National Defence committee  I had to be a realist. When I took an early retirement a couple of years earlier, in 1993, we were around 85,000. We then had the famous decade of darkness in which we started buying people out. In my perfect world, we'd probably be somewhere around 100,000--but I'll live with 8

National Defence committee  The reserves will always be picked on when there's a shortage of money. They've been picked on for all of their existence pretty well. “Screwed around” might even be a better description. It just happened recently that, just to be dramatic about it, one busload of reservists goin

National Defence committee  I don't want to be flippant, but it doesn't matter. NATO decided, and I certainly didn't agree with it, to bomb a sovereign nation, Serbia-Kosovo, without United Nations approval. They went back and checked a resolution that had the air defending the European community military m

National Defence committee  The ironic thing about the UN is that everything that's been added on since 1945--the UNHCR, UNICEF, WHO, the World Health Organization...although you will recall Mayor Lastman in Toronto didn't know WHO. Who are those WHO people about the SARS crisis? Anyway, all that to say th

National Defence committee  The Canadian-UN association made recommendations including that five or six years ago. It's well known. Any number of other nations have made similar recommendations, and you're absolutely right, it should reform, but the brick wall is the permanent five. That's the problem.

National Defence committee  Well, in those parts of the world that are critical to us, the Middle East being one of them, it is increased stability. And obviously, not close behind, but running side by side, is non-proliferation, dealing with the nuclear threat and the potential spread. I'm not terribly con

National Defence committee  The potential is there that in following the wash-up in NATO, two things will happen. Either NATO will survive and have to change... One of the Canadian recommendations is the simple introduction and implementation of a Canadian recommendation that unanimity can exist in Brusse

National Defence committee  I wasn't warned about that question, because the answer is yes, they've done very well, particularly on the amphibious side. They have ships on order.

National Defence committee  That's a great question, in that we don't have to remove anything because the troops are already here. They're already inland somewhere. The cost of the assault ships is very reasonable, and we have a navy that can escort them, including, hopefully, submarines. The Americans, the

National Defence committee  It's a great question, because there are criteria, and every country has them and the UN has them: identifiable end date, good chance of success, exit plan, criteria for success, in the national interest, etc. Every one of them is ignored, and they have been historically. They're

National Defence committee  Well, if nothing else, I might not be right, but at least I'm consistent in saying for the last three years that come 2011, we will not be in a position to leave the battle group there. We've ground the army into the ground, and we just don't have the numbers to maintain these fo

National Defence committee  It's a mug's game predicting the future, I must admit, but certainly, first of all, I think we should be looking west, significantly, into the Pacific area and Southeast Asia, etc. That's going to be of valuable economic benefit to us. We want to maintain a working relationship w

National Defence committee  Yes. I'm referring to the command and control. For example, Australia has done more with less than we have, but they were subcontracted for East Timor, after the UN's disaster where its civilian staff were slaughtered as a result of insufficient security forces. But I'm really

National Defence committee  The centre of gravity.

National Defence committee  It's a question that I'm sure a lot of people in this capital are wrestling with. My first point is that it starts from the top. There is a requirement at the very top of the national leadership to explain to the public. I hate the term “grassroots”, but I'm delighted with that