Abstract:

In the run-up to the 2003 war with Iraq, there was a paucity of context in the Canadian media about long-term Canadian interests and involvement in the Persian Gulf region. The media was reporting as if Canada had not been involved. National security commentators were picking up this train of though. To provide accurate and detailed context for Canada’s ongoing involvement, War with Iraq examined, using declassified material, Canada’s military involvement with the region going back to 1979. It revealed Canada’s deep involvement with the UNSCOM weapons fo mass destruction operation, how she interoperated with American naval and air operations, and what was at stake as we knew it in December 1998 and October 2002. In effect, Operation IRAQI FREEDOM was Phase III in a war which started in August 1990: it was not a separate war and military operations were conducted continuously by the US-led coalition from 1991 to 2002.