Canada was prepared to send ships to Iraq in 2003 if UN approved action, records show
Documents suggest ground troops were off the table due to war in Afghanistan
Canada, a notable objector to the 2003 Iraq war, was preparing to back the U.S.-led invasion by sending naval ships into combat if the UN Security Council gave the go-ahead, according to cabinet records.
The minutes from the final cabinet meetings leading up to the invasion show the government was still planning for the possibility that the UN would sanction military action, and shows how that possibility weighed on ministers as they engaged in philosophical discussions around life and death.
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they → prepare → life
The U.S. launched the invasion, purportedly to disarm Saddam Hussein of weapons of mass destruction that were never found.
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that → launch → destruction
U.S. President George W. Bush's administration billed the conflict as part of the wider war on terror, launched in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks just under two years prior.
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administration → bill → attacks
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien officially announced in the House of Commons that Canada wouldn't join the U.S.-led "coalition of the willing" in Iraq on March 17, 2003 — just days before the invasion began.
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invasion → announce → March
"If military action proceeds without a new resolution of the Security Council, Canada will not participate," Chrétien declared during question period, eliciting a standing ovation from his side of the aisle.
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Chrétien → proceed → aisle
That same day, the U.S. had withdrawn a resolution from the Security Council that would have explicitly authorized military action after it seemed likely to face defeat.
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it → withdraw → defeat
CBC News obtained a copy of the minutes from the final cabinet meeting — dated Feb. 25, 2003 — prior to Chrétien's declaration through an access to information request.
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News → obtain → request
While the U.S.'s resolution faced opposition before it was even introduced, the documents suggest the Canadian government was preparing possible military options.
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government → face → options
Then minister of national defence John McCallum said in the meeting that if the resolution passed, Canada wouldn't be able to offer any ground support at that time due to commitments in Afghanistan.
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Canada → say → Afghanistan
But he indicated that Ottawa could send ships.
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Ottawa → indicate → ?
"[McCallum] reiterated that the recent commitment to provide a peacekeeping contingent in Afghanistan would prevent Canada from committing ground troops, but that other military assets, such as warships, could be redeployed from their current duties in the area should Canada choose to participate," the minutes read.
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minutes → reiterate → area
Retired general Raymond Henault, who was chief of the defence staff in 2003, says the documents correspond with what he told the government the Canadian Armed Forces could contribute to the Iraq war if Ottawa decided to join.
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Ottawa → say → war
"We were working under the assumption that we should be ready to do whatever government decided, whether it was going to get involved or not get involved," Henault told CBC News in an interview.
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Henault → work → interview
Canada had ships in the Persian Gulf at that time that were conducting counterterrorism and counter-smuggling operations.
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that → have → counterterrorism
CBC News reported in 2011 that, according to a U.S. diplomatic memo published by WikiLeaks, there were discussions between U.S. and Canadian officials about how those ships could be used on the sidelines as the invasion began.
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invasion → report → sidelines
But the cabinet minutes suggest that the role those ships were playing in the wider war on terror could have expanded or have been "redeployed" if the UN sanctioned military action.
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UN → suggest → action
Henault said that redeployment meant the ships "would have been involved in any combat operations that were done from a naval perspective in support of the invasion of Iraq" and would have included ships carrying patrol aircraft such as helicopters.
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that → say → helicopters
He also suggested Canadian special forces would have been involved.
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forces → suggest → ?
CBC News didn't receive a response from a Chrétien representative when asked if the former prime minister would be available to participate in an interview for this story.
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minister → receive → story
Sen. Percy Downe, who was Chrétien's chief of staff and present for the 2003 cabinet meeting, recalled that the government was taking the Armed Forces' lead in terms of planning for the possibility that Canada could join the conflict.
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Canada → recall → conflict
"I think had we gone in, we would have made a real contribution.
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we → think → contribution
The downside, of course is … hundreds of Canadian families and individuals would have been impacted because of the Canadians who would have been killed in that war," Downe told CBC News.
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Downe → impact → News
During the 2003 meeting, McCallum also argued that redistributing ground troops from Afghanistan to Iraq would hinder Canada's contributions to the "global war on terrorism."
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redistributing → argue → terrorism
"He also reminded ministers of the still significant challenge of establishing security in Afghanistan, that Canada's contribution remains a credible first tier contribution to the global war on terrorism and that disengaging to contribute to a war in Iraq would hurt rather than help in this regard," the documents read.
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documents → remind → regard
At the time, Canadian troops were in Afghanistan participating in Operation Apollo and the government had just committed to Operation Athena which began in the summer of 2003.
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which → participate → 2003
"Afghanistan was dominating everything we were doing at that point," Henault said.
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Henault → dominate → point
"We said we can't do ground troops in both locations.
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we → say → locations
"
Even though Canada was not a member of the Security Council at the time, Chrétien told his team that Canada was focused on helping resolve the impasse as the body debated the U.S. resolution.
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body → tell → resolution
"[The prime minister] emphasized that Canadian efforts were focused on trying to bridge divergent positions within the Security Council in order to reduce the possibility of deadlock and/or unilateral action that would lead to a serious erosion in the United Nations' role and relevance," the minutes from the February 2003 meeting read.
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minutes → emphasize → meeting
Following Chrétien's comments, then foreign affairs minister Bill Graham told cabinet that Canada would "continue to clearly communicate its goal of achieving disarmament in Iraq, as opposed to a regime change, and that continuing to negotiate more broadly acceptable UN resolution language remained the best approach."
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continuing → follow → language
Michael Kergin, who served as Canada's ambassador in Washington at the time, said from his perspective the Bush administration had already made up its mind on invading Iraq and viewed the push for UN approval as an "irrelevant nuisance and chaff."
"They dismissed that activity in New York as completely irrelevant to what they were doing.
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they → serve → what
They weren't working the corridors that much.
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They → work → corridors
They were doing their public messaging," he said.
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he → do → messaging
A question of sovereignty
Even though Ottawa's official decision was announced just days before the invasion, Kergin recalled having the sense that Washington had basically written off Canada as a participant after Chrétien told Bush during a meeting months prior that the prime minister needed "absolute proof" that Saddam was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.
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Saddam → announce → destruction
"The messaging that we were sending was sufficient for them to say, 'Ok, we won't put you on the inner core of the planning and the discussions about this,'" Kergin said.
"
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Kergin → send → this
The Americans never ever really pushed us too hard because they already knew."
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they → push → us
Kergin said he had advised the government to give the Americans a heads up when an official decision was coming.
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decision → say → heads
But he recalled Chrétien's team kept it so close to their chest that even he didn't know for sure what was happening during the March 17 question period.
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what → recall → period
"I think they were concerned that if we went to the Americans first, there might be a leak in Washington and this might get out in the wires before the Canadians [had a chance to hear it]," Kergin said.
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Kergin → think → it
"Without myself having a heads up on that decision, I saw it on television — because I had a T.V. in my office, obviously — along in question period along with everybody else.
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I → have → everybody
…and 24 more, not listed.
