Canadians like Gill Rosenberg joining fight against ISIS may not understand the risks

The question of what, if anything, happened to Gill Rosenberg is illuminating the contradiction in Ottawa’s public position over whether Canadians should travel to Iraq and Syria to join the anti-ISIS fight.

Rosenberg is an Israeli-Canadian woman rumoured to have been captured by the Islamic militant group’s forces during one of its attacks. The Jerusalem Post first reported her capture, based off an ISIS web post, but others, including the Kurdish militia she reportedly was fighting with, contradicted that report and said she was safe.

On Monday afternoon, a post appeared on her Facebook page, purportedly written by her, also claiming she was “totally safe and secure.”

Whatever the truth is, the episode highlights the complications that arise when Canadians decide to go overseas to fight for a cause, especially in a region with such complex politics.

A number of Canadian armed forces veterans have joined or are planning to join Kurdish forces fighting ISIS, apparently with the blessing of at least one federal minister.

[ Related: Canadian reportedly seized by ISIS, appears to be safe ]

But a Toronto-based international security consultant says even veterans of Canada’s Afghan combat mission don’t know what they’re getting into.

The war in Syria and Iraq is nothing like Kandahar’s “regulated military environment,” with established command and control, good logistics and the prospect of quick evacuation from the battlefield if you’re wounded, said Alan Bell, president of Globe Risk International.

“I spent 22 years in British special forces and we worked with militias and indigenous personnel all over the world,” Bell told Yahoo Canada News. “It never worked right. You can’t trust these guys. There’s very little discipline.”

He said that the quality of the various local fighting forces ranges from solid, in the case of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, to untrained and unsteady.

Who’ll have your back in a firefight in Kobani?

A Canadian soldier in Afghanistan could largely count on his comrades to have his or her back in a firefight, said Bell.

“They’re presuming that these people they’re going there to fight with are a well-oiled military formation, and they’re not,” he said. “They’re a bunch of rag-tag guys from all over the place.

“The guy that’s lying next to you in Kobani [Syria] or in Iraq might not even be there because as soon as the bullet came down the road, they will have dropped their weapon and run away.”

There’s also the possibility a Canadian might end up fighting with a group like the Kurdistan People’s Party (PKK), which Canada has designated a terrorist organization. Media reports have also alleged some Kurdish militias have committed atrocities, which puts Canadians potentially at risk of being implicated in war crimes, said Bell.

“When these guys get over there, how the hell are they going to know who they’re working with?” he asked.

A group calling itself the 1st North American Expeditionary Force has set itself up as a clearing house for those interested in learning more about joining the fight. No one responded to an interview request but its web site cautions would-be volunteers to know what they’re getting into. Bell warned many still won’t understand what that really means.

[ Related: Canadians shouldn’t be allowed to fight for other countries, historian argues ]

Canada’s official position, stated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, is pretty clear: Don’t go.

"The Government of Canada advises against all travel to Syria and Iraq, and has done so for several years, due to the extremely volatile security situation in the region," department spokesman François Lasalle told Yahoo Canada News via email Monday.

"Canada has limited ability to provide any assistance to its citizens and anyone undertaking this travel does so at their own risk. We advise that Canadians in these countries should leave.

"If Canadians want to fight ISIL, we would encourage them to join the Canadian Armed Forces."

But you have to square that with what Public Safety Minister Stephen Blaney told CBC News last month, following inquiries about Canadian armed forces veterans enlisting in the anti-ISIS forces.

Minister won’t stop Canadians enlisting with anti-ISIS forces

Blaney said he “would not oppose a citizen who is willing to engage in a battle for liberty and helping the victims of barbaric crimes.”

Canada’s top soldier rejected that position.

“I don’t encourage Canadians to leave our nation and head to other nations to get involved with the militaries of that nation,” Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lawson, told CBC News.

Despite the apparent confusion, Blaney’s press secretary, Jason Temming, said there’s no ambiguity.

"Both statements stand and do not contradict each other," he said Monday via email to Yahoo Canada News. “The government does not stand in the way of those who wish to travel.

"That said, our government encourages Canadians to follow current travel advisories which advise against travel to Syria and Iraq. Anyone who wants to defend Canadian values and freedom on the world stage is encouraged to join the Canadian Armed Forces."

Bell disagreed.

“That is going to come back and bite him,” he said of Blaney’s position. “The government is going to appear to be sucking and blowing.”

The Foreign Enlistment Act, which dates from the 1930s and was last revised in 1985, forbids Canadians from enlisting in foreign armies at war with a “friendly” state. It was originally intended to discourage Canadians from fighting on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War but did little to stop thousands from going.

The Conservatives have criminalized travel by Canadians intent on joining groups designated as terrorist organizations by the government, yet more than 130 are thought to have joined various Islamist groups from Somalia to Syria.

The law hasn’t been that successful in stopping the exodus, said Bell, and the government’s mixed message to anti-ISIS volunteers just muddies the water.

“They’ve got the tacit approval of the Canadian government,” he said. “What happens if they get kidnapped or captured?”

The prospect is there for a captured Canadian dressed in an orange jumpsuit to be paraded in front of a camera along with the threat of execution if Ottawa doesn’t halt its bombing of ISIS forces, he said.

“What is the government going to do then? Are they going to send in JTF-2 [special forces] to try and find him and get him out of there?”

The government could be entertaining just that kind of scenario if it turns out Gill Rosenberg is indeed in ISIS hands, suggested Michael Zekulin, a University of Calgary political scientist. Canada has had a longstanding position not to negotiate with terrorists (though some think it may have done so indirectly to get two Canadians released from an African al-Qaeda branch in 2009.)

Regardless, Zekulin said the prospect should push Ottawa to clarify its position on Canadians heading overseas to fight.

“I would imagine we’re going to be seeing some type of correction very quickly,” he said. “I would expect there would be some over-arching message coming out from the government of Canada, not necessarily from specific departments that may have different interests or see things differently.”