By MURRAY DOBBIN It is stunning how quickly the Canadian military can be recast as a key part of Canadian culture, especially now that we have abandoned our historic peacekeeping role. With no public debate, we now have a war-fighting military taking up more and more political space in Canada’s constellation of defining institutions. The […]
Tag Archives: Defence policy
Wasted Lives
In a previous post I predicted that the Vimy Ridge rededication this week would be used by the Harper government as part of its attempt to shore up flagging support for Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan. Tragically, on the eve of that ceremony, six more Canadian soldiers have been killed, reportedly by one of the “improvised explosive devices” used so effectively by the insurgents […]
Never mind the air-conditioning – are tanks warranted in Afghanistan?
Finally, someone begins to address the real issue about our tanks in Afghanistan. Check out James Travers in the Toronto Star today. In his column, “Whether new or old, tanks just not for this war,” Travers points out that, The rush to lease nearly two dozen Leopard 2 A6M tanks is the most compelling evidence […]
Head-to-head with Lockheed Martin
Last week our good friend Philip Coyle paid a visit to Ottawa to appear as a witness for the Commons Standing Committee on National Defence. Here is Philip Coyle’s testimony. Phil is a senior advisor to the Washington DC-based Centre for Defense Information, but his real claim to fame is the fact that he was the […]
Afghanistan and Canadian Peacekeeping (A critical appraisal)
Last Thursday Dr. Walter Dorn gave this presentation to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee as part of its study on Afghanistan. Professor Dorn is Associate Professor of Defence Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada and the Canadian Forces College, and in the last year has been an outspoken critic of Canada’s […]
The 2007 budget and military spending
Not many surprises in the budget today for military spending. While Finance Minister Jim Flaherty did not announce any new spending increases, the budget did include a shifting of $175 million from 2009-10 to be spent much sooner this year (2007-08). Here is what the today’s budget said about defence: Implementing the Canada First Defence Plan […]