How Did The Cold War Influence Canada

Canada has been one of the twelve original members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since it was founded in 1949, a few years after the end of World War 2 and at the beginning of an almost nuclear disaster known as the Cold War. This intergovernmental military alliance initially made up of the United States, Canada and Western European nations (Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom) plays a significant role to secure international peace and has become the heart of Canadian security and defence policy. Canada is very proud to have contributed to every NATO operation since the founding of this organization more than sixty years ago, proving the commitment

This war was fought between Muammar Gaddafi, the former leader of Libya, and his loyal forces versus those wanting to overthrow his government (Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Libya revolt of 2011). Gaddafi had refused to step down, and had been using violence against protestors and demonstrators to remain in power (Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Libya revolt of 2011). Deaths and injuries were increasing by the thousands catching the attention of the intercontinental crowd, which compelled NATO to answer the United Nations’ call to the international community to protect the Libyan people (NATO, NATO and Libya). A coalition of NATO allies and partners intervened on March 21st, 2011 with the intention of defending civilians against attacks by the government 's forces (NATO, NATO and Libya). This operation was under the command of Canada’s Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, who helped enforce an arms embargo and no-fly zone policy (Government of Canada, NATO operations). The Libyan government had been restricted from building up its army, just in case they rise back in power somehow and have a dictator running the nation once again (Aljazeera, UN Security Council keeps Libya arms embargo in place. Also, the no-fly zone had been imposed by a Canadian commander as it had been misused and taken advantage of by the Libyan government as Muammar Gaddafi 's military had conducted airstrikes against Libyan rebels in the Libyan Civil War (United Nations, Security Council Approves ‘No-Fly Zone’ over Libya, Authorizing ‘All Necessary Measures’ to Protect Civilians). This helped in restoring a secure and stable democratic government in Libya, without the threats of dictatorship or violence on the Libyan citizens (Government of Canada, Canada-Libya Relations). "It 's a much bigger role than we played in Kosovo," said Canadian air force