Even though Canada's former Liberal government downplayed it, small numbers of Canadian military personnel have been serving side by side with their American counterparts in Iraq. And the Canadians have been serving there since day one in the war in Iraq.

In the words of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, it's no secret that small numbers of Canadian military personnel are embedded with U.S. forces in Iraq as part of regular military exchange commitments between the two countries.

"That's been the case since the beginning of the war," Harper said. "Nothing has changed on that front."

In fact, along with American and British military, Canadian personnel were involved in the rescue of the two Canadians who were being held hostage in Iraq.

A detainee tipped off intelligence officials about the three hostages, including Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden. Both men are members of the aid group Christian Peacemakers.

They were found bound and abandoned by their hostage takers.

Harper, recently returned from Afghanistan where he visited Canadian military personnel, personally spoke with the two former hostages, who were taken captive before he became Prime Minister, only a few hours after they were rescued.

"I can say that obviously we did in fact participate in this successful operation, but at the moment I'm not free to say any more than that because there are issues of national security involved here," the prime minister told reporters at a news conference in Gatineau, Quebec." (PoliticsWatch, March 23, 2006).

In 2003, the Jean Chretien government was flagrant about its decision not to support the U. S. military invasion of Iraq because it was not authorized by the United Nations Security Council.

Nor was Chretien very sympathetic about the tragic loss of human life on September 11, 2001.

Chretien suggested that the West, especially the United States, was to blame for the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Calling the western world "arrogant, self-satisfied, greedy and with no limits", he said it was getting too rich. The division in the world, he said, was an "inspiration" for 9/11. "There is a lot of resentment out there."

In all of the rhetoric about Canada's decision not to support the U.S. military in Iraq, not once did any member of the Chretien Liberal government ever refer to any Canadian military being embedded with U.S. forces in Iraq.

The Liberals got plenty of support from the New Democrat Party on their anti-US in Iraq stance.

Yesterday reporters on Parliament Hill wanted NDP leader Jack Layton to explain how Canadian military personnel are embedded with U.S. forces in Iraq.

"I'm not concerned to debate that matter right now," Layton said.

"Right now I don't have any information about how this mission was conducted. I like other Canadians await that information to come forward. I think what we're all celebrating right now is these Canadians are all free--that is the bottom line."

Meanwhile, Liberal-NDP spin notwithstanding, Canadian military personnel have stood side by side with their American comrades in Iraq and have been there since the beginning.

Canada Free Press founding editor Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the media. A former Toronto Sun and Kingston Whig Standard columnist, she has also appeared on Newsmax.com, the Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, and World Net Daily. Judi can be reached at: letters@canadafreepress.com. You can read your Letters to the Editor here