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First, tone: Enough passivity, already. It’s not adequate for a head of government in a G7 democracy to express worry, solidarity with the victims, but not unbending resolve to help defeat those responsible. The Liberal party’s policy, before the Oct. 19 election and now, is to contribute to the war effort, to play a greater part in the training of allied local forces, namely the Peshmerga, and to do much more to help refugees displaced by the war.

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It would be perfectly consistent for a leader with such a policy to name the enemy, denounce his barbarity in graphic terms, and declare he must be defeated. Trudeau has not yet done this explicitly that I am aware of. He should. Civilized people are not just sad when civilians in the world’s most civilized city come under attack by sociopaths. Many are also viscerally furious, as we should be. The prime minister’s tone should reflect this, as well as the rest of the range of emotions.

Second, the CF-18s: It would be irresponsible, in the wake of these attacks, for the government of Canada not to reconsider the decision to withdraw, in consultation with allies, for reasons strategic as well as practical.

First, the much-criticized air campaign in northern Iraq and Syria is showing signs of success, as it has allowed Kurdish forces to begin retaking territory, most recently the Iraqi city of Sinjar. Second, it is not at all clear a bigger Canadian ground contingent — which is obviously required if training of local forces is to be ramped up — presents less peril for Canadian forces than does the air campaign. If anything, the reverse is true. There is a reason why the Clinton administration in the late 1990s launched its campaign against Slobodan Milosevic entirely from the air. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, a veteran of three tours in Afghanistan, likely knows this.

Beyond that, and most importantly, Paris brings home with horrifying impact that ISIL is not something with which civilized people anywhere can co-exist. It must be obliterated, divested of all territory, and its adherents killed, captured or routed. Canada is on the target list and is in this war regardless. Full-on military support for our allies on multiple fronts, as much as the country can muster, is the moral and right thing to do, and this is obvious. It is the hand Trudeau has been dealt.

However much he might prefer to preside over peace and plenty, he should get on with it.