canoe = frigate
Canada would not hand Iraqi leader to U.S.
Orders from Ottawa in case of capture
Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief
National Post
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
OTTAWA - The Canadian in command of a multinational naval task force in the Persian Gulf said yesterday that the federal government has ordered him not to hand over any Iraqis he captures to the United States, including even Saddam Hussein and his two sons.
Commodore Roger Girouard, the head of the nine-nation Task Force 151, said Ottawa has said he is allowed to turn over any al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists to U.S. forces.
His task force's mission is to hunt al-Qaeda terrorists and escort U.S. supply ships en route to the war in Iraq.
But the Liberal government has expressly forbidden him to hand over suspected Iraqi terrorists, war criminals or members of Saddam's inner circle.
"There's no mandate at all and, in fact, I am told specifically not to turn Iraqi sailors or citizens back to the U.S. forces at this point in time," he told reporters during a conference call from aboard HMCS Iroquois, his flagship.
"If I knew I had a known member of the regime, I wouldn't knowingly let them go, I would ask for government guidance on that particular one. The key to me right now, I would also not automatically turn them over to the United States or any other country for that matter."
Commodore Girouard said the orders mean that if Saddam or his sons were found to be aboard a ship, he could not hand them over to the Americans unless Ottawa approved.
He said he believes the policy would allow him to arrest Saddam or members of the regime.
"There is no doubt in my mind that if Saddam Hussein himself or one of his doubles were found in a vessel that we stumbled upon for some reason, we would not knowingly let a member at that level go," he said.
"But what we have been told if there are risks associated with a vessel or risks associated with an individual that we would relate that back to National Defence headquarters for guidance and it would depend on the specifics on the situation."
John McCallum, the Defence Minister, later told reporters it may be a "moot point" since the Iraqi President may have been killed in an American bombing attack on Monday.
However, he said Canada will stick to its policy of not handing over Iraqi war criminals or members of Saddam's regime to U.S. forces until Ottawa makes a final determination.
"We have a policy that we turn over the al-Qaeda suspected terrorists but should it be a suspected member of the Iraq regime then they will contact us back here, but I think that the odds are extraordinarily low given where our ships are," he said.
John Reynolds, the Canadian Alliance House leader, said the Commodore's orders were an outrage, saying the Americans would board the Canadian ship and arrest Saddam if he was captured by the task force.
"It's just an absolute joke. Those are ships and our troops are there with our allies and I don't think there would be one Canadian who would accept the fact that if they happen to bump into Saddam Hussein that they shouldn't arrest him and turn him over to the Americans," he said.
"I'll tell you the Americans would get him off the boat if we didn't turn him over."
Although Task Force 151 reports to the U.S. Navy's 5th fleet at Central Command in Qatar -- coalition headquarters for the war in Iraq -- Commodore Girouard said his ships' role is to protect allied supply ships, search for fleeing al-Qaeda or Taliban fighters and enforce the UN embargo against Iraq.
"I have a very clear separation in terms of staying away from Iraqi flag vessels -- military vessels. There is also, of course, a certain concern about the issue of detainees so a vessel full of Iraqis needs to be considered in a very careful fashion," he said.
Commodore Girouard acknowledged that on at least one occasion he has refused a U.S. request for help that would have violated Canada's neutrality in the Iraqi conflict.
"On one occasion ... I was asked to do something and I discussed what the situation was and I told [the Americans] I could not do that; that I felt it fell in to Operation Iraqi Freedom," he said. "They agreed and, at that point, an American asset [ship] took on that particular job."
Some opposition critics have said Canada is participating in the war through the back door by escorting American and British ships into the region.
Fresh concerns surfaced last week when a U.S. military official said Canadian sailors are actively pursuing Iraqi military and government officials on behalf of American forces.
But Commodore Girouard disputed that, saying he is more interested in a suspect ship's history to determine if it has been implicated in previous smuggling operations.
The Canadian ships were deployed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led war on terrorism. Three Canadian frigates -- HMCS Iroquois, HMCS Regina and HMCS Fredericton -- are part of the 20-vessel task force.
The task force includes U.S., French, Italian, New Zealand, Dutch and Greek vessels. It has been sweeping across the Straits of Hormuz, the southern Persian Gulf and portions of the central Gulf.
bfife@nationalpost.com
