At the same time, sir, we were watching the situation as it developed. We were watching the concern in the international community and at the UN.
Looking at the forces that we had ready and the forces that we could make ready, we prepared a series of capability options for the government. We took that forward to offer what capability the Canadian Forces could contribute should the situation worsen, should the international community provide the basis for intervening and the government decide to respond with the Canadian Forces.
We had put options together that we took to the government. As the situation evolved, the government made decisions about the type of Canadian Forces involvement and in fact the type of Government of Canada involvement that would be a follow-on to the developing situation.
One of the things about a warship, sir, is that it takes a while for a warship to get into theatre. Quite often, if you wait until you need it, it's too late. The advantage of a warship, though, is that you can send it anywhere you like, and it's not an expression of anything other than national interest and sovereignty.
So the decision was made earlier to have a warship in the region because of the flexibility it gave for any requirement for further evacuations of people that came to light, and also because of the flexibility it offered in a developing multinational situation or in fact as an expression of independent Canadian interest. Following that, the government made a decision, after the United Nations Security Council took a position on the matter, to join the coalition operation. Shortly after that, the aircraft that we had put on a heightened level of notice to move were ready to go, moved immediately into theatre, and commenced operations the next day.
That's how it all came together. There were a number of options that were put on the table. After options were selected, we continued to advise the government on further Canadian Forces options that would be available should the conditions worsen and should the government wish to have a more robust response. That's our business: it's to be ready to respond in that way. We identified and held the level of readiness of other forces, should things have gotten worse and should the international community and the government have decided to intervene in different ways, so that we could respond to that quickly to meet the need.