There is an enormous variety of groups in play, and there's no doubt that some of the groups are very well equipped. There are groups that are affiliated with Daesh. There are groups that are affiliated with al Qaeda, and they're not to be underestimated.
I think I've got to go to a point. You would be surprised about how those in uniform at senior levels, when we're looking at the context of the international order today, find that the free-flowing use of the term “war” carries with it as much or more baggage as the way people would think about nostalgia towards peacekeeping. In other words, it comes with a mindset that is not as helpful towards the tasks that we have today and the construct of moving forward.
We're watching the rules-based order under assault in the world by a combination of trans-criminal organizations, violent extremists, and malign actors. When those three elements come together, the convergence of those bubbles is a brew that crosses parts of the world where boundaries are very difficult borders, very difficult to enforce. That's why I refer to it as a complex conflict.
The other part of this is that when people talk about the concept of war from a western democratic perspective, it invokes the authority of governments and parliaments, and yet conflict is ongoing below that line in many areas by groups that are employing a variety of violent and other tactics to achieve their objectives.
I think that we need to look at this more holistically going forward. It's something that is very difficult for many Canadians to understand given where we live, given the relative peace and tranquillity that we enjoy in our country, and looking at how the world has fundamentally changed over the last number of years.