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Analysis

There is the slow realization at National Defence headquarters and in the Canadian government that it might not have been the best idea after all to allow Canadian special forces to wear the Kurdish flag on their uniforms.

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U.S. special forces got caught in the same predicament recently. They were wearing the insignia of the YPG, the Kurdish group which NATO ally Turkey views as a terrorist organization. The Americans quickly pulled the YPG insignia from their uniforms. U.S. military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren told reporters that, “the situation has been corrected, and we have communicated to our allies that such conduct was inappropriate.”

Canadian special forces say they are now reconsidering their practice of wearing the Kurdish flag. Sources indicate the flags may soon be removed from uniforms.

The flag issue emerged recently when journalists accompanying Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance on a publicity tour of the special forces training mission in northern Iraq filmed Canadian special forces with the Kurdish flags on their uniforms. The journalists, promoting Vance’s presence on the frontlines, didn’t understand the significance. (photo above is a screen grab from the CTV report).