Canada's Global Role: A Strategic Assessment Of Its Military Power - Parameters

[devil39]

The Autumn 2004 issue of Parameters has this timely article by Joseph R Nunez.     This is reasonably accurate summary of where we currently stand and how we got here as a nation and a military in my opinion.   While there are details to nitpick in this paper, it is a very worthwhile read.

http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/04autumn/nunez.pdf



In the conclusion there is a timely comment that should be appreciated by our resident "hot house flower" expert, PPCLI Guy that directly relates to his analogy of a couple of days ago on the subject of "soft power".

"While soft power may be an effective foreign policy approach in this millennium,
it is largely ineffective without significant hard power to back it up. And
the truth is that today Canada has little hard power. A country that cannot muster
and deploy even one self-sufficient brigade to global hot spots is not going
to be taken very seriously, and is certainly not a middle power by military measure."

 

[PPCLI Guy]

This is a great article.  It is clear and succinct, and has the added attraction of offering a strangers view of ourselves.

My two favorite "nuggets":

"Ottawa can no longer offer glittering platitudes
and then duck out when the global work must be done and the bills come due.
It may be a cliché, but freedom is not free, and neither is trade, at least not the
generation or maintenance of it. To keep a global economic system functioning,
democratic states must be willing to deter and defeat forces that threaten
their way of life. Canadians are beginning to understand that they are way overdue
in their payments, and must rapidly recapitalize defense assets to meet the
burgeoning demands of today and tomorrow."

Like Heinlein said: TANSTAAFL - there ain't no such thing as a free lunch

"Canada should refrain from the temptation to act as the moral superior
in the partnership, taking the â Å“role of provider of wise counsel.â ?Such
a haughty position is unwarranted, particularly considering Canadian words
versus deeds."

I have always found the automatic assumption that we own the high ground rather grating - and as a reader of the Toronto Star, I see that all of the time...

 

[Lance Wiebe]

Ouch!

Nothing like your shortcomings being pointed out by a friend! 

While we (the serving we) take some pride in the performance of individual units, and individuals, we collectively hang our heads about our military capabilities.  Now, we know that our shortcomings are well known on the international stage.

A well written article, I very much agree, it is a worthwhile read.

Thanks, Devil39!  Great catch!

 

[Quinn]

Excellent article, thanks for posting it.

 

[RDA]

QUOTED FROM ARTICLE: "If actions speak louder than words, then Martin is sending a strong message to the military."

"Strong message"? ???   I don't know...  Admittedly I am not in the military (yet), but it seems to me that Martin's leadership on defence matters has been half-hearted and not much more than political damage control so far.   The article is accurate for the most part, but I'm afraid Paul Martin is nowhere near as focused on improving Canada's military situation as Nunez makes him out to be.   The sense of urgency just isn't there with Martin...  

But who knows, I guess we will find out in the next budget, eh?

 

[Goober]

A very good article, and worth the time to read.

 

[Shec]

Notwithstanding my inherent Canuck tendancy towards "latent anti-Americanism" I can only say "Bravo" to Col. Nunez.    His objective, balanced, and incisive assessment is not what I would expect from a Yank.    He spots  both strengths and weaknesses and by so doing diplomatically and justifiably tosses down the gauntlet for our Government to put its money where its mouth is.    I can only hope that our politicians and policy wonks give this article the attention it deserves.  

 

[Bograt]

An absolutely fantastic article. Posts like this bring an immeasurable value and quality to a free forum like this one.

Cheers,