Then prime minister Jean Chrétien is applauded by his Liberal caucus in the House of Commons on March 17, 2003, after announcing Canada's refusal to partake in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. (CBC)Cable: Canada Secretly Backed Iraq War -- UPI
OTTAWA, May 16 (UPI) -- Canada secretly offered to back the U.S. invasion of Iraq while staying publicly aloof, a cable exposed by WikiLeaks shows.
On March 17, 2003, two days before the attack began, then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien told Parliament Canada was staying out of it, an extremely popular stand.
Read more ....
More News On Canada Secretly Backing The Iraq War
Canada offered to aid Iraq invasion: WikiLeaks -- CBC
Jean Chretien and Iraq: Yet more proof the Liberals stood for nothing -- Matt Gurney, National Post
Was Canada in the coalition of the willing? -- Joshua Keating, Foreign Policy
My Comment: As a Canadian, I do not have enough time or energy to list all the lies and deceptions that the Canadian government was putting us through at the time. Let us just say that this was one the reasons why the decision to escalate Canadian troop numbers to Afghanistan was done with little fanfare or opposition in Canada. By avoiding the Iraq conflict, the perception in Canada at the time was to send more soldiers (under UN guidelines) to Afghanistan in order to assist our NATO allies .... in particular, those allies who were involved in the Iraq war. Naturally .... our ignorance of Afghanistan resulted in unprepared Canadian soldiers being dropped into Kandahar .... the center of the Taliban movement. Years later and after numerous casualties .... we are finally leaving that god forsaken place (starting next month).
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