CANADIAN POLITICS:

THE HIDDEN PUPPET STRINGS BEHIND THE F-35 PURCHASE:

The military procurement bill for the multibillion dollar purchase of F-35 "stealth figheters" for the Canadian airforce is slowly wending its way through parliament, obstructed as usual by the secrdcy of the Harper government. Why you may ask does Canada need a "stealth fighter" whose only obvious function is offensive rather than defensive ? Perhaps it doesn't even have much to do with the ever present desire of "patriots" to earn "glory" by sacrificing other peoples lives as mercenaries in other countries' wars. Perhaps the motive even more venal. Here's a piece about Steven Staples of Ceasefire.ca and his exposure of some of the machinations behind this waste of taxpayer money.

CFCFCFCFCFCF
The silent U.S. hand guiding Canada’s
F-35 debate
Embassy Scott Taylor Feb 9 2011

With all the buzz around Ottawa about a potential spring election, there remains a drought of hot-button political issues over which the coming campaign will be contested. One exception to this, of course, is the Conservative government’s controversial commitment to acquire 65 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

Although no actual contract has been signed, the Harper Tories remain adamant that they will proceed with the purchase of the stealth aircraft, which, at an initial cost of $9 billion and an estimated $7 billion in future maintenance expenses, would make this the largest military project expenditure in Canada’s history.

The Liberals sense there is a natural public aversion to spending such vast sums on military equipment and with the NDP are advocating that a competition be held to select Canada’s next generation of fighter aircraft, rather than continuing with a sole-source purchase of the F-35. The Bloc Quebecois could care less which jet we buy as long as it results in high-tech jobs in Quebec.

Thanks to recent revelations made public via WikiLeaks, it is safe to surmise that the U.S. State Department is the unseen puppeteer making Harper do the F-35 dance. The embarrassing documents contain American diplomatic correspondence detailing how they used a public “carrot” and a private “stick” approach to convince Norway to buy the F-35.

A “lessons learned” cable from the U.S. embassy in Oslo reads: “We needed to avoid any appearance of undue pressuring…. We opted for ‘choosing the JSF will maximize the relationship’ [between the U.S. and Norway] as our main public line. In private we were much more forceful.”

The backroom strong-arm tactics of the U.S. State Department obviously did the trick as the American Embassy subsequently reported to Washington, “The tide has turned in Norway…. The media have recently run a number of articles from active duty and retired officers extolling the strengths of the F-35.”

While those cables may have been penned in 2008, it would seem that there is no need to change a winning playbook. Fast-forward to the Jan. 24 edition of the Ottawa Citizen, wherein former Canadian air force generals Angus Watt and Paul Manson penned a joint editorial entitled, “The truth about those jets.” This was written as a myth vs. reality, 10-item opinion piece, the gist of which was to extol the strengths of the F-35. Sound familiar?

While Mr. Manson may have been telling the truth as he sees it, unfortunately he did not tell the whole truth about his career credentials.

While he was indeed once the chief of the defence staff for the Canadian Forces and a top project officer on the acquisition of the air force’s current fleet of CF-18 fighter aircraft, Manson forgot to mention his post-military stint as the president of Lockheed Martin Canada. Given that Lockheed Martin is the main manufacturer of the F-35, this should be considered a salient point to note for readers.

Luckily, Steven Staples, director of the Rideau Institute and a long-time thorn in the side of the military establishment, ousted Manson’s Lockheed Martin association in a letter to the editor the following day.

Next up to bat was none other than Lt.-Gen. André Deschamps, the current chief of air staff. In the latest edition of the official Canadian Military Journal, Deschamps opined that the F-35 “is the right fighter aircraft for Canada.” The format of the article is that of six rhetorical questions followed by predictable answers invariably extolling the strengths of the F-35.

The first question Deschamps posed to himself is one that I’m sure many Canadians have asked after hearing that this project will set us back $16 billion in tax dollars, and that is: “Why fighters?”

According to Deschamps, “manned fighters are essential to our ability to exercise control and sovereignty over our airspace in Canada, and to conduct operations abroad. This is a fact of modern airpower and all industrialized nations acknowledge it as such.”

