EvanL
07-25-2005, 04:10 PM
By DANIEL LEBLANC
Saturday, July 23, 2005 Updated at 4:10 PM EDT
TORONTO -- Canadians have yet to realize fully the extent of the dangers that have blossomed in failed states in the past decade and that are now facing Canada, General Rick Hillier said yesterday.
Speaking to military and security experts, the Chief of the Defence Staff said the post-Cold War era has seen a steady rise in terrorism and organized crime that poses a real danger to Canadians.
Gen. Hillier pointed to a picture of Afghan women and children standing in a field of poppies that will be used to make heroin, and called it a "weapon of mass destruction." He also compared some of the enemies facing Canadian troops overseas to killers Clifford Olson, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.
"I see the Canadian population right now, in general, waking up from a bit of a long slumber," he told the conference organized by the Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies.
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Gen. Hillier later told reporters that the relatively low level of awareness is similar in most countries, and that events such as the recent string of bombings in London are slowly driving home the point.
"Those threats weren't obvious and evident in our daily thoughts [during the Cold War]. All societies and countries realize those times have changed. Canada is starting to realize that," he said.
David Rudd of the CISS later added there is still a long way to go before Canadians fully grasp the dangers of terrorism.
"If Canadians are waking up to this, the wake-up period will be long. It certainly won't be overnight," Mr. Rudd said in an interview.
Gen. Hillier, who has been the top officer in the Canadian Forces for five months, is spending a good portion of the summer explaining his vision for the military and the reasons for the increased military presence in Afghanistan. Over the coming year, more than 2,000 Canadian troops will be deployed to the war-torn country in a series of missions that will focus in large part on the volatile region of Kandahar.
He said that if one of the soldiers dies in the line of duty, he wants to be sure that his or her family understands the good that Canada is doing in Afghanistan.
"I've pinned enough silver crosses on widows and moms in the past years that I tell you, when I send young men and women out of the country, I like to make sure they know why we're going," he said.
Armed with a growing budget, Gen. Hillier has laid out three goals for the Forces: defend Canada, contribute to North America security and help out in the world's hot spots.
His plan has won the approval of the Liberal government and has been applauded by the U.S. military.
Gen. Hillier is aggressively making his point, not shying away from blunt comments about the military being a lot more than a peacekeeping organization. He showed his audience a picture of hockey player Tie Domi engaged in a fistfight, likening his role to that of the Canadian Forces.
"That hard stuff is why we exist," he said.
Gen. Hillier told his audience, which included officials from the defence industry, that the private sector now has to play a greater part in the reconstruction of countries such as Afghanistan.
Gen. Hillier said that Ottawa's current 3-D strategy (defence, diplomacy and development) needs to be enhanced to include a greater business component. He likened the situation to the Team Canada missions of the past in which politicians and business leaders travelled to growing markets.
In particular, Gen. Hillier said that it is up to the private sector to provide jobs to people who leave militia groups in countries such as Afghanistan.
* © Copyright 2005 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, July 23, 2005 Updated at 4:10 PM EDT
TORONTO -- Canadians have yet to realize fully the extent of the dangers that have blossomed in failed states in the past decade and that are now facing Canada, General Rick Hillier said yesterday.
Speaking to military and security experts, the Chief of the Defence Staff said the post-Cold War era has seen a steady rise in terrorism and organized crime that poses a real danger to Canadians.
Gen. Hillier pointed to a picture of Afghan women and children standing in a field of poppies that will be used to make heroin, and called it a "weapon of mass destruction." He also compared some of the enemies facing Canadian troops overseas to killers Clifford Olson, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.
"I see the Canadian population right now, in general, waking up from a bit of a long slumber," he told the conference organized by the Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies.
Advertisements
Click Heread1
Register
Gen. Hillier later told reporters that the relatively low level of awareness is similar in most countries, and that events such as the recent string of bombings in London are slowly driving home the point.
"Those threats weren't obvious and evident in our daily thoughts [during the Cold War]. All societies and countries realize those times have changed. Canada is starting to realize that," he said.
David Rudd of the CISS later added there is still a long way to go before Canadians fully grasp the dangers of terrorism.
"If Canadians are waking up to this, the wake-up period will be long. It certainly won't be overnight," Mr. Rudd said in an interview.
Gen. Hillier, who has been the top officer in the Canadian Forces for five months, is spending a good portion of the summer explaining his vision for the military and the reasons for the increased military presence in Afghanistan. Over the coming year, more than 2,000 Canadian troops will be deployed to the war-torn country in a series of missions that will focus in large part on the volatile region of Kandahar.
He said that if one of the soldiers dies in the line of duty, he wants to be sure that his or her family understands the good that Canada is doing in Afghanistan.
"I've pinned enough silver crosses on widows and moms in the past years that I tell you, when I send young men and women out of the country, I like to make sure they know why we're going," he said.
Armed with a growing budget, Gen. Hillier has laid out three goals for the Forces: defend Canada, contribute to North America security and help out in the world's hot spots.
His plan has won the approval of the Liberal government and has been applauded by the U.S. military.
Gen. Hillier is aggressively making his point, not shying away from blunt comments about the military being a lot more than a peacekeeping organization. He showed his audience a picture of hockey player Tie Domi engaged in a fistfight, likening his role to that of the Canadian Forces.
"That hard stuff is why we exist," he said.
Gen. Hillier told his audience, which included officials from the defence industry, that the private sector now has to play a greater part in the reconstruction of countries such as Afghanistan.
Gen. Hillier said that Ottawa's current 3-D strategy (defence, diplomacy and development) needs to be enhanced to include a greater business component. He likened the situation to the Team Canada missions of the past in which politicians and business leaders travelled to growing markets.
In particular, Gen. Hillier said that it is up to the private sector to provide jobs to people who leave militia groups in countries such as Afghanistan.
* © Copyright 2005 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.