Canada’s military mission in Mali ends in silence

Hey, remember all the fighting and complaining and debating about the Canadian military getting involved in a mission in Mali – the mission so fraught with peril our army was bound to be dragged into a decades-long battle?

Yeah, we can stop that all now. The Canadian Forces mission in the West African nation ended two weeks ago and Canada pulled out of the area without issuing an official announcement or explanation, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

Military sources told the Citizen the Royal Canadian Air Force C-17 transport plane and personnel sent to help the France-led mission against terrorist organizations in Mali returned to Canada on April 3.

David Pugliese wrote:

[ Related: U.N. considering deployment of peacekeepers in Mali on July 1 ]

It is not clear why Canada abruptly ended its mission, but it likely wasn't at the request of the Malian government. The country's ambassador urged the Canadian government to extend its mission just weeks before the pull-out, according to iPolitics.

[ More Brew: Do Canadian special forces in Mali mean we are going to war? ]

The mission, which involved little more than providing transport for France forces, was already extended. Originally intended to end in February, it proceeded through March and ended silently in April.

The decision to extend the mission came with some backlash from many corners, concerned that the extension was the first step of mission creep – that slippery slope where, as in the case of Afghanistan, a small military roll turns into full-blown engagement.

That apparently has not happened in Mali, and blessings for that. But we don’t really know what did happen. Just that whatever Canada was doing has ended, and ended quietly.