In an era where the trend in aviation development is that of unmanned aerial vehicles and pilot-less aircraft, one could argue that Deschamps’s “because everyone else is doing it” argument is somewhat short-sighted. Back at the turn of the last century, the armies of all industrialized nations still fielded large formations of cavalry. In retrospect, that fact in itself would not have justified the investment of billions of dollars into faster and stronger horses.

These are of course only the opening salvos in what promises to be a long and heated battle over the F-35 purchase. One can only wonder just how “forceful” the U.S. State Department will be with Harper before the dust settles.

Scott Taylor is editor and publisher of Esprit de Corps magazine.


See also "Staples Outs the Brass" in Esprit de Corps.

HISTORY:

REMEMBER AND PREVENT:

November 11 is Remembrance Day in the anglosphere, a day set aside to remember the war dead and hopefully resolve to avoid such tragedies in the future. But how much of this remembrance is actually glorification of militarism ? This is especially apt in the case of WW1, where the actual reasons for the war cannot be honestly discussed without criticizing societies founded on profit and the state. Here's a Remembrance day item from the Canadian anti-militarist group Cease Fire asking your opinion.

RDRDRDRDRDRD

Is Remembrance Day too much about war, and not enough about peace?
Add your comment below


Remembrance Day is changing as the veterans of the First and Second World Wars, and the Korean War, pass away. Today more attention is being paid to the veterans of recent conflicts, such as Afghanistan, and the speeches from Government officials freely connect the battles of the past, such as Vimy Ridge, with the current fighting in Kandahar.

This is leaving many to wonder why we gather together each November 11. Is it to mourn the dead, or to adulate them? Do we lament war, or commemorate it?

Remembrance Day was first marked within the British Commonwealth (which included Canada) on November 11, 1919, at 11 a.m. to commemorate the end of the First World War upon the German signing of the Armistice.

According to the Government of Canada, we continue to celebrate this date to

“… honour those who fought for Canada in the First World War (1914-1918), the Second World War (1939-1945), and the Korean War (1950-1953), as well as those who have served since then.”
Red poppies became a popular symbol of Remembrance Day due to John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields” and their blood-red colour. His famous poem is hardly a call for peace. Instead, through McRae, the voices of the dead soldiers urge the reader to fight on, and “Take up our quarrel with the foe.”


However, this militarized focus on Remembrance Day is not shared by all. One of the most prominent examples of this is the white poppy campaign, which dates back to 1933. This poppy is meant to symbolize the need for peace and to commemorate the war-related deaths of both civilians and service men and women.

The white poppy campaign is not without controversy even today, as some peace groups seek to revise the anti-war symbol. The Royal Canadian Legion and other groups feel that it denigrates the symbol of those who have died while serving their country (as well as infringing on the Legion’s trademark of the red poppy symbol, used in their fundraising – page 41 of the Poppy Manual).

What is your opinion?

Do you feel that Remembrance Day has become a commemoration of war, or does it remain a time to think about peace?

CANADIAN POLITICS:

NO TO THE STEALTH FIGHTERS:

This just in from CeaseFire.ca , a public education conference call on the Harper government's plans to blow $16 billion dollars on 'stealth fighters'. One might think that in light of the government's ballooning deficit that they should be a bit more "conservative" with our money. Ah well, for some things there will be to times of austerity. One should note that "stealth" fighters are pretty well the definition of an offensive weapon. They are only useful over somebody else's airspace. In any case the amount that may be spent on such toys has more or less been buried by the feds. Can we call this "Stealth by stealth" ? Here's the invite from CeaseFire.ca.

SFSFSFSFSF

Join our Canada-wide campaign conference call
Canada-wide campaign conference call
NO STEALTH FIGHTERS
Thursday, October 28, 2010
12:00 noon ET
(1:00 AT, 11:00 CT, 10:00 MT, 9:00 PT)

With Steven Staples and
special guest Michael Byers

Michael Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia. His work focuses on Arctic sovereignty, the law and politics of military force, and international humanitarian law. He is the author of War Law (2005), Intent for a Nation (2007) and Who Owns the Arctic? (2010).

Join us to learn more about Stephen Harper's plan to spend $16 billion on "shock and awe" stealth fighters.

Send in your question or campaign idea. Find out how you can get involved.

