Op IMPACT: CAF in the Iraq & Syria crisis

[dimsum]

The main areas in Western Anbar along/close to the border (Rawah, Anah, Al Qaim).

The Iraqi armed forces are making significant progress in their operation to liberate #AlQaem and surrounding areas in western #Anbar


CANSOF mission "suspended", ISF established well NW of the Haditha area of the ERV.  Wonder what's next for JTF-I, ATF-I....

Close-out parade?

 

[Eye In The Sky]

They could have done that for 75% of the JTF about...oh, 3 years ago. 

 

[jollyjacktar]

The US, UK, France, Australia have sensibly decided to try and kill their citizens who have joined Daesh in order that they don't return home and commit further atrocities.  We on the other hand are going to sing Kumbyah (and no doubt with our Sunny Ways PM in charge, give them $10.5M too boot, so the cynic in me thinks).  We're also pulling back assets on one hand while sending Combat Engineers to train Iraqi forces how to de-mine and remove booby traps.

While Western nations mark their ISIS fighters for death, Canada offers 'reintegration support'

Only way to deal with homegrown jihadis 'will be, in almost every case, to kill them': U.K. minister

By Evan Dyer, CBC News  Posted: Nov 17, 2017 5:00 AM ET| Last Updated: Nov 17, 2017 5:00 AM ET

Even the interviewer seemed surprised at the answer Rory Stewart, the U.K. minister of international development, gave about how Britain should deal with citizens who chose to join Islamic State.

"I'm afraid we have to be serious about the fact these people are a serious danger to us, and unfortunately the only way of dealing with them will be, in almost every case, to kill them," Stewart told BBC Radio's John Pienaar last month.

Stewart, a former diplomat, continued: "These are people who are executing people … who have held women and children hostage, who are torturing and murdering, trying, by violence, to impose their will. Our response has to be, when somebody does that, I'm afraid, to deal with that."

Those words may sound chilling, but they reflect a country that's suffered brutal jihadi attacks in recent years, and an understanding that jihadi returnees are a threat. Other countries have come to the same conclusion.

Canadian jihadis in Iraq and Syria face a concerted effort to kill them by the Syrian, Iraqi, U.S., Russian and (recently) Turkish governments, as well as numerous local and foreign-backed militias. But they have so far had little to fear from their own government, either at home or abroad.

The British government, by contrast, has co-operated with the U.S. on drone strikes that killed two of Britain's most notorious ISIS members: Mohammed Emwazi (aka Jihadi John) and Junaid Hussain.

The Sunday Times reports that Britain's Special Air Service, SAS, has been given a "kill list" of British jihadis, including notorious ISIS recruiter and convert Sally Jones, and a dozen others with British university degrees in technical fields such as electronics.

Brett McGurk, former U.S. president Barack Obama's special envoy for the fight against ISIS, who retains his post under Donald Trump, stated it explicitly on a recent visit to Syria. "Our mission is to make sure that any foreign fighter who is here, who joined ISIS from a foreign country and came into Syria, that they will die here in Syria."

"They're not just talking about it," said Christian Leuprecht, an expert on terrorism and security at Royal Military College in Kingston. "Australia is another country that's taken the same approach, that they would prefer that those individuals who've been identified as foreign fighters not return home."

France, too, is working to eradicate its jihadis. A Wall Street Journal investigation published in May quoted French and Iraqi officials describing French special forces co-operating with Iraqi units to hunt down and kill French jihadis.

Canada: 'Reintegration support'

Canada's Public Safety Department did not respond to a question from CBC News asking if Canada was taking the same approach. Spokesman Dan Brien suggested the government's focus is on changing minds.

"Returning foreign terrorist travellers and their families, specifically women and children, require the appropriate disengagement and reintegration support," he wrote in an email to CBC News

At the end of 2015 the government said it was aware of about 180 "individuals with a nexus to Canada" who had travelled overseas to join such groups, and of another 60 who had returned to Canada.

To date only two returnees, Pamir Hakimzadah and Rehab Dughmosh, have been charged with leaving Canada to participate in terrorism.  Four more men, some of whom may be dead, have been charged in absentia. To date, no Canadian has been successfully prosecuted for travelling to Syria or Iraq to join a terror group.

Government aware of the threat

According to the 2016 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada, Public Safety Canada is aware returning jihadis "may have skills, experience and relationships developed abroad that could be used to recruit or inspire individuals in Canada. They may also engage in terrorist financing, helping others to travel, or even planning attacks in Canada. The attacks directed by Daesh in Paris and Brussels provide examples. Most of the attackers were returnees linked to Daesh."

Leuprecht said an assassination policy would be problematic under Canadian law, and might not enjoy public support.

Since Canada isn't targeting jihadis on the battlefield, or successfully convicting them in court, says Leuprecht, "the third option is that they just show up and live peacefully ever after. Or not so peacefully."

The almost total collapse of ISIS in Iraq and Syria over the last few months seems likely to bring more returnees back to the West. And the bitter-enders who chose to remain through that collapse may be among the most dangerous of its followers.

"We've known about this for years," says Leuprecht, "and at the latest we should have started to think about it systematically when we started the bombing campaign against ISIS. … As so often in this country when it comes to defence and security issues, we start thinking about it ... when our room for manoeuvre has massively diminished."

According to government estimates more than 200 Canadian "terrorist travellers" have faced no legal consequences in Canada.

