President Barack Obama has promised to send more troops to where the war on terrorism began as the focus seems to have now shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan. Some have went so far as to dub Afghanistan, Obama’s war. A troop surge could greatly improve security for Canadian soldiers, but it is unlikely to bring any type of lasting peace or stability to the region. There is a NATO summit planned for April which will mark its 60th anniversary, where there is expected to be increased pressure for Canada to further commit beyond 2011. Canada must look past its military combat role in Afghanistan and pursue a more sovereign independent policy, one that will best assist the Afghan people and one which better represents our own values.
Obama has been critical of President George Bush’s policy which focused more on Iraq at the expense of Afghanistan. With all his talk of change, Obama has demonstrated a willingness to further maintain the U.S. as the world’s police force and it is unlikely that his presidency will bring about any radical shift in foreign policy. He will continue and maybe even expand the war on terrorism which could lead to Canada playing a more active role, including possible participation in future American military operations. Whether it be through NORTHCOM, the Civil Assistance Plan signed by the U.S.-Canadian military or the Security and Prosperity Partnership, the further merging of our command structures continues as does the militarization of North America.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Afghanistan-Canada-Must-P-by-Dana-Gabriel-090113-652.html
Stumble It!
It is well past time, as I've stated here and elsewhere many times, as part of that, to return all our armed forces home from those places, including Afghanistan, where we assist and fight for the US Empire cause. For it is well past time as well, that we finally begin the pursuit of an independent development, specifically military policy as well, directed toward the defence of our own territorial integrity. Which means a patrol presence and the creation of economic, community and military infrastructure in the Far North, and the creation of an armed National land force type that is trained, organized and equipped to defend "the homeland" from such foreign forces as are most likely, in specific circumstances, to actually challenge our territorial, resource and political independence/sovereignty. (And I think it should be clear, to all but the most fanatically committed US Empire Loyalists in this country, that such a future potential challenge is about the least likely to emanate from Afghanistan or anywhere in the Middle East for that matter. (Save to the degree we stand too close to the US Empire and take up its enemies as our own, as in the Middle East.) Indeed, such a challenge is far more likely to come from quite another source much closer to home, or even from Europe, some elements of whom have similarly been emboldened by the claims of US Imperialism, re our territorial sovereignty in the Far North.)
It is again, long past time for the pursuit of independent and self-sufficient economic, political and military development policies by this country-, which has overlong been genuflecting and kowtowing to first the British Empire, and of more recent history, to the US Empire. Though likely and in short order, the change first has to occur in our collective heads, which means those of all our Anglo, Francophone and Native "internal" nations. (This country being, in fact, in my view, a multi-national State, which we quickly need to face up to as a prerequisite part of this independent development process-, otherwise we will eventually be sabotaged by it, in the form of internal conflict we can ill afford. The main problem in this regard being Anglo-Canadian chauvanism, another fact we need to look full in the face and deal with.)
Coyote
And yet this government insists on spending for military expenditures out of this country, when even the US demands that at least 50% of military spending be done "in house"......
You've got to wonder just who is getting paid off with idiot moves of this nature.
I'm hearing ya. And I've been wondering for a long time. This problem goes back, at least, to the Avro Arrow-, and likely beyond if one really dug into it.
In this kind of economic time especially, within the context of extant capitalism even, while civilian infrastructure development taken up in a big way is a great economic stimulator, so would be a programme of independent military equipment and arms development and manufacture stimulation for our own armed forces.
Unless of course, the intent is to keep this country and its armed force integrated within and dependent on the US Empire and its military system. Which it is.
http://members.shaw.ca/wzuk1/books/arrow.html
http://www.avroarrow.org/Jetliner/JetlinerIntro.html
Shame!
And therein is the story, Rick. You just know, when you look back at that history of the Avro Arrow fighter and the passenger jet, as an example, that someone, or some political-ruling class clique was paid off in this country by the Yanqui. And it sealed the military as well as economic dependency of this country, at the moment of waning British Empire influence in this country, ensuring that it would immediately return to a state of quasi-colonial dependency status on the then rising US Empire. A state of affairs into which we are still locked by our US Empire Loyalist wannabe political and economic ruling class leadership to this very day. The timidity and readiness to betray this country of our political and economic ruling class leadership has historically been and remains, a national goddamn disgrace.
And these guys are all the so-called strong, free-market supporting "individualists" amongst us, or at least in the self-delusional state of their own megalomaniac minds.
I just call them traitors.
And therein is the story, Rick. You just know, when you look back at that history of the Avro Arrow fighter and the passenger jet, as an example, that someone, or some political-ruling class clique was paid off in this country by the Yanqui. And it sealed the military as well as economic dependency of this country, at the moment of waning British Empire influence in this country, ensuring that it would immediately return to a state of quasi-colonial dependency status on the then rising US Empire. A state of affairs into which we are still locked by our US Empire Loyalist wannabe political and economic ruling class leadership to this very day. The timidity and readiness to betray this country of our political and economic ruling class leadership has historically been and remains, a national goddamn disgrace.
And these guys are all the so-called strong, free-market supporting "individualists" amongst us, or at least in the self-delusional state of their own megalomaniac minds.
I just call them traitors.
Coyote