As noted in an earlier post, all three branches of the Canadian Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force) are currently conducting budget “adjustments”, amounting to $190 million, that have to be made by the end of March. As part of this process, the Army is “adjusting” its budget by $80 million, and the Reserves are reportedly […]
Tag Archives: Canadian Forces
Roll up the Taliban to win?
Canada’s area of military responsibility in Afghanistan is being reduced to maintaining a security perimeter—described by one Canadian soldier as a “doughnut of stability”—around Kandahar City and conducting anti-Taliban operations in Arghandab district just to the northwest of the city, the Globe and Mail reports (see here and here). The new role will be shared […]
Will Canada Join the Drone War in Pakistan?
Speculation as to what Canada’s role in Afghanistan will be beyond 2001 has been stirred up amid recent reports that Obama Democrats are quietly lobbying the Tory government to keep troops in Kandahar province after 2011. Steven Staples says that Although the role of Canadian ground troops in Afghanistan may diminish, the Canadian Air Force […]
Poll Finds Canadians Want Out
A newly released poll by The Canadian Press and Harris-Decima shows nearly 90 per cent of Canadians want troops out of Afghanistan by the mission’s scheduled end date of 2011, or earlier. 46 per cent of respondents indicated the Canadian Forces should remain in Afghanistan only until the scheduled end date of 2011, while an […]
Canadian Air Force misuses tax dollars and military resources
A recent flight by one of Canada’s C-17 transport planes to New Zealand has Defence Minister Peter Mackay asking why a military plane was authorized to pick up a vintage aircraft for a Canadian private organization by the name of Vintage Wings. Vintage Wings is a not-for-profit organization that collects, restores, and flies vintage aircraft at […]
DND financing books praising Afghan war
The military is actually financing, and in some cases approving, books covering the Afghan war. As David Pugliese points out in this review, a new book titled “Kandahar Tour: The Turning Point in Canada’s Afghan Mission” by academics from my own Alma Mater, the University of New Brunswick, paints an unwarranted optimistic view of the war – […]