George Wallace said:
Anyone got a copy of this book: "In Retreat: The Canadian Forces in the Trudeau Years" ?
http://www.amazon.ca/In-Retreat-Canadian-Forces-Trudeau/dp/0888790074
by Gerald Porter, 1978.
Publisher: Deneau; First Edition edition (1978)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0888790074
ISBN-13: 978-0888790071
Just wondering what his synopsis was and if he had any proposals as to where to go?
"The Trudeau decade has been a difficult one for Canada'a military personnel. After the shock of unification had worn off, they believed service life would return to its orderly peacetime pace. But Trudeau made life in the forces more confusing and disruptive as reorganization and counter-reorganization became the rule instead of the exception. Nobody seemed to know what was going on, least of all Trudeau. The troops were marching in a fog without map or compass, the commander in the distance shouting orders and counter-orders, changing direction as often as the wind. By the time the rear guard had caught up, they were out of step again or going in the wrong direction.
"Did Trudeau know where he was going? After several tiresome years of marching in circles his own generals concluded he did not. Worse, the troops sensed that their own leader did not much care about them, no matter how hard or how long they worked to get the job done. Morale in the forces has become a serious problem, one which gets worse with each reorganization or policy shift.
"Trudeau's defence policies have been paradoxical, much like the man himself. He is an avowed pacifist, yet he did not hesitate to call the Army into the streets during the October Crisis of 1970. His famous "just watch me" reply when asked how far he was prepared to go to maintain law and order under the War Measures Act showed he understood - and was prepared to use - military power to preserve the peace, regardless of his personal convictions. In an attempt to understand why Trudeau has run the forces down to their present emaciated state, it is worth examining where the military fits within his political vision and how that vision has manifested itself in defence policies and government priorities.
"Throughout his tenure in the East Block, Trudeau has shown a strange misunderstanding, some say contempt, for Canada's armed forces. Few people would suggest that war is ever desirable, yet most realize there comes a time when a nation must defend itself against blind aggression or perish. Trudeau apparently failed to make such a distinction during the Second World War. He did not "join up" like many other young men of his age, preferring instead to continue his university education. During the 1968 leadership campaign that, like many other Quebeckers, he had been taught to "keep away from imperialistic wars".
"It is Trudeau's apparent misunderstanding about the true nature of the Second World War and the Allies life and death struggle against Nazi Germany which leaves his own generals puzzled. They believe that he either does not understand the role of the military in a free society or just does not like them. In any event, they continue to view each other coolly from a distance."
197 pages later
"Today, after a decade of Trudeau's mismanagement of the armed forces, Canada stands on the brink of the 1980s as a defenceless nation increasingly dependent on the goodwill and protection of better-equipped allies. As a peace loving country Canada does not desire to have a large and powerful military machine, but it does require a realistic one. It needs armed forces strong enough to defend the nation and to contribute a fair share to collective defence, particularly in these perilous times. Unfortunately, it no longer has them. The Canadian Forces, beaten back by successive volleys of crippling defence policies, are clearly in retreat.
"Only Canadians can decide whether their armed forces will be strong enough to meet the challenges of the future, or if they will continue to decline in military capability. That decision must be made soon because time is running out."
The end.
My comments:
After this book came out Joe Clark was elected Prime Minister for a few months and the Trudeau was returned to power for another four years.
In fairness it has to be said that Trudeau supplied materiel support to the CF. He bought Hueys, Kiowas, Chinooks, Auroras, Hornets, Grizzlies, Cougars, Huskies, Leopards and Tribals and laid the ground work for the Halifaxes.
The biggest hit against him is on the personnel and policy side. He didn't understand soldiers or soldiering. Just like he didn't understand farmers, ranchers, oilmen, Quebeckers or any other myriads of others he managed to aggravate.
He was a seminarian and a university boy who grew up in a bubble from which he never escaped.
op:
