Captain Canuck to the rescue!

Canadian to head Nato mission in Libya
The task force overseeing the Libya operation will be led by Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard (France Huard/Cnadiaan Forces/Handout)

Derek Abma and Sheldon Alberts, Postmedia News · March 25, 2011

OTTAWA —A Canadian general was thrust Friday into the command role of NATO’s mission in Libya, taking responsibility for enforcing the no-fly zone and arms embargo as the United States continued to hand over control of the week-old campaign against Moammar Gadhafi.

Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard will lead NATO forces in a mission Defence Minister Peter MacKay acknowledged Friday was “yet to be fully defined” by leaders of the international coalition tasked with protecting Libyans from forces loyal to Gadhafi.

At a press briefing on Canada’s operations in Libya Friday, MacKay said the appointment of Bouchard to this key role is a testament to the respect Canada’s military enjoys around the world.

“I think the decision to have (Lt.-Gen) Bouchard take a leadership position here is something that is an international recognition of the role that Canada plays in the world,” he said. “Let me just underscore, I could not be more proud of the work being done on behalf of our country by the men and women in uniform.”

The appointment of Bouchard to lead NATO forces in Libya came a day after an agreement was struck for countries in this military alliance to assume control of enforcing the no-fly zone in Libya as part of the United Nation-backed mission.

Earlier in the week, NATO had been authorized to assume control of the naval blockade to prevent the shipment of arms to Gadhafi.

But some uncertainty remained Friday over the precise role NATO will have in enforcing the so-called “no-drive zone” — mounting air strikes against Gadhafi ground forces still targeting civilians in several Libyan cities.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said coalition leaders had already agreed that NATO will take command over the civilian protection mission but “the military planning aspect” had not yet been finalized.

“We expect (it) will be wrapped up in the next couple of days, but it has been agreed to,” Carney said.

As Bouchard steps into this new role, MacKay said questions remain as to exactly what NATO’s mission will be in Libya.

“(Bouchard) will be a commander of the NATO operations — the yet to be fully defined NATO operations. This is evolving still, but the clear indication now is that NATO will assume full responsibility for both the maritime and aerial components (of the mission in Libya).”

MacKay said the UN-backed coalition and NATO forces were, for the time being, operating “concurrently” in Libya. MacKay said NATO partners are in talks concerning a “no-fly-zone-plus” mission in Libya. Some western leaders have expressed a reluctance to extend NATO’s military operations to include attacks on Libyan ground forces — operations which currently are being carried out by the broader international coalition with the U.S. in the lead.

It’s now hoped that a final agreement for NATO to assume full command of the entire mission could be reached by Tuesday, when the alliance’s foreign ministers next meet in London.

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said Friday the alliance would decide “in coming days” whether to broaden its role, which could include ground strikes to protect civilians.

Asked about the time frame for this mission, another NATO official said: “Much of the planning assumptions were based on a three-month planning window, but should the (NATO commander) feel it’s necessary to extend it, then he would simply have to say. . . . I am anticipating it may be more or less.”

Bouchard, a native of Chicoutimi, Que., had been deputy commander of NATO’s joint forces command, based in Naples, Italy. A member of the Canadian Forces since 1974, he graduated as a helicopter pilot in 1976.

Bouchard has held key positions within Norad operations and has served at U.S. military bases on a several occasions. He was awarded the United States Legion of Merit in 2004.

The news of Bouchard’s appointment provides U.S. President Barack Obama with some political cover from claims by some American lawmakers that he overstepped his constitutional authority by ordering U.S. forces to strike Libya.

At the White House, Carney said Obama was “comfortable” with U.S. pilots taking orders from a foreign commander — a sensitive issue with some American lawmakers.

“Well, I think this president and the previous president was comfortable having United States forces report to NATO commanders, or non-American and NATO commanders in Afghanistan, and that’s how NATO works,” Carney said.

Obama’s spokesman also balked at suggestions by critics that it has taken the U.S. too long to step back from the lead role in Libya.

“Under what construct could six days, in terms of transfer from the U.S. lead to NATO command-and-control for the no-fly zone, be a prolonged period of time?” Carney said. “And two more days, or several more days, to resolve the underlying issues of an agreement that has already been reached on civilian protection — the civilian protection aspect — again, that is a very remarkably short period of time.”

Canada’s Maj.-Gen. Tom Lawson — who was to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general later on Friday and become deputy commander for Norad in Colorado Springs, Colorado — said initial operations of NATO in Libya involved deployment of a surveillance aircraft aimed at detecting movement in the air and at sea in and around Libya. He said 12 Canadians — out of the 114 military personnel currently in Libya — were involved in that particular aspect of the mission.

Six Canadians were taking part in flights of this aircraft on Friday, Lawson said, including the two key roles of aircraft commander and tactical air director.

Officials also disclosed that Canadian fighter jets were involved in more bombing missions as part of the UN mission to enforce a no-fly zone in Libya. Lawson said “several targets” were destroyed near Misurata in northern Libya, including an “electronic warfare radar site.”

“The destruction of this type of electronic warfare asset removes both a threat to the coalition and it diminishes the capacity of Col. Gadhafi to conduct air operations at Libyan civilians,” Lawson said.

Lawson said a second mission by Canadian forces took place later Friday, on which he had no details.

With files from Reuters