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Halifax Report -- The Americanization of the Canadian Military

Steven Staples has just returned to his office after spending two days in Halifax for events organized by the Halifax Peace Coalition and co-sponsored by the Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace. He talks about the presentations, and two newspaper articles about them, which appear here.

"We had two full-house presentations and quite a bit of media interest for my presentation called "The Americanization of the Canadian Military." Also, there was a good turnout from our Ceasefire.ca supporters for our reception and forums, including one person who drove three hours from Lunenburg to join us.

Below are two newspaper articles about my presentations, including a front page story from the Chronicle Herald.

My thanks to the organizers, especially my hosts Tamara Lorincz and Carolyn Van Gurp." [Steven Staples]



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From peacekeeper to war fighter
The Daily News (Halifax)
27 January 2006
By Rachel Boomer

Canada's defence spending is starting to approach Cold War levels, and most of that money is being spent on American - not Canadian - military priorities, a left-wing defence analyst argued yesterday.

Steven Staples, director of security programs for Ottawa's Polaris Institute, believes Canada is pouring billions into military equipment and capabilities the country would only need to become an attack force, not to defend itself.

"There's a much greater focus on transforming our forces so they're much more capable of performing war-fighting missions with the United States,"

Staples told a lunchtime crowd of about 50 at Dalhousie University.

He says that will cost billions of dollars, as well as Canadian lives, that the public isn't ready to lose.

"This transformation from a peacekeeper to a war fighter, away from the UN and toward the United States, is happening without any public debate at all."

Last year, the Liberal government promised $12.8 billion over five years in new defence spending - the largest spending increase in 20 years.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has pledged to add another $1.8 billion to that by 2010-11, and use part of the cash to resurrect a 650-member airborne battalion.

Staples argues creating a new airborne battalion, or adding to JTF- 2, the country's commando force, amounts to a "secret army" - because JTF-2 operations are often kept secret.

At the same time, Staples argues, Canada's traditional role as international peacekeepers has been shredded - with 31 cents of every $10 the country spends on international missions going to UN peacekeeping.

He said yesterday while Canadian leaders opted to stay out of the missile-defence system and refused to send troops to Iraq, it's also supporting the U.S. military by sending more troops to Afghanistan.

"It's a mistake to think we can give the Americans what they want in terms of North American security, and sit out wars around the world. To George Bush, homeland security means fighting wars in other people's homelands."

Staples didn't go unchallenged by the knowledgeable crowd.

Retired naval commodore Eric Lerhe, now with Dalhousie's Centre for Foreign Policy Studies, argued Canada is working to be compatible with all its NATO allies, not only the U.S.

"We would not have the radios that allow us to talk to our allies. We would not have the ability to share ammunition, to transfer fuel amongst each other, to understand the basic plan," Lerhe said.

"We would be capable of conducting those peacekeeping operations in the world that require us to co-operate with no other ally. There are no such operations."

Lerhe also argued that Staples's military spending figures should be measured as a percentage of Canada's gross domestic product.

rboomer@hfxnews.ca


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New pressures defining Canada’s soldiers
The day of peacekeepers in blue berets may soon be over
The Chronicle Herald
27 January 2006
By CHRIS LAMBIE

Most Canadians think of our soldiers as peacekeepers in blue berets, but another "much more warlike" vision is emerging, says a defence analyst.

"It’s being promoted, especially in policy circles, within the military, within Ottawa, even within CEO boardrooms, and it’s this one: A Canadian as a sniper, hiding out, picking off people in Afghanistan, secretly, perhaps it’s special forces or a commando that’s involved," Steve Staples of the Polaris Institute told about 50 people Thursday at Dalhousie University.

In a talk dubbed the Americanization of the Canadian Military, Mr. Staples said co-operation with the U.S. is a "no-brainer" when it comes to the defence of North America.

"But there have been tremendous new pressures to go much further beyond that, especially after 9-11," he said.

Afghanistan, where Canada is sending 2,000 troops, is shaping up to be "the proving ground for war fighting with America," Mr. Staples said.

Suicide bombings are on the rise in Kandahar, where Canadians have already been attacked.

"I don’t care how many mobile gun systems you’ve got, how many precision-guided artillery shells you have, they are useless against suicide bombers."

The Americans have pressured Canada to increase military spending. Mr.Staples said.

"It’s not just an economic or commercial pressure, it’s also we have to buy equipment that is interoperable with U.S. forces," he said. "We need to be able to talk to one another, we need to be able to share data, we need to be able to drop the same bombs that they do."

If the Canadian military didn’t meet NATO standards for interoperability, it would create havoc for foreign missions, says Eric Lerhe, a retired commodore living in Dartmouth.

"We would not have the radios that would allow us to talk to our allies, we would not have the ability to share ammunition, to transfer fuel amongst each others’ (forces), to understand the basic operational plan," Mr. Lerhe said.

"We would be capable of conducting those operations in the world … thatrequire us to co-operate with no other ally. Of course, there are no such operations."

Mr. Lerhe said Canada has an annual agreement with its NATO allies to spend about 1.9 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence.

"Tracking too close to the Americans? Well no, actually, this is an agreement we made in NATO with the 25 other countries who are in the alliance," Mr. Lerhe said. "I think it’s somewhat wicked to say we’re doing this to please the Americans."

Canadian warships regularly deploy with American carrier battle groups. If the navy wants to continue on that path, Mr. Staples said Canada might have to buy into co-operative engagement capability. The system, already being installed on U.S. destroyers, allows warships to turn over control of their weapons to another ship or plane.

Canada spent $1 billion on submarines because the Americans wanted us to, he said.

The air force is now testing new smart bombs so upgraded Canadian CF-18s can deploy with the U.S. military, Mr. Staples said.

Canada is being pressured to join U.S. missions, he said.

"It’s a mistake to think that we can just give the Americans what they want in terms of North American defence and sit out wars around the world because, to the American view, there’s no distinction," Mr. Staples said.

A sailor in the crowd, who has spent 15 years in the Canadian navy, said it only makes sense that our military works with the Americans.

"When it comes down to crunch time, if somebody does decide to attack us, they’re our next-door neighbour," he said. "We would like them to come to our aid. We don’t want to be left standing on our own."

clambie@herald.ca

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posted by Annamarie at 6:57 PM