Ottawa Citizen (newspaper): Why we're in Libya

[pampango]

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Libya/4480946/story.html

Six fighter jets do not add up to a major military entanglement. But Canada's contribution to the international coalition in Libya does, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, amount to an "act of war." No prime minister should commit Canada to such an act without a clear idea of what the mission is, and under what circumstances we can declare it accomplished.

Harper took a long time to articulate his goals in Afghanistan, which only increased confusion and resentment among Canadians who want to know why our soldiers are risking their lives. He must not make the same mistake in Libya.

Is Canada's goal merely to stop the killing until there's a real ceasefire? Or do we want to see meaningful negotiations between Gadhafi and the rebels? Or, do we want to see Gadhafi's regime overthrown entirely, and in that case, will we remain militarily involved until there's a transition to a new government? It would be foolish to put a time limit on Canada's involvement; no one can know how the situation will evolve and how long that evolution will take. But Canada should have some clear goals for its mission.

It should also have a clear justification for its actions. The United Nations Security Council's steps so far match the prescriptions of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine. Yet Harper and his ministers don't like to use the words "responsibility to protect," perhaps because it was a different Canadian government that helped the UN develop the doctrine. Such partisan peevishness could do real harm, because it's the R2P doctrine that provides legitimacy for the coalition's intervention in a sovereign state, and an internationally agreed roadmap for how to proceed. Legitimacy matters, because regional opinion could be crucial to success in Libya - however that success is ultimately defined.

"Harper and his ministers don't like to use the words "responsibility to protect," perhaps because it was a different Canadian government that helped the UN develop the doctrine." - Indeed, it was a Liberal Canadian government that pushed R2P to international prominence, not a conservative one like Harper's.