I've been looking for the full story of how this evening went down (I know its been a month).
It was the best and least biased report I could find. I will also post it at the other thread regarding Hiller's speach.
http://www.charlatan.ca/articles/2005/09/29/stories/50812.html
"Hillier protesters draw dissent
Audience heckles activists during General's speech on campus
by Philippe Morin
The first "boos" of the lecture came when Gen. Rick Hillier pulled out a Toronto Maple Leafs notebook.
It was a joke meant to tease an Ottawa crowd of around 350 people who gathered at Carleton to watch Canada's chief of the defence staff speak Sept. 22.
The loudest boos came from the Student Coalition Against War group, which protested the speech beforehand and gave out flyers depicting Canada's top soldier as a nuclear-powered monster.
The Raging Grannies held a sing-along outside the theatre, singing anti-war songs to the tune of "The Ants Go Marching."
At the speech, young people wearing anti-war buttons sat next to ex-military officers.
Hillier's speech, "Canada's military in a dangerous new world," addressed the issue of Canadian participation in Afghanistan.
He said Canada's upcoming contingent would be on a mission of peace, looking to build "psychological security" and protect Afghan efforts to rebuild one of the most destitute regions of the world.
"There are four million people in Kabul," Hillier said. "My estimate is that 25 to 50 of those would gladly work to kill Canadian soldiers on any given day.
"But four million people in Kabul are absolutely delighted and ecstatic that our soldiers are there."
Citing the Sept. 18 Afghan elections, Hillier called Canada's presence a "beacon of hope in Afghanistan."
He also recommended sweeping changes to the military, so "Canadian values" can be backed by "Canadian toughness," if necessary.
At the question period that followed the speech, several students lined up at the provided microphones and accused Hillier of promoting imperialism, Americanism and capitalist empire-building.
Trevor Haché of the Student Coalition Against War was first to take the microphone.
"I'd first like to commend Mr. Hillier on his public service, but there is an elephant in the room no one is talking about," Haché said.
He then held up a copy of Embassy magazine, which featured a quote from outspoken British MP George Galloway.
In the magazine, Galloway is quoted as saying Canada is making "strategic mistakes" in Afghanistan and jeopardizing its "fine reputation" as a peacekeeper in the Muslim world by being allied with the United States.
Wearing a green military-style jacket, Haché embarked on a speech of his own.
He raised objections about the United States' "affection" for nuclear arms and what he called its recent move toward approving potential pre-emptive nuclear strikes against rogue nations.
Crowd noise increased as Haché pulled out another article citing Robert McNamara, former American secretary of defence, who now says the American nuclear policy is immoral and illegal.
"What is your question, please?" asked Katherine Graham, moderator of the question period, as Haché reached for a third article.
"My question is simple," Haché said.
"What are the Canadian forces doing to protect the rest of the world from the United States, which is increasingly belligerent, ignoring international law, conducting illegal wars . . ."
At that moment, the crowd roared and Haché was drowned out. Audience members booed, yelled "get off the mic" and told Haché to sit down.
Some clapped in approval while others whistled and banged notebooks.
Another student, who spoke after Haché, challenged Hillier to resign.
Immediately, boos and heckles shot from the audience.
Hillier's one-word reply, "No," received a standing ovation.
As questions kept coming, Hillier seemed to keep his composure.
He repeated his view that Canada was "not building an empire" in Afghanistan as three more students accused him of participating in capitalist empire-building.
"We work with many nations, including, sometimes, the United States," Hillier said.
With six people left standing in line for questions, Graham stopped the show.
Hillier addressed a few more comments to the audience and left for an informal reception in the Loeb Building.
Gary Dalby, a former air force pilot officer from Nepean, said he was angered by the protesters. He said the audience heckling was clearly in favour of Hillier.
"The crowd showed where their emphasis was," he said.
Carleton president David Atkinson was at the speech and called the night a success.
"The general's views are very impassioned," Atkinson said. "He obviously feels very committed. He's very single-minded and driven. And whenever you have someone [like him] you'll always have people who are equally impassioned and equally committed, but see the world in a different way."
Atkinson said the raucous atmosphere in the lecture hall was "predictable" considering the controversial nature of the speech.
Though things "got pretty animated," he said, the night was an example of free speech and democracy.
"I think it's useful," he said. "I think it's what universities are for. We exist for every point of view to be heard and that's what happened tonight. If we didn't exist to allow that to happen, society would be worse off."
