# Senator Dallaire retiring from Senate



## blackberet17 (28 May 2014)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/romeo-dallaire-senate-liberal-retiring-from-parliament-1.2656795

Liberal Senator Romeo Dallaire says he's retiring from the Senate.

CBC News Network's Evan Solomon reports Dallaire is retiring because of a combination of issues: His desire to spend more time on post-traumatic stress disorder research and public speaking on international causes, ongoing struggles with PTSD, and frustration with the continuing Senate scandals.

Dallaire came to prominence after leading Canadian troops in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide.

His repeated warnings to the UN and to Canada went seemingly unheeded as Rwanda went through 100 days of killings.

Dallaire has also spoken publicly about his struggles since 1994 with PTSD. He has publicly revealed his four suicide attempts and battles with alcoholism, all brought on from not only what he saw in Rwanda but by the sense of futility and powerlessness he felt after trying to bring world attention to the massacre.

In his book Shake Hands with the Devil, Dallaire tells a horrific story of having to walk over a bridge held aloft by bloated human bodies.

"On the far bank, soldiers were trying to pry them loose for fear that their weight would pull the bridge apart ... My stomach heaved and I struggled for composure. I couldn't bear the movement of the bridge, up and down on the slaughtered hundreds," he wrote.

Prominently displayed on his personal website are the words he wrote to describe the effect of the Rwanda experience on his psyche:

“Rwanda will never ever leave me. It’s in the pores of my body. My soul is in those hills, my spirit is with the spirits of all those people who were slaughtered and killed.”

Just before Christmas he fell asleep at the wheel of his car on Parliament Hill, jumping a curb and hitting a lamppost. Unhurt, he later explained to the Senate that he was unable to sleep as the 20th anniversary of the Rwanda crisis drew near.

At the time, he also said the suicides of three Canadian soldiers were reviving memories of his own hopelessness and despair after he left Rwanda.

Dallaire was named to the Senate by Paul Martin in 2005. He wasn't set to retire until 2021.

During his time in the Senate, he worked on his Romeo Dallaire Child Soldier Initiative, as well as being a voice for veterans. He is also an inspiring public speaker in huge demand, and his workload was becoming intolerable, he said.

He told Solomon he will retire on June 17, a significant date, he explained, as it is the day he learned the French intended to send in a force to stop the genocide in Rwanda.


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## Crispy Bacon (28 May 2014)

Good riddance.


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## Shrek1985 (28 May 2014)

I suspect anyone who can watch thousands slaughtered, helplessly and still has an issue with personal firearms ownership.


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## cudmore (28 May 2014)

Why's that?




			
				Crispy Bacon said:
			
		

> Good riddance.


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## Bird_Gunner45 (28 May 2014)

I bet he's not retiring to Belgium.....


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## Fishbone Jones (28 May 2014)

cudmore said:
			
		

> Why's that?



Some people like him, some don't.

I'm also not sorry to see his ass end.

But that's just me. We all have opinions. :dunno:


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## GAP (28 May 2014)

So......he lost his soapbox.......geee  :


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## Walt (28 May 2014)

Lots of criticism regarding LGen (ret'd) Dallaire from members of this forum. In all fairness to the man, please substantiate your remarks (if you dare). Unless you walked in his shoes, or were in theater with him, or ever worked with him, you have no right to bash him. Additionally, you may be causing legal implications for Mr. Bobbitt (remember _that guy_ of the _unspecified newspaper_). In a nut shell, please maintain a level of professionalism.  

Edited by moderator to comply with forum policy- Brihard


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## Fishbone Jones (28 May 2014)

Walt said:
			
		

> Lots of criticism regarding LGen (ret'd) Dallaire from members of this forum. In all fairness to the man, please substantiate your remarks (if you dare). Unless you walked in his shoes, or were in theater with him, or ever worked with him, you have no right to bash him. Additionally, you may be causing legal implications for Mr. Bobbitt (remember _that guy_ of the _unspecified newspaper_). In a nut shell, please maintain a level of professionalism.



