In a page right out of the United States’ political playbook, the Canadian government is attempting to distance themselves from a war with Islamic extremists by not fully committing troops en masse. Regular forces are being removed from the battlefield and from their training roles. At the same time, Canada, like the U.S., is increasing the number of special operations troops to give the appearance that they are committed to the cause. Articles like this are a smokescreen.

This strategy allows both of the liberal North American governments to take two stances at once. The first says, “We are getting our troops out because they are not the answer to the problem.” In the same breath they say, “We are fully committed to defeating ISIS and other terror groups by committing special operations troops to the fight.”

After the attacks in Burkina Faso, the Canadian government is obligated to respond with a show of force, or they risk being accused of doing nothing in the wake of the tragic killing of six Canadians. The special operators in all of the coalition forces are doing their job to the best of their ability. This is not a knock on them. However, recent history has shown that no amount of training is going to fix the military and police forces in the Middle East.

If our governments aren’t going to commit fully, then expect the status quo to remain the same no matter how much training they provide. It’s all just to show that they are staying engaged in some capacity.