CANADIAN POLITICS INTERNATIONAL POLITICS:

NO TO ATTACK ON KANDAHAR:

It's summer, and an old general's fancy heavily turns to thoughts of mayhem. Or at least that is the way it is in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan as American troops and their various bands of mercenaries prepare to once more launch attacks. Heaven help the civilians in the way. The Canadian organization 'Cease Fire' has a petition to the various political parties asking that the carnage be cancelled. Here's the story.

CANCANCAN
Help Stop the Attack on Kandahar
Send your letter to Stephen Harper and all party leaders

Your help is needed. Civilians are paying a heavy price in Afghanistan as thousands of U.S. Marines, leading Afghan and Canadian troops, prepare to attack Kandahar and surrounding areas.



Please send your letter to Stephen Harper and all party leaders, calling on them to urge the U.S. and NATO to call off the attack and make sure that Canadian forces are not involved in the offensive.

With the attack looming, aid agencies are warning about more casualties. “More troops have led to more fighting, which has always left more casualties,” said the International Committee of the Red Cross this week.

This week an Afghan human rights group reported that 1,074 civilians have been killed and more than 1,500 injured in war-related incidents this year.

Most of the casualties were caused by insurgents fighting Western forces, like Canada. But still, the U.S. and NATO forces were responsible for more than 200 civilian deaths.

In a desperate attempt to regain the upper hand, the U.S. general leading the Afghan war is considering lifting restrictions on the use of heavy weapons and air strikes when civilians are close to the fighting. This will mean many more civilian deaths.

CANCANCAN

THE PETITION:

Please go to this link to sign the following petition to the leaders of Canada's federal parties and to your MP.

CANCANCAN

Dear Prime Minister Harper,

I urge you to tell the U.S. and NATO to call off the attack on Kandahar, and to ensure that Canadian troops are not involved in the planned offensive.

Countless civilians are at risk. More than 2,400 civilians were killed last year in fighting by both sides. Now, the U.S. general leading the attack is reportedly considering allowing greater use of heavy weapons and air strikes when civilians are present during fighting.

Please stop the bloodshed, and end Canada’s war in Afghanistan right away.
++

Cher premier ministre Harper

Je vous conjure de demander aux États-Unis et à l’OTAN de décommander l’attaque contre Kandahar et de vous assurer qu’aucun soldat canadien ne sera engagé dans cette offensive planifiée.

La vie d’innombrables civils est en jeu. Plus de 2400 civils ont été tués l’an dernier dans les combats initiés par les deux parties en présence. Aujourd’hui, on apprend que le général américain qui dirigera l’offensive envisage de recourir de façon plus intensive aux armes lourdes et aux frappes aériennes, alors que des civils sont autour pendant les combats.

Nous vous prions de mettre un terme au bain de sang et de cesser immédiatement la guerre du Canada en Afghanistan.

CANADIAN POLITICS:

STAYING IN AFGHANISTAN FOREVER:

Recent news reports have touted the idea that Canadian troops should stay in Afghanistan past their projected withdrawal date in 2011. The general idea is that they would stay as "trainers" of a so far mythical well disciplined and effective army of quislings who would carry out the dictates of the present invaders of that country. If this doesn't strike you as an "odd" ambition then perhaps you should consider the phrase "mass desertions". This is, of course, an exercise in "high bullshit". As the history of all guerrilla wars in the last 100 years shows, "advisers rapidly become combatants". The transition (if there was any at all) would, of course, be properly lied through. One suspects that the lies would be accepted by a minority of the population in the same way as previous reports of impending victory, "development aid" (ie about 5% of what the Soviets did when they were the occupiers), and "projects' (ie building roads that can carry tanks as opposed to goats) were accepted. Such are the true believers. Seems that there will be several other such trial balloons as Sneaky Stevie, our "beloved" Prime Minister, searches for ways to rat on his previous promise to withdraw in 2011.

Here's a campaign from the Canadian anti-militarist group Cease Fire to petition our politicians about our involvement in what may be an endless war.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
KEEP YOUR PROMISE-WITHDRAW FROM AFGHANISTAN:
I was astonished to read this on the front page of the newspaper: “U.S. to press for Canada to keep troops in Afghanistan.”

We can be certain that the retired generals and the defence contractors in the pro-war lobby are cheering, because this will put pressure on Canada to keep fighting the war even longer.

We need to act now, to tell Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff that we do not want to extend the war, and want Canada to be a UN peacekeeper again.

