US Asks Canada for Further Military Involvement Against Islamic State

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper indicated that his country might have an extended role to play in the Middle East mission against the Islamic State.

According to Harper, the White House has apparently requested Canada to get more involved in the military mission against the extremists. The Canadian PM was answering questions to the business community in New York. The Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Gerard Baker had the session with the Canadian prime minister.

Harper gave a hint that there could be a disagreement within the government on the issue of Canada being further involved in the military action in the Middle East. National Post reported that Harper had said that he would have to debate on the issue within the government before any decision could be made. When Harper was asked to give further details on the U.S. government's request, he refused to do so as the letter of request had not been made public.

Harper, on the other hand, said that the option to get further involved in the mission had not been ruled out. When Baker asked him if Canada would rule out its direct "military contribution" to the mission against the militant forces, Harper clarified his stance. "I haven't ruled out. We haven't ruled out anything. We need to have some additional debate within our government before we reach a final decision, but we're wanting to see this be successful. And we want to be supportive as best we can," he said, ""The United States has just recently, in the last couple days, has asked for some additional contribution and we'll - we're weighing our response to that." - as reported by CBC News.

Canada earlier refused to clarify its stance on its mission at the House of Commons. Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair was furious when Ontario MP Paul Calandra, answering on behalf of the government, dodged questions about Canada's mission repeatedly to talk about something else. Mulcair was also infuriated with Speaker Andrew Scheer for not reminding Calandra about Calandra being relevant while answering questions at the House. He questioned the integrity of the speaker for not being "neutral."

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au