Ever since the US Air Force came up with a truly Dr. Strangelove-worthy plan for upgrading the defence of North America (which, most thankfully, is still a proposal with as yet no Pentagon funding behind it, despite all the hype), …
Can Canada emulate New Zealand with some independent security thinking?
Using Five Eyes as a political pressure group is a very bad idea An important recent example of a small country, New Zealand, diplomatically, but firmly, resisting American pressure to fall in line with a catastrophically bad example of “mission …
We need a made-in-Canada China policy
Canadian analysis and Canadian interests must be at the heart of our China policy On 24 September 2021 Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou struck a deal with US prosecutors in a “deferred prosecution agreement”, whereby she did not plead guilty to …
Avoiding needless confrontation in the Arctic and rebuilding Canadian disarmament diplomacy
The last thing the Canadian Arctic needs is British military meddling An article by CBC senior defence writer Murray Brewster features the headline Britain offers Canadian military help to defend the Arctic. Bear in mind that we have an elaborate …
Aussie/UK/US pact threatens global efforts to stem spread of nukes
A “terrible decision” for nuclear non-proliferation On September 15, 2021 the American, British and Australian leaders announced a new strategic partnership, with the acronym AUKUS, intended to improve security in the Indo-Pacific. President Biden stated: Today, we’re taking another historic …
Course correction long overdue for Global War on Terror
9/11: Lessons unlearned from GWOT (of which Afghanistan is one tragic part) Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them…. Every nation in every region now has a decision to make: Either you are …
Gun control, space security, Afghanistan and re-imagining Canada in the world
Conservative dissembling on gun control Given the continuing legacy of the Polytechnique massacre of 1989, it is no surprise that gun control was a hot topic in the French language federal election leaders’ debate, sponsored by major Quebec broadcaster TVA …
No easy answers for Afghanistan
What next for Afghanistan – Part Three Our last two blogs have focused on the catastrophic failure of the US-led military intervention in Afghanistan and why that dismal outcome was a virtual inevitability without a change in course — in …
2021 federal election week one: Climate crisis and peril in Afghanistan
A leaders’ election debate on the climate crisis is an urgent necessity Four leading Canadian recipients of the Order of Canada, Margaret Atwood, Stephen Lewis, Michael Ondaatje and David Suzuki, have written to David Johnson, head of the Leaders’ Debate …
Foreign Policy Issues to ponder while RI takes a short summer break
RI is taking a two-week pause We are embarking on a two-week summer hiatus so watch for our next blog on Monday 23 Aug 2021. In the meantime, here are some of the foreign policy issues we are watching closely. …
State-sponsored espionage whether Chinese or American puts us all at risk
Cyber espionage and the real problem with 5G Technologies To put things in a nutshell, the United States has won its all-in war against Huawei. Those words were written by Wesley Wark, one of Canada’s foremost national security experts, in …
Canada gets Cuba policy right, why DND does not need new subs and much more
Canadian Cuba policy opposing trade embargo and urging dialogue is the right one In an “analysis” entitled As Cuba erupts, Cuban-Canadians accuse the Trudeau government of turning its back, CBC’s Evan Dyer references this statement from Global Affairs Canada: Global …
