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His next statement gets into more fuzzy and risky territory: “And in so doing, strip ISIL of its power to threaten the security of the region or to launch terrorist operations in Canada.”

These are things Canada is simply not going to do, and our foreign affairs minister shouldn’t suggest we are.

There is no way Canada and its allies can completely “strip” ISIL of its power to threaten the region without, at least, going to war against ISIL in other territories where it operates, and without committing to a long ground war. Neither are things Canada should be prepared to do, given the unpredictable results.

Parliamentarians must be very wary of an “in for a penny, in for a pound” argument that would support Canada joining in to a civil war in Syria. It would be morally untenable to become a military ally, even a de facto one without permission, of the Bashar Assad regime. There may not be a difference between ISIL in Iraq and ISIL in Syria, but there are differences between the political situations of Iraq and Syria, differences Canada cannot in good conscience ignore.

It is also foolish to suggest that by extending a military mission, we could “strip” anyone of the power to launch terrorist strikes in Canada or anywhere else. Terrorism doesn’t require military or political power. It doesn’t require money or specialized equipment. It can be as simple and horrific as a man with a box-cutter or a man with a gun.

The reasonable goal in Iraq is to weaken ISIL and prevent it from gaining mastery of more territory and from wreaking more horror on civilians. As Nicholson said, “In the territory ISIL has occupied, it has conducted a campaign of unspeakable atrocities against the most innocent of people; it has tortured and beheaded children; it has raped and sold women into slavery; it has slaughtered minorities, taken prisoners — innocent civilians whose only crime is being or thinking differently from ISIL.” We can and should help protect people from ISIL.

Even that more humble expectation carries with it enormous geopolitical risks and a grim human cost; Canada has already lost one soldier.

ISIL’s role in the region is a complex and wicked problem that Canada cannot solve without a much greater mission than we’ve considered, and that would be a bloody and morally dubious war. We must remember that we are not trying to cure the disease; we are hoping to mitigate some of the damage and slow its advance.