"The challenge is they're not stupid," said Leuprecht. "They know that CSIS will likely monitor them using wiretap warrants, on grounds of reasonable suspicion. And you can use that sort of warrant for up to six months. And if CSIS can't show that there are grounds for keeping that warrant in place, then normally it won't be renewed."

Leuprecht says deradicalization programs are highly controversial and there is little empirical evidence that they work. In any case, Canada doesn't have such a program.

The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence, launched in June, does not handle individual cases, but supports initiatives by other levels of government and organizations across Canada. Public Safety's Brien says it also supports "action-orientated research," but it remains unclear what that means in practice.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/isis-fighters-returning-target-jihadis-1.4404021

 

[McG]

Not sure that what happens to Cadadian citizens is in the scope of Op Impact. But this is:
http://www.cbc.ca/1.4405964

The Aurora will be coming home next month, and Combat Engineers will deploy into Iraq to train EOD.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Not sure that what happens to Cadadian citizens is in the scope of Op Impact. But this is:
http://www.cbc.ca/1.4405964

The Aurora will be coming home next month, and Combat Engineers will deploy into Iraq to train EOD.

Additional info here:  https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2017/11/canadian_armed_forcesbeginexplosivethreattraininginiraqadjusting.html

 

[Eye In The Sky]

The last IMPACT Aurora crew landed today in Greenwood.  Welcome home to the guys on the last of many sorties over 3+ years in support of the mission and BZ to all the folks who served the Det over the deployment.

Article Link - Dec 13th 

After 881 sorties and approximately 7,500 hours flown, and nearly 6,000 points of interest observed; 14 Wing Greenwood's CP140 Aurora air and ground crews are wrapping up their contributions to the international coalition to defeat Daesh. Their work in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions have made a difference since October 2014.  The first of the last deployed personnel return to Greenwood December 16.

Article Link - Dec 16th  Nice to see the Div Commander there to welcome the guys home.

They’re back! 14 Wing’s Aurora landed home this afternoon, with the first of the last deployed long range patrol air and ground crews through with their role with Operation Impact. Welcome home!

Video of the crew taking off for the last leg home from EHRD  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_b9mu2ginM

 

[jollyjacktar]

Merry Christmas guys, welcome home.

 

[Good2Golf]

BZ to the men and women of the CP-140 Air Det!

 

[McG]

I have read an article that the government plans to revisit both the continued role of Op IMPACT and the decision to provide arms to the Kurds. It will be interesting to see what the future brings for this mission.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

It has been over 3 years.  With western Anbar being called secure isn’t out mandate fulfilled?  Free Iraq from ISIS.

 

[McG]

It has been over 3 years.  With western Anbar being called secure isn’t out mandate fulfilled? 

Maybe. Maybe there is more work to ensure the progress is irreversible. Either way, it is a government/political decision. So they are looking at it.

 

[RedcapCrusader]

It has been over 3 years.  With western Anbar being called secure isn’t out mandate fulfilled?  Free Iraq from ISIS.

Except they extended to 2019 and sent an Engineering contingent to assist the Iraqi Forces in Demining and Counter-Explosive Operations in the country.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

And?  They can keep that contingent going and stand down the Garrison that the Kuwait location became with its hours of operation signs all over the place.  Reduce the footprint and save the taxpayers some cash. 

 

[PPCLI Guy]

It has been over 3 years.  With western Anbar being called secure isn’t out mandate fulfilled?  Free Iraq from ISIS.

Iraq is free of ISIL 1.0.  ISIL 2.0 is the next task - we will have to see how Canada plans to contribute to that part of the mission, although I sense that it will not be insignificant

 

[Bird_Gunner45]

And?  They can keep that contingent going and stand down the Garrison that the Kuwait location became with its hours of operation signs all over the place.  Reduce the footprint and save the taxpayers some cash.

ASAB- the textbook definition of a self licking lollipop.... 5 log organizations within 500 metres

 

[MJP]

ASAB- the textbook definition of a self licing lollipop.... 5 log organizations within 500 metres

I would love to take a blow torch to them all and recreate something that is sustainable.  The entire support structure with every org there is ridiculous. 

 

[Zoomie]

Should have just been OSH-K supporting ATF-I.  No need for JTF or JTFSC.

 

[PuckChaser]

Should have just been OSH-K supporting ATF-I.  No need for JTF or JTFSC.

How else do we get a bunch of Cols/Majs who missed Afg an operational tour?

 

[daftandbarmy]

How else do we get a bunch of Cols/Majs who missed Afg an operational tour?

We have VR on our side now, right?

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Iraq is free of ISIL 1.0.  ISIL 2.0 is the next task - we will have to see how Canada plans to contribute to that part of the mission, although I sense that it will not be insignificant

Any thoughts on what changes to the current mission, ORBAT, might look like?

ASAB- the textbook definition of a self licking lollipop.... 5 log organizations within 500 metres

I would love to take a blow torch to them all and recreate something that is sustainable.  The entire support structure with every org there is ridiculous.

Should have just been OSH-K supporting ATF-I.  No need for JTF or JTFSC.

It warms my heart to see others outside the ATF LRP Det say these things.  The question now is...why did it become so 'fat' and why was it not scaled back?

I hope it was not solely because of this...

How else do we get a bunch of Cols/Majs who missed Afg an operational tour?