Yesterday Prime Minister Jean Chrétien responded toAmerica’s request for militarysupport in Iraq with an offer to send units of theCanadian Forces’ Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), along with, possibly, RCMP officers and other Canadian legal professionals.

As Canada pledges more troops and resources to the unilateralreconstruction of occupied Iraq, military watchdogsare asking what “peacekeeping” means underthe New World Order.

Although Canadian public opinion still embraces thelegend of the blue-bereted Canadian peacekeepercelebrated on the five-dollar bill (animage coveted by the U.S. administration), UN peacekeeping missions are fading intothe background of Canadian foreign policy. Fewer thanten per cent of Canada’s deployed troopstypically participate in UN peacekeeping missions.

“That trend is going to continue if we keepparticipating in missions that are run by the U.S. andNATO, especially in Iraq,” says Steven Staples,director of the Polaris Institute’s Project onthe Corporate-Security State. As the U.S. stakes outnew heights of economic and military control in theGulf region, Staples says, it is a crucial time forCanadian policy makers to lead by example.

“Already it has become apparent in Canadiandefence policy that [the government] views theprotection of our economic interests — freetrade — as a role for Canada’smilitary,” he says, indicating that thefive-dollar bill does not represent the onlyconnection between Canadian peacekeepers and Canadianeconomics. “The more that we pursue thisdestabilizing route that the global economy iscreating — this architecture of rich and poorwith stability for some and instability and insecurityfor others — the more we’re going to see military responses required to defendglobalization and an unfair global system.”

Project Ploughshares executive director, Ernie Regehr,advocates for the swift reconstruction of Iraq,however he also opposes on principle the deployment ofany Canadian forces not administered by the UN,including the DART.

“I am very concerned about Canada going in andmaking a contribution, essentially, to consolidatingand legitimating the occupying force’s positionwhen it’s really an illegal occupation thatexists now,” he says. “Our contributionthere isn’t going to be a decisive one, butit’s going to be a politically significant one. So let’s take the time that we need to make sureour involvement is constructive both in humanitarianterms and also politically.”

Janis Alton, co-chair of Canadian Voice of Women forPeace, characterizes the implications ofyesterday’s commitment as“profound”, emphasizing that the deliveryof humanitarian aid and the reconstruction ofIraq’s decimated infrastructure are tasks bettersuited to non-governmental organizations than to theCanadian military.

“Canada’s complicity with the illegalactions in Iraq will jeopardize Canada’sreputation as a peacemaker in the future,” sheforecasts. “It’s difficult to predict thedomino effect of colluding with the U.S., but itobviously takes the glow off the understanding thatCanada can be fair and undertake political actionsthat are free of coercion from the U.S. and free ofthe motives that we ascribe to the U.S. actions inIraq. By participating, I think we deepen the shadesof grey rather than preserving the untainted imagethat we want to maintain.”

In addition to yesterday’s commitment, Canadamaintains over 1,000 military personnel in the Gulfregion, as well as two warships, two CP-140 Auroraaircraft and three CC-130 Hercules aircraft.