U.S. sees Canada as 'weak, socialist'
Forces, defence groups deplore loss of influence due to underfunding
Mike Blanchfield
The Ottawa Citizen
ADVERTISEMENT
Senior Defence Department officials concede Canada has a hard time getting the attention of the Pentagon because it's seen as a "junior partner" to the powerful U.S. military.
Defence officials privately owned up to that reality earlier this year, the Ottawa Citizen has learned, when they examined whether it was appropriate for Canada to have a major-general assigned to its embassy in Washington as the country's military attaché when his U.S. counterpart was a lower-ranking officer, a colonel.
They decided against lowering the rank of the defence attaché, concluding that pulling a general out of Washington and replacing him with a colonel might send the wrong signal to the U.S. Department of Defence.
"DoD is setting the standard for leading-edge application of technological progress to the military profession. In comparison, the CF (Canadian Forces) has little to offer," states an April internal memo, obtained by Ottawa researcher James Murray under the Access to Information Act.
"Hence it is understandable that the primary responsibility for safeguarding the bilateral defence relationship falls to the 'junior partner' with the most to gain or lose, Canada."
The correspondence between senior military planners in Ottawa also confirms that Defence Department brass share the same concern as many critics of Canada's beleaguered military are voicing these days: that Canada's influence abroad -- especially in the U.S. -- is dwindling because of a weak, poorly funded military.
That view was also put forth in a report released yesterday by the Conference of Defence Associations, which criticizes the government for neglecting the Forces. The report says Washington believes the Forces are "freeloading" off the U.S. because of years of underfunding.
"Because of its weak defence efforts, Canada no longer has a seat at many tables," says the report. "The current generation of leaders in the U.S. perceives Canada as a militarily weak socialist nation of little importance."
How Canada's military is perceived in Washington was on the minds of planners earlier this year when they considered the question of the military attaché assigned to Washington. They decided it was worth keeping a general in the post because "it is a reflection of the benefits available" to Canada.
"This environment leads to an immutable conclusion: the bilateral defence relationship will only be maintained or strengthened if Canada applies significant effort to communicate on a day-to-day basis at the general/flag officer level with members of DoD, the Joint Staff and U.S. Forces," says the memo written by Rear Admiral I.D. Mack to Maj.-Gen. Michel Maisonneuve, the assistant deputy chief of the defence staff.
In the House of Commons yesterday, Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper said the government's neglect of the military is making the Forces more dependent on its allies, especially the U.S.
Mr. Harper cited the Forces' lack of strategic airlift to transport troops and equipment to international as well as domestic trouble spots.
"We even rely on American transport to transport our troops to domestic trouble spots, such as the Manitoba flood or the Quebec ice storm," Mr. Harper charged.
"How will the government ensure Canadian sovereignty and ensure that we are not completely dependent on our American neighbours?"
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien suggested in the Commons that a "reasonable" budget increase is on the way for the Forces.
"During the last three years we have increased the budget very substantially for the Department of National Defence," Mr. Chrétien said.
"We hope to do the same thing in a reasonable way in the years to come."
© Copyright 2002 The Ottawa Citizen |
