of U.S. President George W. Bush's declaration that Iraq does not appear to be serious about disarming. Last week, the Pentagon announced it was sending 50,000 more soldiers to the Gulf region in early January, a move that would more than double the number of troops there.

The U.S also has about 400 aircraft located at bases in the region. There are already two American aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, while another one is only a one-week sail away from Iraq.

The British government has also indicated it is readying around 20,000 soldiers for a possible war.

Moving the troops and equipment into the region would give the U.S. and Britain the option of starting a war in late January or early February.

The UN Security Council is expected to meet Jan. 27 to review a report from chief weapons inspector Hans Blix on whether Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has "totally failed to meet the requirements" set out by the UN to disarm.

"Iraq is well on its way to losing its last chance," Mr. Powell said. "If it continues to go down the road of non-co-operation, there will not be a peaceful settlement."

Iraq delivered a 12,000-page dossier to the UN on Dec. 7 in which it was to make a complete declaration of its stocks of biological, chemical, nuclear and long-range ballistic missiles banned under the terms of the 1991 Gulf War ceasefire. It claimed it has no weapons of mass destruction.
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Bear in mind that nothing is official. Remember this is the media were dealing with here. Nothing has been confirmed or finalized. The keyword in the article is "yet".