Hillier said members of Joint Task Force Two, Canada’s special commando unit, will be involved in combat missions against insurgent forces in southern Afghanistan. By February about 1,100 Canadian soldiers will operate from a new camp in the area. They will be heading up a new multinational brigade that will eventually operate under NATO, in cooperation with U.S. troops already there. Some 2,000 Canadian troops will be involved in the overall military deployment.

As a result of what officials call the “largest reinvestment in Canada’s military in over 20 years,” Canadian troops will be well armed, using new armored vehicles.

In introducing Ottawa’s International Policy Statement, Defense Minister William Graham said that it is based on a “rich operational experience of the Canadian Forces, both in Canada and in locations ranging from Afghanistan to the Balkans to Haiti.” The statement reads, “The first challenge is to strike the right balance between the Canadian Forces’ domestic and international roles. In the current security environment, where the lines between these roles are less distinct than ever, the military must continue to carry out operations at home and overseas.”

Hillier and other top military officials are criss-crossing the country to gain public support for this military drive.

“The London attack actually tells us once more: We can’t let up,” Hillier said. “These are detestable murderers and scumbags…. We’re not the public service of Canada, we’re not just another department. We are the Canadian Forces, and our job is to be able to kill people.”

That course is a shift away from the “peacekeeping role” the Canadian army played in the last decades.

Officials from the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) and Conservative Party welcomed Hillier’s comments. “We have a very committed, level-headed head of our armed forces, who isn’t afraid to express the passion that underlies the mission that front-line personnel are going to be taking on,” NDP leader Jack Layton said.

As part of this patriotic campaign, Defense Minister Graham set foot on Hans Island, a tiny island between Canada and Greenland, that both Ottawa and the government of Denmark have laid claims to. His move received wide support in the capitalist media. “Hans Off Our Island” editorialized the Ottawa Citizen July 26.

Pressing the “antiterrorist” theme at home, Ottawa announced August 5 their intention to set up a no-fly list, which the government claims includes individuals who pose “an immediate threat to aviation security.”  
 
 
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