300 Canadian bombs on Libya
When the House of Commons voted to deploy Canadian Forces in an attack on Libya, the official objective was limited to enforcing a no-fly zone and “protecting the Libyan population.” But Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself admitted that he had discussed with his NATO partners ways to promote “regime change” in Tripoli.
In March, while leaving a meeting with allies at the very beginning of the NATO intervention, the prime minister was favorable to the idea of allowing Libyan rebels to overthrow the regime of Colonel Gaddafi.
“I believe this is the basis of our discussions. I say it frankly, this is what many people think, even if it is not said openly. But I just did it?”, he declared.
It was only after the vote in the House of Commons that operations intensified with a large-scale bombing campaign: as of June 2, Canadian fighter planes had flown more than 1,750 hours and dropped more than 300 bombs. guided to Libya.
In total, 650 Canadian soldiers took part in the campaign against Libya. Patrol aircraft have also flown more than 530 hours and the warship HMCS Charlottetown is participating in the operation in the Mediterranean.
Since the start of the war, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called on Alliance members to increase their contributions, without naming any specific country. He also called for the costs and risks of the operation to be better distributed among member countries.
Defense Minister Peter Mackay announced that parliament would debate the extension of the mission on June 14. The majority conservatives should easily succeed in obtaining a three-month extension, until the end of September.
Ottawa says the mission has cost $26 million so far, but several analysts have cited much higher figures.
