[Newsbot]

Title: Afghanistan: NATO's Graveyard?
Topic: International Politics
Written By: robertjb
Date: Monday, March 08 at 08:13
Is the Transatlantic Alliance Doomed?
By John Feffer
Contributors Note: 
 John Feffer is only one of many informed observers who feel that NATO in its present corrupted form as an instrument of US foreign policy is doomed.
 
Canada’s NDP has long advocated our withdrawal from NATO. Now the time has come for our withdrawal and this should be be a matter of serious and urgent debate.      
read more

[RickW]

Get the feeling that everyone is waiting (somewhat listlessly) for Armageddon?
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/e ... eddon-4438

[Brent Swain]

High time we stopped being a puppet of US military. The cold war is over. Canadian defense should be based on the Swiss model, defending Canadian soil, like the high arctic, and dealing with natural disasters. We'd be far more effective, for a fraction the cost.

[saturn_656]

Brent Swain wrote:

High time we stopped being a puppet of US military. The cold war is over. Canadian defense should be based on the Swiss model, defending Canadian soil, like the high arctic, and dealing with natural disasters. We'd be far more effective, for a fraction the cost.

The Cold War is on pause. The fall of the Soviet Union may have knocked Russia down but she sure as hell isn't knocked out.

China is also a potential concern.

It would be foolish to remove ourselves from the NATO defence umbrella.

[Dave Ruston]

Well, let`s see. The two Koreas are rattling swords again. Britain and Argentina are butting heads again over the Falkland Islands. The US wants to put missiles in Europe and Russia wants to reciprocate in some way. Russia claims the Arctic. The 'War on Terror' has been ecxpanded into Pakistan and Somalia. War torn Iraq and Afghanistan surround iran, which is in the crosshairs. China and the US trade sticks and stones. Venezuela is being antagonized by Colombia, who is backed by the US. Palestinians and Israelis continue to take a kibbutz-kicking. Georgia remains a tense area. With a few differences, its 1914 all over again! But dare I say again, to quote an old soldier: War is a racket!

[RickW]

Quote:

its 1914 all over again

Good point!

[Michael Scott]

"We'd be far more effective, for a fraction the cost."

Without the protection of the US and NAFTA, do you have any real idea of how much it would cost to actually protect this vast nation? We can't even stop a rickety freighter from dropping human refugees on our shores currently. How in god's name do you propose we defend ourselves from any serious agressor? To properly defend ourselves "based on the Swiss model", every single person would be drafted into the military for 2 years and be in the reserves for the rest of their lives. We would all have automatic weapons in our closets. All highways would need to be redesigned to allow aircraft to land on them. We would need about 250 new ships immediately. Dozens of submarines and ice breakers. Increase to the air force about 1000%. Then we'd be of the "Swiss model" and able to defend ourselves in a per capita and per square kilometre basis. How much do you think that really costs Brent?

Seriously, our geography and population behooves us to make treaties and not live like Switzerland.

[RickW]

Nazi Germnany did it (and then some). Just think. Full employment.

[Michael Scott]

LOL - that is the best laugh I've had all day!!! Thanks Rick!

[Fiatlux]

No foreign country has to invade Canada, just go to some bank and ask it to "create" enough money to buy us. Even Canadian banks will be happy to oblige.

The Chinese ? They're coming in, bringing their worthless hoard of US Dollars and buy our oil and resources today and tomorrow the whole country. Why should they invade ?

In any case, wars are not fought between nations, but rulers, priesthoods and governments. This is a historical fact.

Five minutes after the war is over, the "enemies" are the greatest friends

As far the military officers are concerned, they'll serve anybody who gives them the fanciest uniforms and the biggest bangs. Within few years after WW2 the 2 Germanies had armies facing each other, led by former Wehrmacht officers on both sides.

Afghanistan is a lost cause and a criminal waste of human lives, again on both sides, just to build a bloody pipeline ?

The minute the foreign invaders leave, the Taliban will take over.

Ed Deak.

[RickW]

About the only defense we need is against the US. I cannot for the life of me imagine an invasion fleet of Chinese, Russians, Saudis, Taliban being even a possibility.

of course, if you want to know who sabotaged our attempt at self-defense:
http://archives.cbc.ca/science_technolo ... opics/275/

But Ed is right. Canadian leaders have been collecting their 30 pieces of silver for the last 3 decades.........

[Dave Ruston]

Again, printing our own money would guarantee that we could build a military respectable enough that nobody would mess with us unless they were suicidal. Look at tiny Israel. 200 plus nukes. Think anyone`s gonna mess? And yes, look at the Swiss. The whole country- armed and ready to defend. Precisely why Hitler did not invade Switzerland. He knew his army would be bogged down in a long, drawn out affair in terrain that is inhospitable to attackers. But yeah, all you need are a few nukes, and you`re well protected.

[RickW]

Dave Ruston wrote:

Precisely why Hitler did not invade Switzerland. He knew his army would be bogged down in a long, drawn out affair in terrain that is inhospitable to attackers

Finland and the USSR comes to mind.

[Michael Scott]

If we wanted, we could have an nuke in 6 months. However, I don't know how many here find that a palatable option.

[RickW]

Even nukes need "feet on the ground" -- unless we just want to blow things up.