Please send your letter to Prime Minister Harper, opposition leaders, and your local MP, right away.

We have also prepared a campaign kit for you, if you want to help spread the word. After you have sent your letter, consider ordering your Peacekeeping Campaign Kit, or visit our Ceasefire.ca Gear page directly.

Thank you for everything you do for peace.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

The Letter:

Here's the letter that Cease Fire would like you to send to the Prime Minister and other politicians. Please go to this link to sign.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
I want our troops to return from Afghanistan in 2011, or even sooner.

The end of the Afghanistan mission is an opportunity for the Canadian Forces to contribute troops to United Nations peacekeeping operations. More than 80,000 troops are deployed on dangerous and important UN missions, but less than 60 of them are from Canada.

I urge you to end the military mission in Afghanistan, and contribute more troops to UN peacekeeping operations. Make Canada a proud peacekeeper, once again.

++

Je demande que nos soldats en Afghanistan rentrent au pays en 2011, voire avant.

La fin de sa mission en Afghanistan permet au Canada de contribuer aux opérations de maintien de la paix des Nations Unies auxquelles participent actuellement plus de 80 000 soldats, déployés dans des missions dangereuses et importantes. Or, moins de 60 de ces soldats sont du Canada.

Je vous demande avec instance de mettre fin à la mission militaire en Afghanistan, et d’envoyer davantage de soldats contribuer aux opérations de maintien de la paix de l’ONU. Retrouvons la fierté d’aider au maintien de la paix.

CANADIAN POLITICS:

CANADA: WAR SPENDING BEATS THE ENVIRONMENT:

There is a persist myth about Canada as "the peaceable kingdom", a myth hardly born out by the facts, especially as successive Liberal and Conservative governments have done their best to be good mercenaries in the American war in Afghanistan. Just how far off this myth is from reality is shown by the following from the Canadian anti-militarist group Cease Fire.

††††††††††††††††††

Environment Spending Dwarfed by Rising Defence Budget:

Read the media coverage of the new report that appears in more than 30 newspapers across Canada:Ottawa Citizen Canwest News Sun Media

I want to let you know about a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives by Rideau Institute senior adviser Bill Robinson.

The report shows that Canada’s rising National Defence spending is $21.185 billion in 2009-2010, making Canada’s rank 13th highest in the world, and 6th highest among NATO’s 28 members, dollar for dollar.

Bill Robinson says the rise in defence spending is an indication of the government’s priorities. “Government spending on National Defence is twenty times that of federal Environment Department spending,” said Robinson. By comparison, the Department of the Environment was allocated only $1.064 billion.

The report, “Canadian Military Spending 2009,” notes that Department of National Defence spending has increased by 9.6% over last year, or $1.8 billion. ”The government could have doubled its planned multi-departmental spending on climate change initiatives this year had it not increased military spending by that amount,” added Robinson.

Canada has spent $23.1 billion in successive increases to National Defence spending since the outset of the Global War on Terror in 2001 (calculated by comparing spending to date above the 2000-01 budget). Roughly half of that amount has been spent on the Afghanistan war.

In historical terms, military spending today has surpassed Cold War spending in 1989 by 22%, and Canada is committed to increased spending under the Conservative government’s Canada First Defence Strategy.

“If the extra $130 billion to $155 billion that Canada will spend over the next 18 years as a result of its post–Cold War military budget buildup were spent instead on aid, it would be enough to nearly triple Canadian development assistance over that period, enabling us to meet and even exceed the 0.7% target and to provide additional resources for climate change aid,” said Robinson.

“Canadian Military Spending 2009” is published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Bill Robinson is a defence analyst and senior adviser of the Rideau Institute.

In peace,

Steven Staples,

Ceasefire.ca

CANADIAN POLITICS:

DEMAND A TORTURE INQUIRY:

The ongoing debate about whether Canadian troops have been deliberately handing over detainees for torture to the Afghan government and whether the Canadian government knew all about this continues in Parliament and the press. Molly has briefly commented on a this a couple of days ago. The following petition appeal is from the Canadian anti-militarist group Ceasefire.ca , and they are asking you to write the leaders of the federal political parties demanding a full public inquiry into the allegations. Here's the appeal.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼
Add your voice - We need a Torture Inquiry:‏

I want a TORTURE INQUIRY

The news from Ottawa is shocking. Senior intelligence officer Richard Colvin repeatedly warned the government about the routine use of torture in Afghan prisons, yet the Canadian Forces continued to hand over their prisoners to brutal Afghan authorities.

