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New Russia - Putin's Russia - has been squaring off with Europe for some time now, and has been working hard to re-assert its control over the former satellite states. Eastern Europe depends on Russia for energy, and Putin has used that to directly control affairs in that region. Russian energy...

This seems to getting a lot of play in the media, unfortunately. This is hardly the first time the CDS has describe the post-'94 period as a "decade of darkness", and I believe similar statements have been made by other analysts and commentators. It is up to the Liberal Defence critic, if he...

You're in Halifax? PM me asap.

As someone who is inherently anti-Senate, I view anything from this body with suspicion and skepticism - so view my comments accordingly. Having looked at the biographies of most of the Senators involved, I'm not particularly impressed by their credentials to make recommendations to the PMO, the...

I was there on Roto 11, 1PPCLI... I remember Adnan, Jasmin, Alma, Nermin and Sunela. Good times - we were in the camp built on a car lot, half built by the Van Doos and half by us. Is the Baghdad Cafe still there?

Agreed - Reservists show up at Reg F units way behind the training curve, and require a lot more lead-up time to get them up to speed. At the same time, I think one year (or more) of pre-deployment training is unreasonable for a reservist. It limits the number who can volunteer and it cripples...

On the topic of vehicles, I was thinking of the US military convoy that rolled into New Orleans - a huge column of (American versions of) HLVWs, some Deuce and a halfs, a lot of Humvees. News reports put one of the first convoys at 50 vehicles - that's a lot of trucks, just to carry supplies and...

Job protection = a good thing. Definitely. Mandatory Service = Not so much. The two do not have to go together. Changing the terms of service would, in my view (and I work quite a bit in Res recruiting) diminish our ability to recruit new people, and would force out older members. One of...

This has been talked about a little at my unit, and was addressed by the CO at the Christmas dinner. He's already fighting to have our unit (local Inf) assigned as the lead for the TDBG. Everything circulating from 'informed' sources says it will be a core of Class B guys, maybe some Reg F, who...

The CDS is not a combatant, and he is probably even more high profile than any of these MPs - hence, he requires just as much if not more security. If Rick Mercer and company (including several dubious 'celebrities', including the head of the Dominion Institute) can visit FOBs, why not the duly...

Haven't Rick Mercer and other VIP's visited the FOB's? Hillier certainly has. I don't see the difference. I may not like, or agree with the views of the MPs in question, but I don't see how securing eight people is so difficult. The MND and PM are shooting themselves in the foot here. They...

The Kandahar Campaign does represent Canada picking up its slack in defence and security commitments, both in the size of the Task Force and its mission, but in finally acquiring the tools and resources (M777's, Strategic Airlift, Nyala's, etc) to take in a more serious role. The Canadian Forces...

Three weeks ago Lebanon was not a war zone, and there was no indication it was about to become one. And certainly no indication that, in a matter of days, every transport link to Lebanon would be severed. If it was that dangerous there, 13,000 people - including children, pregnant women, and the...

"militarizing conflict"? He's kidding, right?

Rest In Peace troops. We will remember. :salute:

Was the cost of this evacuation large enough to even justify any controversy over the cost per person? In the grand scheme of government spending (and waste) I can't see the cost of this evacuation being all that significant. We gave a free ride to a bunch of people - so what? We gave free rides...

I agree a_majoor; this is a good example not just of the problems and failures of national intelligence, but of battlefield information gathering and the problems with working with info-centric forces and plans. Thinking of the current CF doctrine, and plans for future doctrine and capabilitie...

Israel appears to be losing this propoganda war. Hitting a UN OP, and now hitting a house with 30-60 (reports seem sketchy) civilians inside suggests that Israel needs to be a little more careful in its targetting. Whatever the arguments about 'fog of war', collateral damage, etc., when these...

Despite expectations, it appears France and Germany vetoed a NATO role at the Rome Meetings. It's difficult to consider a useful force without significant US, ABCA, or European involvement. I think its obvious that such a multinational force would not fight the IDF. As well, I don't believe...

Its hardly new - civilian indifference is probably the rule rather than the exception. Unless its a truly titanic struggle, it can be ignored. The wars of colonialism/imperialism (whether its the US in the Wild West, Britain in Africa, France in SE Asia, or even Canada in South Africa) were...