U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has condemned the “pacification” of Europe. Speaking to a meeting of NATO officials and security experts, Gates declared that “The demilitarisation of Europe, where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it, has gone from a blessing […]
Tag Archives: Defence policy
Ottawa Outfront Speaker Series: Dr. Walter Dorn on Canada and peacekeeping
On 11 February 2010, the Ottawa Outfront Speaker Series hosted Dr. Walter Dorn in conversation with Gloria Galloway of the Globe and Mail on the topic of Canada’s future as a UN peacekeeper. Dr. Dorn, a professor at the Canadian Forces College, strongly advocated a return to Canada’s proud tradition as a strong supporter of […]
Five NATO countries want US nukes out of Europe
Five NATO countries plan to call for the removal of all U.S. tactical nuclear weapons from Europe, reports Agence France Presse (Pascal Mallet, “Allied bid for Obama to remove US European nuclear stockpile,” AFP, 19 February 2010). The five–Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Norway–include three of the four or five European NATO members that […]
Hard power, fuzzy logic
Prime Minister Stephen Harper used the occasion of a visit to Canada’s aid efforts in Haiti on Tuesday to praise the virtues of his government’s spending on “hard power” items like the C-17 transport aircraft: “This fleet of new aircraft, the C-17 fleet, is a big part of making this response possible. I single out […]
Cluster bomb ban to enter into force August 1st
Good news from the Cluster Munition Coalition: Cluster bomb ban treaty reaches 30th ratification milestone Will become binding international law on 1 August 2010 (London, 16 February 2010) – Burkina Faso and Moldova ratified the international Convention banning cluster munitions today, bringing the total number of ratifications to 30 and triggering entry into force on […]
Public eyes defence spending for cuts?
A new poll by EKOS Research shows that the most popular option for reducing the federal deficit is cutting government spending. According to the poll, 46% of Canadians favour spending cuts, compared to 14% who favour raising taxes, 10% who want to continue to run deficits, and 30% who don’t know. But while it’s not […]