Archive | December, 2009

World leaders agree on climate change

World leaders and their representatives attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen failed to achieve a binding agreement to cap and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the close of the conference on Friday, in effect agreeing instead to continue their collective experiment in uncontrolled global climate change. The only document produced at the […]

McChrystal in Ottawa

The commander of U.S. and ISAF forces in Afghanistan, U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, visited Ottawa Wednesday to discuss Afghanistan strategy with Canadian Chief of Defence Staff General Walt Natynczyk and other officials. He also made a speech at an event sponsored by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute. McChrystal gave an optimistic assessment of the […]

Torture file: Colvin shoots back; government ducks

The Canadian diplomat whose mid-November testimony to the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan ignited a firestorm of controversy over Canadian transfers of Afghan detainees to probable torture by the Afghan authorities has fired back at his critics. In a 16-page letter sent to the committee, Richard Colvin provided a detailed rebuttal to […]

ICNND urges nuclear disarmament progress

The International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament released its report “Eliminating Nuclear Threats: A Practical Agenda for Global Policymakers” today. Declaring that “maintaining the status quo is not an option,” the commissioners argue that the opportunity exists “to halt, and reverse, the nuclear weapons tide once and for all.” International NGOs working on nuclear […]

30 years ago today…

On 12 December 1979 the Soviet Politburo took the decision to send Soviet troops into Afghanistan. The invasion began on 27 December 1979, and the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan just over nine years later, on 15 February 1989.

Churches call for peace mission in Afghanistan

The Canadian Council of Churches is calling on the Canadian government to mount a new peace mission in Afghanistan focusing on two priorities: 1) supporting Afghans in implementing participatory reconciliation programs and responsive governance at district and local levels; and 2) convincing the international community to pursue diplomatic efforts to end the war. The recommendations […]