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The Americanization of the Canadian Military

The Americanization of the Canadian Military. Two Visions. Post 9/11 Impacts. “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” (Bush 2001)

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The Americanization of the Canadian Military

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  1. The Americanization of the Canadian Military

  2. Two Visions

  3. Post 9/11 Impacts • “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” (Bush 2001) • “Traditional U.S. allies will find that calls for military, diplomatic and other support from Washington will be regarded a test of their loyalty.” (DND analysts 2001)

  4. Fortress North America • Pressure from U.S. to increase military spending • Buy U.S.-built military equipment • Join U.S.-led missions

  5. The Defence Lobby and Corporate Lobby alliance

  6. Canadian decisions • “Yes” to 2002 invasion of Afghanistan • “No” to 2003 invasion of Iraq • “No” to missile defence in 2005 • “Yes” to military spending increases and military transformation

  7. Military Spending 2005-2006 • $14.68 billion • Only 7% below spending at end of the Cold War • One of the highest in NATO in real dollars

  8. 1 United States $462,099 2 France $51,877 3 United Kingdom $48,918 4 Germany $37,920 5 Italy $30,642 Russian Federation (not NATO) $16,730 6 Spain $12,632 7 Canada $11,601 8 Turkey $10,207 NATO military spending 2004 (est. U.S. millions)

  9. Military salaries have already been increased Sales & Service $26,500 per year National average of all FT workers $40,000 per year

  10. Budget 2005 • $12.8 billion added over 5 years • Increase of 34% • Ralph Goodale: “Largest defence increase in 20 years.” • Conference of Defence Associations: “It’s staggering!”

  11. New Spending in Budget 2005 (millions over 5 years)

  12. Canada’s Military Spending 1980-2010 $14.68 Billion 2005-06 Canada’s Military Spending 1980-2010 $20 Billion by 2009-10 Budget 2005 Highest since WWII

  13. Lt. Gen. Rick Hiller Chief of Defence Staff Transformation from UN peacekeeper to U.S.-led war-fighter • “Our job is to be able to kill people.” • “These are detestable murderers and scumbags.” • “…we're not going to let them rob from Canada.”

  14. War-fighting with America War-fighting with America

  15. War-fighting with America • $150 million (U.S.) on Joint Strike Fighter program • $1 billion on submarines • $2.6 billion on CF-18 upgrades, incl. laser-guided bombs

  16. War-fighting with America • 2,000 troops being deployed to Afghanistan with U.S. & NATO • “This is not a peacekeeping mission.” • Relieving 4,000 U.S. troops for Iraq

  17. Afghanistan Afghanistan • Canadian commandos are operating with U.S. forces under U.S. command • They have killed combatants and handed prisoners over to U.S. military for “interrogation.”

  18. A Secret Army? • JTF2 Commandos • Arms purchases • Afghanistan combat operations • Missile defence

  19. Election 2006

  20. Harper’s Defence Platform • Implement Liberal program and increases, plus an additional $5.3 over 5 years • Defence spending will reach $25 billion per year by 2010

  21. SOMALIA Airborne Battalion

  22. Strategic Transport $2 billion

  23. Arctic Defence $3-5 billion

  24. Harper will reopen missile defence • If requested, will reopen missile defence discussions with U.S. • Will bring a deal to Parliament for a (non-binding) free vote.

  25. Dangers of Afghanistan • Clear mission? • Public support? • Exit strategy? • Canadian priority or US priority? • Risk of casualties? • Are we keeping the social contract with our troops?

  26. Suicide Bombings: Deadly Trend in Afghanistan (G&M, Jan 2006)

  27. Abandoning the U.N. $9.27 ($473 of $510 million) $0.31 ($34 million of $1.1 billion)

  28. Ranking of Military and PoliceContributions to UN OperationsMonth of Report : 31-Dec-05

  29. Make Poverty History? • Foreign aid • Military spending

  30. Lost opportunities • One helicopter (28 bought for $178 million each) • 1500 homes

  31. Lost opportunities • Two helicopters • Annual budget of Dalhousie University

  32. Canadians must reclaim defence policy Canadians must reclaim defence policy • Freeze military spending • Prevent integration with Pentagon • Review defence policy & role in the world • Include public participation

  33. Steven Staples, Polaris Institute • www.polarisinstitute.org • www.ceasefire.ca (sign up for our newsletters)

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