A Canadian Foreign Intelligence Service

[QV]

The bureaucracy, lobbyists and special interest groups will no doubt want to strangle it in committees and endless public oversight.

And those groups should be looked at through a microscope, for obvious reasons.

 

[OldSolduer]

The bureaucracy, lobbyists and special interest groups will no doubt want to strangle it in committees and endless public oversight.

The bureaucracy as we know it wouldn't be able to control it and this new agency would have a bureaucracy all its own.
Special Interest Groups are often propped up by foreign money from those that can do us harm.

 

[CBH99]

An interesting article. What Canada probably needs the most is better quality "political intelligence". And no, that doesn't refer to the abilities of Canadian politicians but to foreign governments. Undoubtedly, there are some intelligence functions carried out by GAC, whether or not being formally so designated as such, but the tendency of diplomats may be to hold such information close for their own purposes. However, the most likely target (or what should be the most likely target) of most of those intelligence operations may not be very pleased, and the USA would probably respond negatively.

From my understanding, US diplomats are very much unofficial spies, as the US State Department keeps incredibly close tabs on all foreign governments. Allied or not, and enemy.

If I remember correctly, a majority of the CIA cables that were leaked - the ones concerning personalities and assessments of foreign government officials - were mostly generated initially by State Dept.

The US may actually be happy if we had GAC do something similar with their own assessments, and share them discreetly via 5 Eyes.

 

[OldSolduer]

From my understanding, US diplomats are very much unofficial spies, as the US State Department keeps incredibly close tabs on all foreign governments. Allied or not, and enemy.

If I remember correctly, a majority of the CIA cables that were leaked - the ones concerning personalities and assessments of foreign government officials - were mostly generated initially by State Dept.

The US may actually be happy if we had GAC do something similar with their own assessments, and share them discreetly via 5 Eyes.

Every government department has an intelligence cell in it somewhere, whether they know it or not.

 

[lenaitch]

The bureaucracy as we know it wouldn't be able to control it and this new agency would have a bureaucracy all its own.
Special Interest Groups are often propped up by foreign money from those that can do us harm.

I never underestimate a well-oiled bureaucracy's ability to insidiously envelope both the great and mundane. It has more authority to say 'no' than 'yes'. If nothing else, its directing and oversight body would need ironclad secrecy legislation.

I agree, foreign influence is a problem.

Quite frankly, I'm not convinced any government would have the courage to even propose such a service once they read the tea leaves. The young urban vote, arming with opposable thumbs and a degree in gender studies or something similar, thinks we just need to show them our values and all will be solved.

 

[CBH99]

Quite frankly, I'm not convinced any government would have the courage to even propose such a service once they read the tea leaves. The young urban vote, arming with opposable thumbs and a degree in gender studies or something similar, thinks we just need to show them our values and all will be solved.

I’ve never wished a post to be more wrong, yet had it be so right

 

[OldSolduer]

I’ve never wished a post to be more wrong, yet had it be so right

Reminds me of the “militia myth” that all it takes is a few motivated amateurs to form an army….

 

[blacktriangle]

Before we add another agency or service, why not better empower our existing S&I community to fulfill the mandates they already hold? Start with taking a hard look at the considerable foreign influence in our midst, and the massive vulnerabilities within our critical & societal infrastructure…

The real problem in this country starts at the top (and no, I don’t mean Generals, Director Generals, or parts thereof…)

And yet we have no one to blame but ourselves.

 

[CBH99]

Quite frankly, I'm not convinced any government would have the courage to even propose such a service once they read the tea leaves. The young urban vote, arming with opposable thumbs and a degree in gender studies or something similar, thinks we just need to show them our values and all will be solved.

Not to sidestep too far...

But I was watching a YouTube clip about a police incident in Montreal, in which the witnesses - both of whom would very much qualify as the 'young urban vote' - weren't qualified to announce the weather on a clear & sunny day. Obviously with a man walking down the middle of the road, and a few police units following him blacked out, he wasn't just jay-walking. Attempted to flee the police while punching at them, before attempting to steal a nearby car to make a getaway.

The bad guys? The officers, apparently, for using a knee on neck while securing the suspect in handcuffs. That was it.


I'm not sure if the media cherry picked these morons or what, but they instantly came to mind when I read that.

 

[OldSolduer]

Before we add another agency or service, why not better empower our existing S&I community to fulfill the mandates they already hold? Start with taking a hard look at the considerable foreign influence in our midst, and the massive vulnerabilities within our critical & societal infrastructure…

The real problem in this country starts at the top (and no, I don’t mean Generals, Director Generals, or parts thereof…)

And yet we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Starting with the Son of God JT and work our way down ….

sorry if I’ve offended anyone

 

[CBH99]

I'm not sure if anybody can truly be offended by that. The truth just hurts sometimes.

I think even traditional Liberal supporters could/would acknowledge that JT isn't the best choice of PM when it comes to intelligence/national security matters, the same way as a traditional Conservative supporter I wouldn't say they are the best for the environment.

Nothing personal, nothing to be offended about. And a PM that doesn't seem so connected to the very countries our intelligence services seem focused on would be nice...