THE CONSERVATIVE HIPSTERS
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
POLITICS AS USUAL: OUT OF THE MOUTH OF TRUDEAU LIBERALS....
"Our Military is Really Bad" Exhibit A: A Trudeau-era Minister of Defence (Barney Danson) says so:
"This nation used to be a player. We had significant numbers of well-trained, well-equipped troops, and our voice was heard in Washington, in NATO and at the United Nations. Today, however, we are beholden to others — to the United States for the defence and security of North America, to other members of the UN for peacemaking and, if NATO thinks of us at all, it is only a diplomatic courtesy. We simply do not matter very much militarily or, as a result, diplomatically."
Danson goes on to conclude:
"To handle these tasks, Canada will need a well-trained, well-equipped Canadian Forces, regular and reserve. We will need to spend substantially more money on defence than we do now, and it will greatly facilitate matters with our friends abroad if a parliamentary consensus were reached on such spending. Our military needs budget certainty for at least the next decade, and our allies need to know they can rely on us in a pinch.
This new funding should create a brigade of 5,000 men and women, ready for deployment at home and abroad. This is not a "peacekeeping brigade"; this is a real brigade trained for war. A war-trained soldier can do peacekeeping well, and everything up to and including fighting in a full-scale war. A peacekeeping gendarme in a blue beret, however, can only do peacekeeping. A small military like ours needs to maximize its capabilities."
Agreed.
"This nation used to be a player. We had significant numbers of well-trained, well-equipped troops, and our voice was heard in Washington, in NATO and at the United Nations. Today, however, we are beholden to others — to the United States for the defence and security of North America, to other members of the UN for peacemaking and, if NATO thinks of us at all, it is only a diplomatic courtesy. We simply do not matter very much militarily or, as a result, diplomatically."
Danson goes on to conclude:
"To handle these tasks, Canada will need a well-trained, well-equipped Canadian Forces, regular and reserve. We will need to spend substantially more money on defence than we do now, and it will greatly facilitate matters with our friends abroad if a parliamentary consensus were reached on such spending. Our military needs budget certainty for at least the next decade, and our allies need to know they can rely on us in a pinch.
This new funding should create a brigade of 5,000 men and women, ready for deployment at home and abroad. This is not a "peacekeeping brigade"; this is a real brigade trained for war. A war-trained soldier can do peacekeeping well, and everything up to and including fighting in a full-scale war. A peacekeeping gendarme in a blue beret, however, can only do peacekeeping. A small military like ours needs to maximize its capabilities."
Agreed.
# posted by Anonymous : 8:44 a.m.
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