Op IMPACT: CAF in the Iraq & Syria crisis

[jollyjacktar]

Mozambique is on my to visit list for the next time we vacation in the area.  It has a lot of offer as a vacation spot.  Shame you missed out on that daft.

 

[dimsum]

Mozambique is on my to visit list for the next time we vacation in the area.  It has a lot of offer as a vacation spot.  Shame you missed out on that daft.

Call me paranoid, but I generally avoid countries where an AK-47 is part of the national flag and coat of arms. 

 

[daftandbarmy]

Call me paranoid, but I generally avoid countries where an AK-47 is part of the national flag and coat of arms.

Oh pshaw... we all know that the Portugese colonial legacy is one of peace and enlightenment, right?  ;D

 

[The Bread Guy]

You can bet your bottom dollar, if ISIS massacred a bunch of women (after they had finished with them)/children, then staged a bomb blast with civilian casualties and said it was the Cdns, the would be an uproar. It has been done before.

Along those lines ....

American officials are desperately trying to confirm the veracity of a claim by Isis which said a female US hostage being held by the militants had been killed by a Jordanian air strike.

In a message posted on social media, Isis claimed that Kayla Jean Mueller died when Jordanian planes struck targets close to Raqqa, the de facto capital of Isis-controlled territory. Ms Mueller, an aid worker from Arizona, was taken hostage in Syria in August 2013.

The message from the militants was subsequently published by the SITE Intelligence Group, which track extremists activity ....

 

[cryco]

That's what i though when I heard the story. Perfect opportunity to try and sour relations between Jordan and US (not that it would).

 

[YZT580]

this is a sad statement but far better a bomb than a knife or one of their other favoured methods of execution.  At least the bomb is unexpected and relatively quick and her torment has now ended. 

 

[The Bread Guy]

this is a sad statement but far better a bomb than a knife or one of their other favoured methods of execution.  At least the bomb is unexpected and relatively quick and her torment has now ended.

True, as far as it goes, but that assumes that if the hostage is dead, it really was Jordanian fast air that did it.

 

[Good2Golf]

^ :nod:

 

[YZT580]

you are absolutely correct.  If she is dead I truly hope that it was a result of 'friendly fire'.  I cannot think of a more appropriate phrase than that one.

 

[Good2Golf]

One has to pretty much assume that ISIS would never actually exchange anyone, based on their doctrine.  Any "hostage negotiations" are most likely being used purely to increase their effort to terrorize and influence, and not in any way an effort to actually trade hostages held for either their own or money, etc...

My gut feel though, is that Ms. Mueller was not killed by an air strike, but rather ISIS used that as a way of deflecting true accountability for their actions.

G2G

 

[The Bread Guy]

My gut feel though, is that Ms. Mueller was not killed by an air strike, but rather ISIS used that as a way of deflecting true accountability for their actions.

Agreed - not to mention starting to build up the layers of the "lookit the West killing civilians" meme I'm surprised we haven't heard more of from "the usual suspects".

 

[McG]

Newest SITREP on the mission: more bombs dropped, another CANSOF gunfire exchange with ISIS, and the CAF has developed plans to either extend the mission or come home in April.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadians-trade-fire-with-isis-as-military-waits-on-possible-extension-1.2955157

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Some great shots of inside the CP140M.

http://www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=photos&template=detail_eng.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=67401&site=combatcamera

http://www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=photos&template=detail_eng.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=67376&site=combatcamera

 

[The Bread Guy]

Survey says ....

Support for Airstrike Mission Against ISIS Rises to 76% (up 12 points since start of mission); Majority (83%) Believes it’s a Combat Mission
Seven in Ten (69%) Support the Use of Canadian Forces on the Ground in a Combat Mission against ISIS in Iraq

( .... )

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between February 9 to 12, 2015 on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,005 Canadians from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online ....

 

[jollyjacktar]

The results of that poll must really be giving the Liberals conniption fits.  I know it has been noted that JT is doing a very fast back pedal joined by Mr's Leslie and Garneau.  They probably look similar to a synchronised swimming team and if you can picture them in Borat Mankinis too boot, well...  ;D

Hoots of dismay have also been muted from Ms. May as of late too.  It's about the only thing the CPC have going correctly for it at the moment that the others can't do a damn thing about. 

 

[Colin Parkinson]

this is a sad statement but far better a bomb than a knife or one of their other favoured methods of execution.  At least the bomb is unexpected and relatively quick and her torment has now ended.

stuff happens in wartime http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Carthage

although I doubt very much it was bombs that killed her

 

[Old Sweat]

This CP story, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provision of the Copyright Act, reports that another CF18 mission was flown last Friday. Of interest, it also notes that DND has requested a supplemental estimate to cover the costs of this mission, among other items.

Canadian jets destroyed Islamic State bomb factory on Friday:

By The Canadian Press — The Canadian Press — Feb 19 2015

OTTAWA - The military says Canadian CF-18 fighter jets conducted a single attack in Iraq last week, leading a coalition strike that destroyed a factory making improved explosive devices.

Navy Capt. Paul Forget says the attack on Friday was a success.

He says coalition air attacks and Iraqi ground efforts continue to degrade the operational ability of the group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Since the Canadian mission began last fall, CF-18s have flown 328 missions.

A Canadian Polaris tanker aircraft has flown 82 sorties and delivered more than two million kilograms of fuel to coalition aircraft.

Forget says another 91 missions flown by Canadian Aurora reconnaissance planes bring the total number of Canadian sorties to 501.

The update came on the same day that the government fufilled a promise to release more information on the cost of the war against ISIL.

National Defence, through the latest round of supplementary spending estimates, asked for a budget top-up to the end of the fiscal year of $139 million, of which $122 million was for the combat mission in Iraq.

An additional $17 million is being sought for expenses related to Canadian involvement in the NATO mission to eastern Europe, which took place in the aftermath of Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Until Defence Minister Jason Kenney finally broke the government's silence this week, the Conservatives had been under fire for refusing to disclose the cost of deploying CF-18s and special forces advisers in the war-ravaged nation.

The additional budget request released Thursday shows that the bombing campaign itself accounts for $73 million of the Iraq war costs.

Canada has also deployed up 69 special forces advisers in northern Iraq, who took along vehicles and other specialized equipment.

Kenney warned earlier this week that the costs would increase if the government chooses to extend the mission — something that by all indications appears to be a likely possibility.

 

[The Bread Guy]

And here's a breakdown of the incremental costs for Op IMPACT (as well as a bit of $ for Op REASSURANCE) ....

 

[PPCLI Guy]

leading a coalition strike that destroyed a factory making improved explosive devices.

I beleive this si the first time that we have led an attack.  Well done.

 

[SupersonicMax]

Nope, not the first time.