I don't need to substantiate anything. It doesn't have to do with his deployment, walking in his shoes or otherwise. I just dislike the guy. That's my prerogative and there's nothing slanderous or libelous about it. So don't get your panties in a bunch.

And you're not to use that other guy's name on this forum. Please remove it.


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## Grapeshot (29 May 2014)

I first met then Major Dallaire in 1979 when as a new Lt arriving at my first unit. He was to be my first Battery Commander. H e had then and continues to this day to be a prominent voice for worthy causes. 

In his current role, Dallaire is one of the very few Senators who on a daily basis displays honour and integrity. His passion for championing the causes of the underdog oftentimes brings these causes into the daylight and out of the dark places that most politicians will never dare to venture into. Child soldiers and Veterans in general are well served by his work. 

For those on this site, he is a valuable voice speaking out for those Veterans dealing with PTSD at a time when our National government turns a blind eye on them. 

He is to be saluted.


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## ModlrMike (29 May 2014)

blackberet17 said:
			
		

> http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/romeo-dallaire-senate-liberal-retiring-from-parliament-1.2656795
> 
> Liberal Senator Romeo Dallaire says he's retiring from the Senate.



I thought there were no more Liberal Senators. I can't say I agree with everything he's done while in the Senate, but he's been better than many. In any event, I wish him well in the future.


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## Transporter (29 May 2014)

I met then-MGen Dallaire in Nairobi having flown him out of Kigali at the end of his tour in Aug 94. I would not want to have walked 5 ft in his shoes knowing full well what he and his staff experienced during their time in UNAMIR.

I truly wish him well.


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## PMedMoe (29 May 2014)

Love him or hate him, it's a personal preference, however, I don't see the need to make rude comments either.  Just don't post.  It's that simple.


That said, I wish him luck.


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## Edward Campbell (29 May 2014)

It is impossible to consider Sen (LGen (Ret'd) Dallaire without considering the events of 1994. He was, prior to that, a rather ordinary BGen - a good, maybe even gifted trainer of troops, but not likely to advance much father up the chain. The decision to send a Canadian contingent to Rwanda was made by Prime Minister Kim Campbell; it's not clear, exactly, why then BGen Dallaire was selected - his language skills were, almost certainly a factor. My _sense_, at the time, was that Rwanada, at a political level, was very much though to be a "feel good" baby blue beret mission. Then came 1994 ... and everything had changed.

I have no idea how Kim Campbell or Adm John Anderson, the CDS in 1993, _might_ have responded to the crisis in Rwanda and it doesn't matter because they were gone: Campbell had presided over the most stunning political disaster in Canadian history and John Anderson had been summarily fired, albeit with a very _soft landing_ into an ambassadorial level job in Brussels, for daring to criticize newly elected Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's helicopter decision.

Prime Minister Chrétien was a profoundly _conservative_ man, risk aversion was his middle name - he, especially, didn't like military operations because they are inherently risky. The new CDS was, in fact, recycled: Gen John De Chastelain; he had been CDS in the early 1990s and had retired to a lovely ambassadorial appointment in New York, at the UN. He was recalled, by Chrétien to clean up and enforce political power.

In New York we had one of the weakest Secretary generals in UN history: Boutros Boutros-Ghali and, standing firmly in between BGen Dallaire and any decision maker in New York was another Canadian: Col (later Gen) Maurire Baril.

Another key player was the Clerk of the privy Council in Ottawa, hand picked by Prime Minister Chrétien, Jocelyne Bourgon, another profoundly _conservative_ individual.

So, standing in between Dallaire, who was facing a *disaster* that is still hard to imagine were:







  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




   
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Key "gatekeepers:" Maurice Baril, in UNNY, and Jocelyne Bourgon and Gen John De Chastelain in Ottawa

And​





   
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Key, top level, _political_ decision makers: Boutros Boutros-Ghali in UNNY and
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in Ottawa

I guess we might call it a "perfect storm," all the leaders and "gatekeepers" were new to their jobs, most were _conservative_, risk averse and ill-informed about the situation on the ground. I have seen some of the messages from then BGen Dallaire to NY and to Ottawa - I saw only a couple of the replies but every indication is that he was told to not rock the boat. The boat was well beyond, "rocking," it, and he, was in a HUGE storm - that _perfect storm_, again. I talked to BGen Dallaire, briefly, after he returned - we weren't friends but we had worked together now and again. It was clear, then, that he was deeply troubled by what had happened and, perhaps, even more by what had not happened. He was deeply disappointed, I think, by everyone pictured above.

