Members of Canada's top secret commando unit, Joint Task Force 2, had been in Iraq working in tandem with British troops, said officials. It's not clear how many were in Iraq, but they have been in the country for some time.
RCMP, Canadian military involved?
Straw said the military operation that led to the release of the hostages occurred after "weeks and weeks" of careful preparation and involved military and civilian personnel, including the RCMP.
"The operation included representatives from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, other agencies from Canada – and they did a terrific job – as well as the Americans and British staff and those from Iraq," said Straw.
DID HARPER SEND CANADIAN SOLDIERS TO IRAQ? asks My Blahg. Probably not since the super secret commando unit JTF2 has been working with the US Special forces since 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. Which makes this a continuation of Liberal Government policy. And another reason for full disclosure of all military operations to Parliament. So can we debate the issue NOW!
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I think some people are freaking out over this JTF2 thing for nothing (and yes, it wasn't Harper who sent them, and the diplomats, and the RCMP and CSIS in, they went in and started working on getting the hostages released pretty much IMMEDIATELY after the kidnappings, which means back in late 2005).
ReplyDeleteAnd so what? So the Americans are doing bad things in Iraq. A lot of people are doing a lot of bad things in a lot of places. But when Canadian citizens are held hostage, our government should do everything they can to go get them out NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE. I don't care if it's Iraq, or Iran, or Syria, or Idaho. "The Iraq war is illegal/immoral" is no excuse to not try to rescue Canadian hostages. The government has a duty to its citizens, and they shouldn't just sit around and hope the Americans do something.
I for one don't want to be kidnapped one day, and hear my government say "Well, we'd have loved to have tried to help you, but we didn't want to look like we were working with the Americans, so we had to do nothing, and hope the Americans would rescue you themselves".
I don't care where a Canadian hostage is, I want JTF2, and the RCMP and CSIS, and Foreign Affairs, and anyone else who could help on the case right away.
If Canadians are being held hostage, anywhere, we should go and try to get them out whenever feasible. Period.