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President Barack Obama this week asked Congress to back a global war against ISIS but the proposed legislation does not authorize the use of U.S. armed forces in “enduring offensive ground combat operations.”

Concerns that this could be a sequel to previous wars in Iraq or Afghanistan are, for now, unfounded.

The NDP must also be concerned about the support for military action in Iraq, particularly in Quebec.

The necessary conditions for a parliamentary consensus, when the mandate comes up for renewal, appear to be in place. The question is: do the Conservatives want all-party support?

The obvious answer is no. Stephen Harper has benefited politically from a situation where the two main opposition parties back a policy that has the support of just one in four Canadians.

Would he politicize the situation still further by bringing forward a new mandate he knows neither opposition party could support?

Conservatives I spoke with acknowledge the possibility, but said it would be a risky course of action.

“The prime minister I know wouldn’t shift to politicize. He’s prudential and the risk for political differentiation is too great with an election looming and popular support so strongly with him,” said one MP.

He said the Liberals have the opportunity to correct their position and support the mission. “But that only means we were right to begin with and Trudeau was wrong.”

It would seem an uncharacteristically speculative move on the prime minister’s part to ensnare Canada further in the Iraqi conflict, unless there were pressing operational reasons to do so.

He did not craft the current mission for partisan purposes. He was merely able to exploit opportunities created by Mr. Trudeau’s rash decision to oppose the limited intervention that was proposed.

Even if the Liberals are able to course correct, the reputational damage to their leader may already have been done.

National Post