In 2005 then LGen (Ret'd) Dallaire was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Paul Martin. Subsequent events would suggest that he was still suffering from the events of 1994.

Just some context for members' consideration.


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## tomahawk6 (29 May 2014)

and all were French-Canadian ?


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## Edward Campbell (29 May 2014)

tomahawk6 said:
			
		

> and all were French-Canadian ?




No.

They two keys, in my _opinion_, were:

     1. They were all quite new to their jobs; and

     2. Many were either _weak_ or very risk averse.


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## Old Sweat (29 May 2014)

tomahawk6 said:
			
		

> and all were French-Canadian ?



General de Chastelain is a Scottish immigrant who came to Canada as a child and still has a slight accent.


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## Fishbone Jones (29 May 2014)

I have no quarrel whatsoever with his military career. Nor him being a champion of PTSD. It is simply his politics as a liberal senator that I disagree with and hence, my dislike. I never said I hated the man. Just disliked him for the reason stated.


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## Colin Parkinson (29 May 2014)

He has my sympathy for what happened in Rwanda, however once you become a politician, expect people to hold you to task for current events.


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## GAP (29 May 2014)

recceguy said:
			
		

> I have no quarrel whatsoever with his military career. Nor him being a champion of PTSD. It is simply his politics as a liberal senator that I disagree with and hence, my dislike. I never said I hated the man. Just disliked him for the reason stated.



That duplicates my sentiments. 

It's his antics outside of the realm of Rawanda, PTSD. I especially disliked him using his experiences to try and give credence to his other agenda's....


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## Transporter (29 May 2014)

GAP said:
			
		

> I especially disliked him using his experiences to try and give credence to his other agenda's....



Such as?

I'm not challenging you, but I have to admit that I am honestly at a loss to understand what it is about his senate service, or his using his experiences from Rwanda to advance issues of common good for humanity, that is upsetting to people or makes him so dislikable.


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## Edward Campbell (29 May 2014)

About thirty-five minutes ago Prime Minister Harper, or someone in his office, _tweeted_ that "There is a moral imperative to #SavingLives of vulnerable women & children in the poorest countries when it is in our power to do so." One could argue that twenty years ago there was a similar "moral imperative" existed with respect to Rwanda.

In my _opinion_ then BGen Dallaire tried, very hard, to make the case that such a "moral imperative" did exist. I don't _believe_ he failed, not in any meaningful, personal way - although one can, and some did, dispute his sense of priorities and , indeed, his suitability for the task: I think the CF failed him; I think that, specifically, Gen John De Chastelain failed him and, worse, failed the mission; I think the Government of Canada Failed him; I think Prime Minister Jean Chrétien also failed Sen Dallaire and in a very personal way. In New York I think the entire apparatus, including, specifically again, Col (later Gen) Baril) failed; they failed the mission and the men and women there. I concluded, to my own satisfaction, that it is immoral to risk Canadian lives to dangerous missions if the UN, specifically the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, is involved in any meaningful way. I think we can participate in some, carefully selected, baby blue beret peacekeeping missions, where the risk is very, very low* but where the risk is anything except negligible we must insist that Canada or a trusted ally has a leadership role. (And, by the way, I am suspicious of the United States' ability to lead such missions because I am suspicious of the _strategic_ judgment of both the White House and the Pentagon, and i will likely still be suspicious when there is a Republican administration.)

If we are going to send troops into dangerous situations then we had best be sure that we all understand that there might be a "moral imperative" that requires them to fight and die and that requires us, Canada writ large, to support them by sending more and more and more Canadians to back them up, and to secure a military victory before we come home. If we aren't prepared to face up to "moral imperatives" then perhaps Pierre Trudeau was right,** perhaps we need to withdraw from the world and focus all our attention on _national unity_ and a _harmonious natural environment_.

