A CHARM OFFENSIVE?

Now that the U.S. President has determined and announced the American strategy in Afghanistan: Pressure is quite likely to increase for Canada to remain involved in this war effort beyond our own exit plans of February 2011.

Despite a certain level of waning popularity in his own country; Canadians generally remain enthralled by, and enthusiastic for the President of the United-States. I would not be the least surprised if Mr. Obama's charm turns towards his northern neighbour to secure either additional troop commitments or some other Canadian initiatives in support of the American troop surge against the Taliban insurgents.

Despite the sordid tales of prisoner abuse which have dominated our national headlines for the past three weeks; Some observers are theorizing that a multi-national charm initiative may already be underway at America's behest. Just a few days ago the British Chief of Defence Staff, the U.K.'s top military commander, Air Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup, was ebullient in praise for Canada's military efforts in Kandahar province. NATO itself, of which Canada is a significant partner, is touting additional international troop commitments of more than 7000 soldiers in the wake of Mr. Obama's announcement on Tuesday evening. Next week, the President's hand-picked Field Marshall in Afghanistan, Army General Stanley McChrystal, heads to Washington where he's been called to update the Armed Services Committee of the American Congress. General McChrystal has one more stop scheduled before returning to the war...to Ottawa. He`ll meet with Defence Minister, Peter Mackay, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Walter Natynczyk, and other high ranking Canadian military officials. They are not likely to be discussing plans for the skating season on the Rideau Canal!

President Obama's trillion dollar American economic stimulus plan has been widely criticized by Canadian business, and a major cross-border irritant for the ``Buy American`` provisions it contains. Just as Prime-Minister Harper is returning from his own charm initiative with the Chinese government; word has leaked-out from Washington that a deal that fixes this infrastructure irritant is just about ready to be inked by Obama and Harper. And, the President will take it to Congress for approval after the Christmas break. In return for lifting the American protectionist measures; U.S. suppliers wìll be treated equally as Canadian companies on bids for contracts awarded by the ten provincial governments...Coincidence? Some conspiracy theorists might think not.

It may very well be, as some have predicted all along, that Canadians are headed into yet another debate about extending some form of commitment to the Afghanistan war effort beyond our firm departure date of February 2011. This time the President of the United States himself may proffer his considerable charm in support of the affirmative.

END OF NOVEMBER...

Well the 2009 CFL Season is now passed into the record books signalling once again that November is ending.

The dark dismal days of the fall season; the shortened hours of sunlight; the cold frequently miserable approach of the long winter in Canada: Little wonder that in the Roman Catholic Church tradition dictates that November is dedicated to remembering souls in purgatory.

In a newspaper column I read recently, author and humour writer Anne Hines, mused about what, other than the Grey Cup Game, might motivate Canadians to make it through the month. She managed to advance five reasonable reasons to explain why we're still around by the end of November - I am sure Ms Hines will not mind if I share her conclusions:
1. It's a well known fact (she claims) that calories consumed during November don't count.
2. Besides the Catholic "Holy Souls Day"; November has other fascinating trivia attached to it: November and March both begin on the same day of the week.
3. Unlike with our American brethren - There are no holidays in November that require cards, gifts or chocolates.
4. It's finally possible to get that really great restaurant table on the outdoor patio.
5. It's not February!

Now that we have survived November, we can all move-on to the madness of the holiday festivities rushing towards us at alarming speed...

LIKE BEGGING FOR SCRAPS

The Department of National Defence is attempting to deflect criticism by putting the best possible spin on news from the the U.S. Pentagon that the Americans will not share the sophisticated codes that program the new F-35 jet interceptor.

The Canadian government has invested half-a-billion dollars in the development of the F-35, "Lightning II", so-called Joint Strike Fighter, which made two maiden flights shrouded in secrecy at the Patuxet River (Maryland), Naval Air Station 10 days ago.

