January 25, 2006
Restoring and Reviving the Canadian Military
By
Austin
Bay
Take two apparently
contradictory terms, and link them in a single phrase. The result
is an oxymoron, a figure of speech yoking a perceived contradiction
in terms. "Military intelligence" almost always rates
a chuckle, as does "jumbo shrimp." A skilled poet can
use an oxymoron to stir emotions beyond laughter. Shakespeare
riddled the tragedy of "Romeo and Juliet" with incongruous
verbal jolts like "cold fire" and "happy daggers."
The term "Canadian
military" should never be an oxymoron, but after a decade
of reduction and decline, what was once one of the world's most
able and elite combat organizations is now a hollow force.
The slide in defense
funding that began in the mid-1990s is one cause. The current
Canadian defense budget buys about 25 percent less bang and less
peacekeeping than it did 10 years ago.
With the end of the
Cold War, some reduction in force structure was understandable.
The defense cuts,
however, weren't simply based on a strategic assessment of finances
and the disappearance of the Soviet Union. Post-Cold War, North
American geography played a role. Here's that presumption: The
United States would always be there to defend Canada, so why bother
maintaining military forces?
That wasn't always
Canada's defense philosophy. At one time, when it came to defending
liberty and democracy, Canada punched way above its weight class,
and the Free World was thankful.
Prior to Pearl Harbor,
while the United States hid behind the false wall of "neutrality,"
Canada confronted with armed force the cultural and political
threat of fascist tyrants. At the end of World War II, Canada
had the world's third-largest navy. In 2006, despite having the
globe's second-largest nation in terms of landmass, Canada deploys
only three dozen or so warships and naval support vessels. Over
a million Canadians served during World War II, out of a population
of 12 million. Today, the expeditionary military that Nazi Germany
feared must juggle troops and equipment to sustain two battalion-sized
task forces in an overseas deployment.
The Nazis did indeed
fear and respect Canada. From Sicily to Normandy and on into Germany,
veteran Canadian divisions often formed the "hard core"
of an allied thrust. That wasn't a conspiracy by London to "let
the colonials be cannon fodder" -- it was recognition of
Canadian military capabilities and fighting spirit.
Canada's military
continues to attract outstanding men and women.
I have yet to meet
or serve with a Canadian soldier who failed to impress me with
his professionalism and discipline. In my experience -- in terms
of individual, quality personnel -- only Australian troops match
Canadians on a one-for-one basis.
Two years ago, I
had the privilege of serving with Australian troops in Iraq. The
Aussies are crack. In the mid-1970s, I had the privilege of working
with the 4th Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in then-West Germany.
In my opinion, the Canadian brigade was the best brigade in NATO,
which probably meant at that moment in time it was the best brigade
man-for-man in the world.
Today, Canada has
too few of these fine troops, and the superior troops Canada does
field are not supplied with the modern, first-rate weapons and
equipment they deserve -- at least, not in sufficient numbers.
The lack of military
punch weakens Canada as a global political player, because Canada
cannot act with a full spectrum of foreign policy options.
In many ways, the
Canadian rhetorical and political game of "We Aren't America"
is a reasonable, if semi-hypocritical posture. The game has actually
benefited the great cause of freedom. In Cold War situations where
American troops or observers might have escalated tensions, Canadians
could provide security, stability and democratic presence. Canada
could be the United States without Washington's alleged baggage.
Those of us who understood the stakes were thankful.
However, as the Canadian
military declined, the Canadian "We Aren't America"
game -- particularly under Paul Martin's Liberals -- degenerated
into rank, adolescent anti-Americanism. Is there a connection
between increasingly strident, appeasement-laden rhetoric and
the loss of military capability? I think the answer is "yes."
Canada's Conservatives
have managed a narrow victory and now confront the challenges
of a coalition government. Let's hope the first consensus Canadians
reach is to restore and revive the Canadian military.
Copyright
2006 Creators Syndicate
