Let me first speak to the question of the strategic goal, which I would defer to the Prime Minister, who pretty much laid it out clearly. Let me just remind you of what he said. He said that we intend to “significantly degrade the capabilities of ISIL” to halt its spread in the region and greatly reduce its capacity to launch terrorist attacks outside the region. He went on to say that this will not eliminate ISIL, nor automatically ensure that an alternative form of governance is able to occupy the space currently controlled by ISIL in Iraq or Syria, but it will, however, open the opportunity for others to do so.
I think in that statement you see that there are really two lines of work here. One is the military mission, which is, as he indicated, trying to create a space for the governments of Iraq and Syria to take control of their territories and institute governance for all. It's the military mission that is defined and will be discussed on Thursday, but as I mentioned, we're engaged in the longer-term process of having a relationship, a mutually beneficial one, with important governments in the Middle East. That's an ongoing one. It doesn't end after six months; it's simply in our interest to do so.
In terms of the consultation, there is constant communication and consultation with National Defence and all the other government agencies. Not every bit of information is shared with each other. It's on the basis of what our respective mandates are. Ultimately it's for the ministers and cabinet and the Prime Minister to decide on strategic direction. It's really officials who are providing the advice that would support that.