Canada is one of eight NATO members that have put-up a partner's share of the development costs of the jet fighter which is being built by Lockheed-Martin at the company's fabled California "Skunkworks". The partners have now been told by the Pentagon, in no uncertain terms, that "no country" will be given access to the software codes that program the aircraft's sophisticated electronic systems. Critics claim that without the codes, any participating or purchasing partner will require American involvement in maintaining and/or upgrading the future needs of the F-35. So incensed are the British that the U.K.'s air force has threatened to cancel its order for 138 of the jet fighters.

Canada has been looking at spending more than $10-billion to buy the fighter beginning in 2017 to replace our ageing fleet of the American (McDonald-Douglas) built CF-18 "Hornet". It appears that in order to deflect any criticism back home, National Defence has trotted-out a charm offensive over our significant joint involvement and sharing of resources with the Americans in NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defence Command. It just so happens that NORAD is currently undergoing a review of its resources which, since the end of the Cold-War, are more appropriately aimed at protecting major cities from attacks by terrorists. A Canadian, Major-General Pierre Forgues, is in charge of this review as Director of Operations for NORAD. He's now apparently been tasked with making the media rounds to tout our involvement in the protection of the continent.

The scenario playing-out over the development of the F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter" all sounds too familiar. Half a century ago the U.S. Government of President Dwight Eisenhower torpedoed the Canadian developed CF-105 Avro "Arrow" because it was superior to any aircraft the Americans then had in their fleet or in development, and they did not want that to occur. We were subsequently sold 75 used CF-101 "Voodoos" by the U.S. Air Force. The half-dozen "Arrows" build were cut-up for scrap and Canada lost the best and brightest brains of the world's aerospace sector. They emigrated to the United-States where they became the backbone of the Apollo "moonwalk" program a dozen years later.

FOLKS - THIS IS WAR.

Finally, Canadian sensibilities have apparently been offended by the revelations to a Committee of the House of Commons that Taliban prisoners captured by Canadian troops and turned over to Afghan police were tortured.

Though Canada "came of age" in the War To End All Wars between 1914 and 1918; and subsequently grew into one of the world's foremost economic and military powers in the Second World War from 1939 to 1945; we are neither a warring nation nor a combative people.

What is more shocking to me, and has been since we became involved in the Afghanistan fiasco as Jean Chretien's panacea to the folly of the American Iraq invasion; is how in this process we have obliterated our honoured international image and reputation as the planet's foremost peacekeeper.

In this endeavour, there is enough blame to share all around: The successive Liberal governments of Mr. Chretien and Paul Martin committed us to this error of our way. Just as appalling (more so perhaps) it seems the current government then concocted and orchestrated a ruse to cover-up allegations of prisoner abuses, and perhaps other of war's nasty fall-out, once the rumours began to circulate almost three years ago.

The charges from a senior diplomat, Richard Colvin, who then represented Canada in the Afghanistan capital and is now based at our Embassy in Washington are not shocking. The shock is in the aggressive campaign to discredit his testimony. Successive government spokespeople this week including Cabinet Ministers John Baird and Peter MacKay, as well as the former Chief-Of-Defence Staff, Rick Hillier, feigned ignorance of the allegations while (in some cases at least) openly calling into question Colvin's credibility. Except for the tragedy of the circumstances it was as if the Caribbean trio "The Baha Men" had reunited to carol - "(Who) Let The Dogs Out" - Give me a friggin' break!

The reality is that one Cabinet Minister, the hapless former Minister of Defence, Gordon O'Connor, already paid for this one by being unceremoniously demoted to Minister of Revenue (bean counter to the nation), from whence he's been uncharacteristically silent ever since...most noticeably in the aftermath of this week's Colvin confessions.

It will take decades (if ever) for Canada to regain the trust of the world, particularly in the conflict riddled emerging countries of the middle and near east, and reacquire our honourable reputation for fairness and a balanced approach to securing and maintaining peace in far off lands. Fessing-up to our mistakes instead of pillorying the messenger, and breaking free of Afghanistan before the conflict turns even uglier would be a good start.

ADJUVANT THIS!

