Militarization of the Arctic. Canada: Battle Line In East-West Conflict Over The Arctic
Referring to newly released documents, though not revealing what they were, a major Canadian press wire service reported on May 26 that the government plans to acquire a "family" of aerial drones over the next decade.[1]
The dispatch was only two paragraphs long and could easily be overlooked, as one of the two intended purposes for expanding Canada's reserve of military drones was for "failed or failing states." Afghanistan is unquestionably one such deployment zone and Ottawa sent its first Israeli-made Heron drones there this January for NATO's war in South Asia.
Another likely target for "dull, dirty and dangerous" missions suited for unmanned aircraft is Somalia, off the coast of which the frigate HMCS Winnipeg, carrying a Sea King helicopter it's had occasion to use, is engaged with the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) in forced boarding and other military operations. The use of unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) in a likely extension of military actions on the Somali mainland would, unfortunately, not raise many eyebrows.
The last sentence in the brief report, though, says that "Senior commanders also foresee a growing role for drones in Canada, especially along the country's coastlines and in the Arctic."
The dispatch was only two paragraphs long and could easily be overlooked, as one of the two intended purposes for expanding Canada's reserve of military drones was for "failed or failing states." Afghanistan is unquestionably one such deployment zone and Ottawa sent its first Israeli-made Heron drones there this January for NATO's war in South Asia.
Another likely target for "dull, dirty and dangerous" missions suited for unmanned aircraft is Somalia, off the coast of which the frigate HMCS Winnipeg, carrying a Sea King helicopter it's had occasion to use, is engaged with the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) in forced boarding and other military operations. The use of unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) in a likely extension of military actions on the Somali mainland would, unfortunately, not raise many eyebrows.
The last sentence in the brief report, though, says that "Senior commanders also foresee a growing role for drones in Canada, especially along the country's coastlines and in the Arctic."
Stumble It!
Also, lets not let "them", including the Yankee Wannabe Ignatieff, side track us here. This issue of our Arctic sovereignty is NOT an east-west issue but... a NORTH-SOUTH issue "primarily", twixt ourselves and the resource ambitions of the US Empire. The Russians and others are there only to the degree they are encouraged by the challenging behaviours of the US Empire vis a vis our long standing claim of Arctic sovereignty, and by our own servile timidity as a country.
It is past time this country pulled out of all military alliance/co-operation agreements with the US Empire, and that we began a "sovereign" military development plan, based upon the defence of our own lands and resources, including the Arctic. Which means we need to move posthaste from a rapid deployment "Global" force that serves the ambitions of the Empire, and focus instead on "largely", though not exclusively, on the creation of "light infantry/guerrilla" style forces that are highly mobile and hit and run agile... on our own territory, with complementary air and naval backup forces.
The "East" is not OUR greatest potential and existing enemy. Pay attention to the signs that are nearer to home. They deserve, in this case, greater credence than those coming from abroad that are of no real or significant "strategic" threat to ourselves, and which only exist to the degree anyway, that we stand too close to the US Empire, and have been artificially persuaded that their enemies are our own. Indeed, we and "The East" SHARE a common enemy in many important regards, is the far greater reality.
And what is it that is said about the enemy of my enemy?
It is worth dwelling and acting upon.
and that we began a "sovereign" military development plan, based upon the defence of our own lands and resources, including the Arctic
Do I hear echoes of The Arrow in this assertion, Coyoteman?
Indeed, even though what is past, is past. It was the US Military, acting through our own government of the day, to end any independent military development of our own, and to strategically makes us dependent upon their war technology, military system, even then already evolving strategic "imperialist" ambition priorities, and to tie us up in involvement in them. Which it succeeded in doing. The Arrow, along with our commitment to their BOMARC missle system, and the DEW Line, succeeded in diverting us into looking North, through involvement in their then Cold War, anti-Soviet competition priorities, and away from seeing how they were using us, and to what strategic "resource" theft plans of their own that they had for us. We were persuaded into looking NORTH, when the real conquest threat has always, from the time of their 1812 invasion of Canada, really come from the SOUTH... and still does.
(Which is not to deny that we share a continent with the US, and will doubtless over the long pull of history need to be friends with the US, especially its "people". It is only to claim that over the foreseeable future at least, through immediate capitalism, with its particularly predatory needs and ambitions, and perhaps some, even forever beyond, we will need to at the same time guard our own sovereignty AND, our land and resource base. The "global system" development vision of capitalism is already failing, protectionism and a return to smaller "national" configurations is likely in fact the more real "sustainable" future. Which as well doesn't rule out the possibilities for real "international" co-operation on the really big "planetary" issues.)
Now is now, and has its own unique priority needs, out of which the future will doubtless evolve of its own, so that we can better THEN see and understand it.
But we really do need to finally move beyond our cold war based vision of ourselves, as some kind of national "adjunct" to US Empire ambitions, in which we are only a bit player in their larger "imperial" game, with no national interest or ambition of our own. Which does NOT have to mimic theirs.
Brent
Our military, especially our officer corp, schooled reflections of the colonial mentality think of our economic and political elites, has allowed itself to be too closely integrated into, made subject to and controlled by US military paradigms and priorities. Ours is a "subject" military, as we are a subject people and state.
And we are then surprised that our coast lines, our air space and land mass, especially but not only in the north, is vulnerable to and dependent upon US military intentions and actions?
We are a fucking joke as a country. It only follows then, that our military is similarly a joke, except to the degree that we act for the US Empire cause.
Coyote