Stephen Harper's Conservative government, rather than taking the charges seriously, has instead used a smear campaign to attack Mr. Colvin. We cannot trust the military, or this government, to investigate itself.

Please send your letter to all of the party leaders, calling for an independent public inquiry into the conduct of government and military officials at the highest levels.We must learn the truth, and hold those responsible accountable for their actions, and their inaction. We cannot allow Canada to be complicit in torture.

In peace,

Steven Staples, Ceasefire.ca
P.S. After you send your letter, please make your donation to Ceasefire.ca's campaign to end Canada's war in Afghanistan. If you have already made a gift recently, please accept our thanks.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

THE LETTER:

Please use the link above or go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to the leaders of Canada's federal political parties.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Dear Prime Minister Harper,
I am very concerned by the recent testimony of senior intelligence officer Richard Colvin.
According to Mr. Colvin, who served in Afghanistan and is currently posted to Canada's embassy in Washington, the government received repeated warnings that people who were taken prisoner and transferred to Afghan authorities by Canadian troops were tortured by the Afghans. Yet the Canadian government failed to act.

I support the call for an independent public inquiry into the possibility that government and military officials abandoned their responsibility to ensure Canada acted within Canadian and International law, and upheld Canadian values.
I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
------------------------------------
Monsieur le Premier ministre,
Le récent témoignage de Richard Colvin, officier senior du renseignement, m’inquiète beaucoup.

D’après monsieur Colvin, qui a servi en Afghanistan et qui est aujourd’hui en poste à l’ambassade du Canada à Washington, le gouvernement canadien a reçu maints avertissements selon lesquels les gens faits prisonniers par les soldats canadiens et transférés aux autorités afghanes étaient torturés par les Afghans. Or, le gouvernement canadien a refusé d’agir.





Il est possible que le gouvernement et les autorités militaires n’aient pas vu à ce que le Canada agisse selon les lois canadiennes et le droit international et respecte les valeurs canadiennes, comme ils en ont la responsabilité. J’appuie donc l’appel en faveur d’une enquête publique indépendante là-dessus.





En attendant votre réponse, Monsieur le Premier ministre, je vous prie d’agréer mes salutations respectueuses.

CANADIAN POLITICS/INTERNATIONAL POLITICS:

AFGHANISTAN AND CANADA:

The following announcement is from the Canadian anti-militarist group CeaseFire.ca . They have a new book out, 'Afghanistan and Canada'. Canadians generally like to feel oh-so-superior to Americans, but our actions, as mercenaries for the American Empire, in the seemingly endless Afghan war have been less than exemplary. Read all about it. Here's the announcement.

CPCPCPCPCPCPCP

New Book: Afghanistan and Canada:

Contributions by Tariq Ali, Peggy Mason, Walter Dorn, Stephen Cornish, Murray Dobbin, Linda McQuaig, and others

I am very pleased to tell you that a new book is available that examines positive alternatives to the terrible war in Afghanistan.

My co-editor, Lucia Kowaluk, and I asked writers and experts from across Canada to give us their analysis of the war, and suggest how Canada can best work to bring peace to this troubled country.

The result is Afghanistan and Canada: Is There an Alternative to War? (Black Rose Books, 2009).

I have signed several copies, which I want to make available to you.

I know that you will enjoy the contributions by Michael Neuman, Murray Dobbin, D’Abord Solidaires, John W. Warnock, Tariq Ali, Échec à la Guerre, Stephen Cornish, Linda McQuaig, Ira Basen, Ligue des droits et libertés, Richard Preston, Cheshmak Farhoumand-Sims, Asad Ismi, Rose Marie Whalley, John Foster, A. Walter Dorn, Pierre Beaudet, Claude Castonguay, Richard Preston, Peggy Mason, and many others.

We have opened a section of Ceasefire.ca called Ceasefire.ca Gear, where you can pick up great other great books, Ceasefire.ca pins, and even campaign tools.

I hope you enjoy it.

In peace,

Steven Staples, Ceasefire.ca

P.S. If you live in the Ottawa region, we are hosting a book launch on Friday, October 2. Please join us.