Former PM Jean Chretien tells CBC Iraq mission ‘a done deal’

Former prime minister Jean Chretien warns about involvement in Iraq. Chretien was PM for more than a decade between 1993 and 2003. Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand/Files

OTTAWA — Former prime minister Jean Chretien says the federal government’s decision to send special forces to northern Iraq to help fight an extremist group could pull Canada into further commitments in the region.

In an interview with CBC radio, Chretien says Canada is now fully a part of the action being taken against the extremist al-Qaida splinter group known as Islamic State, also known as ISIL.

Chretien — who famously refused to join the U.S.-led coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003 because it was not sanctioned by the United Nations —  says Canada’s involvement in a mission in Iraq is “a done deal.”

He also tells CBC he finds the Harper government’s insistence that Canada’s current contributions aren’t a combat mission “a bit unusual.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said the current Canadian commitment is limited to 69 special forces commandos who are to only advise and assist Iraqi forces and Kurdish fighters who are resisting ISIL forces in northern Iraq. The deployment is to be reviewed within 30 days.

But Chretien says he thinks that commitment could grow, with Canada being pressed to contribute further.

He compared the current situation in Iraq with the war in Vietnam, saying the U.S. began its actions there with “a few advisers.”

“You cannot be a little bit in it. You’re in it or out,” Chretien told CBC. “The other side knows we are part of it. Of course if they refuse to act, the partners will say you are not keeping your word.”

The UN Security Council urged the international community on Friday to expand support for the Iraqi government as it fights the Islamic State group and its allies.