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LILLEY: Truthfully Canada doesn't have what's needed to join Iran war

We have systematically starved our military of the resources they need

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The discussion going on about whether Canada could or should get involved in the war launched against Iran by the United States and Israel is becoming laughable.

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We’ve had Prime Minister Mark Carney say that Canada wasn’t consulted nor asked to participate in the strikes last week.

LILLEY: Truthfully Canada doesn't have what's needed to join Iran war Back to video

The part that no one is willing to say out loud is that Canada could do very little in military terms even if we were asked, which we likely won’t be.

Still, we have our prime minister and the chief of defence staff openly discussing an idea that isn’t serious by any way shape or form. Speaking with reporters in Australia, Carney was asked if he would definitively rule out any military involvement and he refused.

“In terms of war, there are likelihoods, there are possibilities, you have to plan for the worst, but there are no certainties, in conflict,” Carney said adding he would not categorically rule out military intervention.

“We will always defend Canadians. We will always stand by and defend our allies when called upon,” he said.

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Never take options off the table

Now, Carney is right not to rule out military action, leaders should never take potential action off the table. We don’t know what is coming, we don’t know how the situation could change in the coming weeks.

The problem is that Canada’s military is so depleted in terms of equipment and personnel that even if asked, we would be hard pressed to offer anything of substance to the war effort. That didn’t stop Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan from following Carney’s lead and pretending there are real options on the table.

Speaking with reporters in Ottawa at a defence conference, Gen. Carignan said we may need to help protect our Gulf allies from Iran’s attacks.

“Our Gulf partners may require defence and support, so within that context, this would be the type of military options that we could consider,” the General said.

Are we going to send all or part of our CF-18 fighter jet fleet to the Gulf because most of them couldn’t make the trip.

Canada’s military doesn’t have what our allies need

Canada has about 75 CF-18 fighter jets, most of which are over 40 years old now. Roughly 36 of these jets underwent upgrades over the past several years to try and keep them viable until we take possession of F-35 jets that have been ordered.

Most of our fleet of fighter jets would not be of use to our Gulf allies who have newer aircraft and more of them.

Saudi Arabia for example has more than 200 F15 fighter jets with more than 80 of them delivered in the last 10 years. The United Arab Emirates has more than 80 F-16 fighter jets that are only about 20 years old – those jets have been part of the country’s missile interception plans since Iran started striking back last weekend.

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The various Gulf states combined also have greater naval capabilities at their disposal than Canada possesses or could afford to ship halfway around the world for any hypothetical mission.

In the 1991 Gulf War, Canada deployed more than 4,000 troops to assist in the effort to force Iraq out of Kuwait. That included three ships, a squadron of CF-18 jets, Sea King helicopters and a field hospital.

Today, that kind of operation could not be carried out by the Canadian Armed Forces. We have systematically starved our military of the resources they need, which has played a role in our army, navy and air force having trouble recruiting the soldiers, sailors and airmen they need.

It’s interesting that our political leadership wants to have fake discussions about how Canada could contribute. It’s also sad that we’ve let ourselves get to the point that we couldn’t contribute in any meaningful way even if we wanted to.

blilley@postmedia.com

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