OTTAWA – Canada’s top general says military intervention in Libya is not inevitable.
Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of the defence staff, says he’s not advocating one way or another for Canada to join a possible western military coalition in Libya.
He says it is not inevitable that a new military mission will be needed to get rid of Islamic militants in Libya, but he’s keeping a close watch so he can advise the government.
Vance says much will depend on the performance of Libya’s new, United Nations-brokered government and what assistance it may ask for.
Vance says the foothold gained by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Libya’s port city of Sirte remains a serious impediment to stabilizing the country.
But he says simply throwing military assets at the situation is not a solution on its own.