Section: Ottawa Citizen (Canada)
Big surprise – Russian military aircraft buzz HMCS Toronto
Three Russian military aircraft flew over HMCS Toronto, checking out the Canadian frigate as it was in the Black Sea. “While the Russian military aircraft that circled the HMCS Toronto did not in any way pose a threat to the Canadian ship, their actions were unnecessarily provocative and risk escalating tensions even further,” Defence Minister...
Eric Morse: Why NATO didn’t arm Ukraine
On Sunday, as the latest alleged ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine was showing signs of unravelling, an aide to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that five NATO countries would provide weapons to Ukraine. Heaven knows why he said it but within hours, four countries had denied it. That raises a question that was already floating to the top...
Pushing Russia into a corner increases danger to world, says NATO specialist
I had an article the other day about the role that NATO’s expansion since the end of the Cold War has played in the crisis in Ukraine. Here is Ian Davis, director of NATO Watch which is in the United Kingdom, on that subject: I find myself on the side of Cold War warrior Paul Nitze on this issue. In Congressional testimony in April 1998, he...
Letter: ‘Walk softly and carry a big’ twig?
Re: Canada’s tough guy act, Sept. 3. I have always found the adage “Walk softly and carry a big stick” interesting for the image it conjures in my mind. Walking softly, minding one’s own business, so to speak, not being pushy. But also carrying a big stick, ready to defend oneself. The imagery is clear as well as the message. This...
Iraq, Ukraine see Canada’s military footprint expand
The end of Canada’s decade-long involvement in Afghanistan was expected to bring a lull in Canadian military operations. Instead, the maple leaf is flying in even more countries thanks to developments in Ukraine and Iraq. Here is where Canadian military personnel and equipment are currently deployed on operations: Port-au-Prince, Haiti...
Opposition calls for vote, debate over Iraq deployment
The opposition New Democrats are raising the spectre of “mission creep” amid calls for Parliament to have a debate and vote before Canada sends any military personnel to Iraq. NDP defence critic Jack Harris says Canadians need to have a good idea of what the country is getting into and how far it is willing to go before sending troops into harms...
Wesley Wark: Where’s the megaphone on the threat to Canada?
The Conservative government has a strange way with public pronouncements on security issues. When it comes to the gravest of international crises, the government is prone to bold, headline-grabbing statements, whether on Putin’s role in stoking the flames in the Ukraine, or the threat posed by Iran, or the crisis in Syria/Iraq, or who is...
HMCS Toronto briefly sidelined because of engine repairs
By David Pugliese Defence Watch NEWPORT, Wales – HMCS Toronto was tied up in port for the last week for engine repairs and other issues, sources tell Defence Watch. Sources noted that when HMCS Toronto was in Halifax getting ready for deployment, the engineers and dockyard civilian employees informed their managers that certain parts on an engine...
Canadian military advisers headed to Iraq to help push back ISIL
NEWPORT, Wales — Several dozen Canadian soldiers will be sent to Iraq to advise that country’s military forces in fighting Islamic terrorists, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced here Friday. But Canada’s contribution could be further increased once a strategy with its allies has been worked out. The Canadians will join U.S....
Pugliese: How NATO backed Russia into a corner
NEWPORT, Wales – NATO leaders meeting here have been quick to brand Russia an aggressor state, intent on dominating Eastern Europe. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Russia “militaristic” and “imperialistic” while Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird suggested the country’s recent actions in Ukraine were akin to those...
