OTTAWA — The Harper government rallied opposition parties to “war” Monday, casting Canada’s military intervention in the Libyan crisis as a moral imperative.
A House of Commons debate took place within hours of the air force carrying out its first combat patrol to enforce the UN-mandated no-fly zone over the embattled north African country.
But the continuing war in Afghanistan and its political divisions cast a long shadow over MPs as they weighed the complexity and uncertainty of the international community’s goals in Libya.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay said the atrocities of dictator Moammar Gadhafi could not go unanswered.
“This government along with the international community cannot stand idly by,” said MacKay who opened debate on a motion to approve the deployment of military forces.
Gadhafi, by “labelling his opponents as traitors and directing his forces to bomb and shell civilian population centres without mercy, ... (means) we are compelled to intervene, both in a moral duty and by duty of NATO and the United Nations.”
MacKay couldn’t say how long the no-fly mission would last, but said no one wants to have forces in harm’s way any longer than necessary.
The motion, which sources said was the subject of feverish back room drafting among the parties, passed unanimously late Monday night.
It places a three-month limit on the military action, after which the government would have to come back to the Commons for an extension.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised the time limit in comments last weekend, but the NDP said it wasn’t in the original draft of the motion.
“We wanted to make sure that was writing,” said New Democrat foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar.
After describing military action against Libya as “war” during a meeting of world leaders in Paris, Harper worked the telephones with the opposition leaders to drum up support for the government’s motion.
The Liberals said early on they would support it, but leader Michael Ignatieff expressed reservations about the fuzzy war aims of the international coalition arrayed against the Libyan regime.
“There is some ambiguity as to whether this is an action whose ultimate objective is regime change or whether it’s an action simply engaged on humanitarian protection,” Ignatieff told the Commons.
MacKay said the intent was to force Gadhafi to stop attacking his own people, but was silent on whether further military action would be required to oust the Libyan dictator.
U.S. President Barack Obama was equally opaque Monday. He said a coalition air campaign over Libya is not aimed at removing Gadhafi from power, but added that American policy remained that the dictator “has to go.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon told the Commons debate that Canada also hopes Gadhafi steps down.
Most opposition MPs tip-toed cautiously, expressing support for those in uniform, but warning the Conservatives that the fire-breathing rhetoric and wedge politics that were the hallmark of the Afghan mission wouldn’t be tolerated this time.
Ontario Liberal MP John Cannis said he didn’t want to come back to the Commons in the future to ask questions only to be told “you don’t support our military.”
NDP Leader Jack Layton demanded military action be kept on a tight leash and called on the prime minister to involve members of the opposition to keep an eye on the conflict.
“Not only must Parliament debate the Libyan question on an urgent basis, it’s essential to draw a lesson from the war in Afghanistan and give parliamentarians a surveillance and oversight role,” he told the Commons during question period.
Two years into the combat mission in Kandahar, the Harper government allowed for the creation of a special all-party Commons committee to provide advice on the direction of the war. More often than not that panel has been riven by partisan bickering.
The Conservatives took to stonewalling the committee over access to documents on the treatment of Afghan prisoners.
Layton also made it clear Monday he wants to see an exit strategy from Libya.
Four of Canada’s six CF-18s deployed overseas, and two Polaris air-to-air refuelling aircraft, took part in Monday’s operation out of their forward base in Trapani, Italy.
MacKay said the aircraft did not open fire in their patrol and returned safely to base.
“These high-level, strategic strikes are to dispose of airfields and the use of Libyan military assets that the Gadhafi regime is using to target civilians,” he said at a briefing earlier Monday at National Defence headquarters.
“Simply put: We want to disable their air force.”
The Harper government last week ordered the CF-18 Hornets to join the effort to impose a no-fly zone over the country, which has been gripped by uprisings against Gadhafi’s four-decade regime.
Canada’s military role also includes HMCS Charlottetown, a frigate sailing with NATO’s standing force in the Mediterranean.
MacKay said an additional six CF-18s have been put on standby for overseas deployment in case the U.S.-led coalition requests them.
There are growing calls for NATO to take over command and control of the multinational operation. Italy has threatened to review the use of its air bases for enforcement of the no-fly zone unless the alliance is put in charge.
MacKay said for the moment it’s a U.S.-led operation. Discussions are taking place in Brussels, but there has been no consensus.
“It is my understanding that this mission may very well morph into a NATO-led mission,” he said.
The air force took pains to say its pilots and crews, which have not participated in a shooting war in a dozen years, are up for the challenge.
“Our crews are highly trained in the use of precision-guided munitions,” said Maj.-Gen. Tom Lawson, assistant chief of the air staff.
But he acknowledged the risk of dropping bombs, even smart ones, into the middle of a civil war and said military commanders had issued a strict set of guidelines that require them to positively identify targets.
“To be clear, we will aim for no collateral damage,” said Lawson.