Section: Ottawa Citizen (Canada)
NATO commander says dealing with root causes of Islamic extremism key to winning Iraq war
It could very well be that 2014 is remembered as the year when Canada traded one shadow war for possibly two others, writes Murray Brewster of the Canadian Press. Here is the rest of Murray Brewster’s article: The flag was barely folded and put away in Kabul, marking a formal end to more than 12 years of counter-insurgency war against the...
Canada imposes new sanctions as Russia’s economy teeters
Canada is joining its allies in tightening the screws on Russian President Vladimir Putin, with new trade sanctions meant to put further pressure on Russia’s teetering economy. The new measures are in retaliation for Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. The measures target 20 Russians...
New C-17 transport plane purchase costing twice what other countries pay
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson says Canada will purchase another C-17 military transport aircraft from the U.S. but he didn’t explain why the plane appears to be costing taxpayers twice what other nations have paid. Nicholson said Friday that Canada would pay $415 million for the acquisition. Another $30 million would be spent for 12 years...
HMCS Fredericton preparing to head to Mediterranean Sea
The ship’s company of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Fredericton is preparing to deploy overseas to join the Standing NATO Maritime Forces in the Mediterranean Sea, the Department of National Defence noted in a news release issued today. The deployment is part of NATO measures to promote security and stability in central and...
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson in Trenton to make announcement Friday…another C-17 perhaps?
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson is heading to CFB Trenton Friday morning to will an announcement. “The announcement will be followed by a media photo opportunity,” says the Department of National Defence. It will all be taking place in Hanger 1 at the base. Some have suggested more non-lethal gear for Ukraine while others suggest it will be the...
Cohen: How Obama can reshape his legacy in 2015
There is a reason that second term presidents in their last two years are called lame ducks: with time running out, their prospects of further achievement narrow. Yet Barack Obama has a real opportunity to re-cast his legacy in 2015. He can do this by acting decisively in three theatres of the world where things are suddenly in play. In each,...
Letters: National Memorial to Victims of Communism
We must commemorate victims of communism Re: Jury member goes public with criticism of victims of communism memorial site, Dec. 15. As a grandson of a Polish officer murdered along with 10,000 other officers in March, 1940, at the Katyn Forest Massacre by the Soviet NKVD Secret Police on orders from Stalin, I am saddened to read that architects...
Claims that Russian military aircraft came dangerously close to passenger jet now being questioned
This is an interesting article from the Associated Press. Both the airline and the Russians are saying that this “incident” has been blown out of proportion by Sweden’s military…..essentially they are saying the incident never happened. Perhaps some anti-Russian/anti-Putin propaganda on the part of the Swedish military? Here is the...
J.L. Granatstein: Low Saudi oil prices are just part of a long game
How does a manufacturer beat down his competitors? Flood the market with goods and sell them at a low price, hoping to drive competitors into the ground. That, in essence, is what Saudi Arabia is doing with its recent tactics with its oil. In the last few weeks, the Saudis refused to agree to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries...
Looking for Christmas books: Governor General winners and nominees offer their picks
Michael Crummey, finalist in Fiction for Sweetland (Doubleday Canada) Pick: Lila, Marilynne Robinson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) I read Robinson’s National Book Award winner Gilead a few years back and was completely floored by it. Narrated by a bookish geriatric preacher in the American midwest who unexpectedly falls in love with an...
