June 29, 2007 Give a gift of $25 or more to receive this cool, limited edition Ceasefire.ca pin Dear friend, Did you know that pro-war lobbyists are forming a new group that is “aimed specifically at countering peace advocates” like us? I read this recently in Now Magazine. That’s why I founded the Rideau Institute […]
Tag Archives: Defence policy
Relations with Russia could "spin out of control"
It is shocking how badly relations between NATO (the U.S.) and Russia have deteriorated recently – but what is more shocking is how little media attention is being paid to it. It’s a car wreck in slow motion, and over the past several days my office has issued four different releases to Canadian journalists sending out a warning – […]
How Americans Do the Taliban's Job
My May 1st post on the Omar Khadr case continues to draw debate and comments, 25 as of this writing. I think I’ll just stand back and watch, as the arguments are familiar and the debate fierce. Today a new question: what happened to the Taliban’s much-heralded “spring offensive” that NATO was preparing for? The news […]
An Omen?
Once again news reports say that American military operations have killed scores of civilians in Afghanistan. Even President Karzai — who could not stay in power a day without American support, has condemned the killings. The Americans, as always, claim they killed “Taliban fighters”. But the combat took place west of Herat, well outside of the Pushtun areas […]
Are Hillier and O'Connor War Criminals?
Are Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier and Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor war criminals? That’s the question that two international law professors are asking the International Criminal Court to investigate, in light of the revelations last week that prisoners taken by Canada and handed to Afghan authorities were tortured. In a letter they wrote (Byers […]
Calls for O'Connor's resignation gaining traction, say journalists
Columnist Don Martin, writing in the National Post (and Ottawa Citizen) today, says that calls for Defence Minister O’Connor to resign may be picking up political steam. “Most House of Commons resignation calls are cheap political posturing, a dramatic plea to be quoted by the media and best paid no heed. But the O’Connor’s-a-goner campaign […]