_____
*   But, in fairness, Prime Minister Kim Campbell, Clerk of the Privy Council Shortliffe and Adm John Anderson all thought Rwanada was a very low risk mission. 
** In the 1970 _White Paper_ 'A Foreign Policy for Canadians'


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## Mick (29 May 2014)

For clarification, Gen de Chastelain was appointed Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. in Washington D.C. 1993-1994, not to the UN in New York.


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## Transporter (29 May 2014)

To have the courage of one's convictions to deal with the moral imperatives is an increasingly rare quality. It certainly wasn't in abundance within the PCO, NDHQ or UNNY in 1994.


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## George Wallace (29 May 2014)

mick said:
			
		

> For clarification, Gen de Chastelain was appointed Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. in Washington D.C. 1993-1994, not to the UN in New York.



True, and nowhere in this discussion has this been alluded to.  At the same time, this discussion covers the period when Gen De Chastelain was CDS, not Canadian Ambassador.


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## Mick (29 May 2014)

> True, and nowhere in this discussion has this been alluded to.  At the same time, this discussion covers the period when Gen De Chastelain was CDS, not Canadian Ambassador.





> Gen John De Chastelain; he had been CDS in the early 1990s and had retired to a lovely ambassadorial appointment in New York, at the UN.



It was alluded to that Gen de Chastelain was an ambassador to the UN (see above quote) and I _mistakenly_ took that to mean Gen de Chastelain was an obstacle at the UN, which is not what the OP intended.  Hence my clarification.

Back on track: my opinion of LGen Dallaire has elvolved over the years; I truly believe he tried his best in an impossible situation, and I respect the causes which he currently champions.  I wish him well.


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## Rifleman62 (29 May 2014)

ERC, my understanding was that BGen Dallaire (Arty), and Col (later Gen) Maurire Baril (Inf) were close friends which makes it more speculative as to why he did not do something.

I met Dallaire in the summer of 1996 when he was the senior serving Gunner and flew in for Spr Chris Holopina's military funeral.

PS I say save your venom for Baril, who was a piece of work.


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## Old Sweat (30 May 2014)

As I recall, Baril was a BGen when he was at the UN during this period.


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## Edward Campbell (30 May 2014)

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> As I recall, Baril was a BGen when he was at the UN during this period.




You are probably correct. I know, or at least I'm as close to 99% certain as one can be at our age, that he was a BGen on return.

(On a side note: the five _permanent members_ of the UNSC all agreed, back in the 1940s, to provide a 'military advisor' each, to advise the Council, not the Secretary General or the General Assembly - in the one star rank, if I am correct (and I'm too lazy to go look it up). The Directorate of Peacekeeping Operations is, however, part of the _secretariat_ and it has its own, separate military staff - and that where Gen Baril served.)


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## Retired AF Guy (30 May 2014)

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> I have seen some of the messages from then BGen Dallaire to NY and to Ottawa - I saw only a couple of the replies but every indication is that he was told to not rock the boat. The boat was well beyond, "rocking," it, and he, was in a HUGE storm - that _perfect storm_, again.



The  National Security Archive  website has a whole collection of declassified reports dealing with the Rwandian Crisis. They can be found here  if anyone is interested.

And as you can see from the website itself, there is yesterdays announcement that a special conference is being held in the Hague from 01 - 03 June to look into failure of the Rwandian mission. Key participants from the UN, Africa, Europe, and the US, including Dallaire will participate.


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## FJAG (30 May 2014)

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> You are probably correct. I know, or at least I'm as close to 99% certain as one can be at our age, that he was a BGen on return.
> 
> (On a side note: the five _permanent members_ of the UNSC all agreed, back in the 1940s, to provide a 'military advisor' each, to advise the Council, not the Secretary General or the General Assembly - in the one star rank, if I am correct (and I'm too lazy to go look it up). The Directorate of Peacekeeping Operations is, however, part of the _secretariat_ and it has its own, separate military staff - and that where Gen Baril served.)



If memory serves me correctly Baril went to the UN as a BGen and was promoted to MGen a year or so later while still there.

 :cheers:


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