In the wake of media stories over the weekend that hundreds of doses of the H1N1 vaccine have been dumped for being passed their "best before" date, Federal health officials are sheepishly admitting...Ho-Hum, it isn't much of a pandemic after all. Qu'elle surprise!

The country's Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. David Butler-Jones, says the rate of infection across Canada is about 8% in this second wave; mild even when compared to the annual "seasonal flu" outbreaks. Not anywhere near the pandemic "to end all pandemics" predicted, anticipated, perhaps even wished for by some authorities anxious to test their skills and preparedness. Sheesh! At the cost of terrifying; Nay! Scaring to death an entire country, and then having the gall to tell everyone to wait in line...No! Don't bother - We've run-out: Go home!

Interesting that fully a month into this manufactured crisis the Canadian media has begun to wake-up and do precisely the investigative leg work it should have been doing all along, instead of buying into the panic created by a rookie, inexperienced, clearly out-of-her-depths Federal Minister of Health and her Ottawa and Winnipeg based officials. If this was meant to be Minister Leona Aglukkaq's shinning hour, she has clearly missed this boat looking more often like a frightened deer caught in twin headlamps, than an accomplished federal official. What is it with those eye glasses anyway? - Hire her an image consultant please. (I digress!) Little wonder that recently it's been mostly other Ministers of the Crown rising in the House of Commons to deal with the difficult questions over this alleged pandemic.

Is it any wonder that Canadians and the public-at-large grow increasingly cynical of those they elect, the bureaucracy they hire, and the media pledged to uncovering the truth? In this case there is plenty of blame to go around. Starting with the World Health Organization anxious to press the panic button in the flame-out of the bogus Avian Flu predictions a couple of year's back. - Federal and provincial politicians and institutions eager to demonstrate preparedness after being caught with their proverbial "pants-down" over the SARS outbreak in 2003. - And, the media who failed miserably in their crucial role in a democracy to debunk the fabricated "crap" of politicians without any vision beyond their next run for re-election.

If the Auditor-General Sheila Fraser is right? (As she frequently is) Then God help us the day a real crisis erupts. Although countless millions have no doubt been spent, our Federal bureaucracy still has not managed to get a grip on the National Emergency Preparedness Plan it vowed to create in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 tragedies more than eight years ago. Amen!

NOT WRITING OFF THE "BLOC"

Commentators and pundits across Ottawa have been quick to signal the demise of the Bloc Quebecois in light of Monday's lower St.Lawrence River federal by-election; handily won by the Conservatives.

The respected Toronto Star and Le Devoir columnist, Chantal Hebert, has suggested the stigma of Quebec's ambivalence over the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has once and for all been eliminated with the election of Bernard Genereux, the popular Mayor of La Pocatiere, to the Federal House of Commons.

Mr. Genereux's election as a Conservative in this traditional Bloc stronghold though may have just as much to do with his immense local popularity, and his strong connections to the provincial Liberal government of Premier Jean Charest. In regional politics, particularly in ridings outside of the country's urban centres, the local politicians all know that it's best to hedge your bets and stay on good terms with "them that can help" regardless of Party affiliation. There are rumours along the lower half of the St. Lawrence River that the newly minted Tory M.P. sought and received support from at least three Liberal Members of Mr. Charest's government in organising his successful election. Nothing wrong there - Good for him!

The dirty little secret down around the riding's main community, Riviere-du-Loup, has been for years that political squabbles between the Federal and Provincial governments has delayed and postponed construction of the four lane highway #85 from the St. Lawrence River to the New Brunswick border near Edmundston to replace the monstrous two lane relic from the 1950's (Highway #185); known locally as the killer highway, for the scores of people killed accidentally along its 80 kilometres stretch.

In recent years the Federal Government has bankrolled construction of the 110 Km/hour four and six lane divided Highway #2 that slices through New Brunswick and into the heart of the Maritimes. But; it has never been able to come to reasonable accommodations with "independantiste" elements in Quebec to complete the missing 80 kilometre link. Perhaps with his connections Mr. Genereux may be able to help "grease the wheels". Thousands in the Maritime Provinces would surely be grateful.