‘Under the guise’

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 1:12 PM - 0 Comments

After it was reported in September that he had been airlifted out of a fishing trip by a Canadian Forces helicopter, Defence Minister Peter MacKay was called to explain his actions in the House of Commons. His first response came to a question from Liberal MP Scott Simms.

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the question from the honourable member, I was in fact in Gander in July of 2010, on a personal visit with friends for which I paid. Three days into the visit I participated in a search and rescue demonstration with 103 Squadron of 9 Wing Gander. I shortened my stay by a day to take part in that demonstration and later flew on to do government business in Ontario.

The NDP’s Jack Harris asked the minister next and Mr. MacKay restated his version of events.

Mr. Speaker, I think I just explained that I shortened a personal visit to take part in a search and rescue demonstration in Gander.

Now the Star has obtained emails that detail the preparation, planning and internal concerns around that pick-up. Continue…

The science and politics of risk

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, October 31, 2011 at 9:30 AM - 0 Comments

The first death since the Canadian Forces transitioned to a training mission in Afghanistan prompts consideration of risk.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says “significant risks” remain for Canadians serving as military trainers in Afghanistan. He made his comments Sunday after the death of a Canadian military trainer — the first since the training mission began earlier this year — who lost his life after his convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber. Nearly a year ago, when Harper committed Canadian troops to a three-year training mission in Kabul, he predicted it would pose “minimal risks for Canada.”

Last month, Canadian soldiers were involved in a firefight after an attack was launched against the US Embassy in Kabul.

Last year, the Prime Minister reversed course and ordered an extension to the military engagement in Afghanistan. Upon first addressing the matter in the House, he said the new mission would be “a training mission that will occur in classrooms behind the wire in bases.”

Consequently, he said a vote in Parliament wasn’t necessary. The Liberal opposition generally agreed. The NDP was not pleased. The House later debated and defeated a Bloc Quebecois motion that sought to “condemn the government’s decision to unilaterally extend the Canadian mission in Afghanistan until 2014.”

Defence Department to freeze membership of Canadian Forces, sell properties

By macleans.ca - Monday, October 24, 2011 at 12:12 PM - 5 Comments

The Canadian Forces are set to cap membership at 68,000 troops, while the Defence Department and military are looking to sell off properties and shut down facilities, according to documents obtained by The Ottawa Citizen. The moves are part of the military’s plan to trim its budget between now and 2016. The Defence Department’s holdings include about half of all federally owned buildings, or 21,000 units—of which 318 are considered cultural and historic sites,—as well as 2.25 million hectares of land. Speaking with the Citizen, Liberal Sen. Colin Kenny said closures make sense, since some underused facilities are costing the government millions of dollars to keep open. He pointed to Newfoundland and Labrador’s Goose Bay site as an example. But he also called for financial compensation packages for the communities in which Defense Department facilities are to be closed.

Ottawa Citizen

The Commons: A fishing story

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 3:19 PM - 8 Comments

The Scene. Peter MacKay, as is his habit, was up before the questioner was even through. This is, presumably, what the Defence Minister does to demonstrate confidence. Or impatience. Or a general disregard for proper manners.

The poser of the question in this case was Scott Simms, the diminutive Liberal from Bonavist-Gander-Grand Falls-Windsor. “Mr. Speaker, we now know, with great regret, that the Minister of National Defence ordered his search and rescue helicopter to pick him up from his vacation on the Gander River,” he lamented. “The response is ‘It was a demonstration of their capabilities.’”

There was much groaning and grumbling from the government side.

“He feels that he is entitled to use vital life-saving equipment for his own personal limousine, and we would like for him to answer to it,” Mr. Simms continued. “The Prime Minister has suggested that the chief of defence staff pay back the money for his personal flights. Will the Minister of Defence do that same, pay back the $16,000 and apologize?”

As noted, Mr. MacKay was already up, apparently eager to state his case. Continue…

The minister and the helicopter

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 8:45 AM - 5 Comments

Defence Minister Peter MacKay apparently had one of Newfoundland’s three search-and-rescue helicopters dispatched to pick him up from a fishing trip.

MacKay’s office defended the move, saying it was an opportunity for the defence minister to see the helicopters’ search-and-rescue abilities up close. ”After cancelling previous efforts to demonstrate their search-and-rescue capabilities to Minister MacKay over the course of three years, the opportunity for a simulated search and rescue exercise finally presented itself in July of 2010,” a statement from MacKay’s office said. ”As such, Minister MacKay cut his personal trip to the area short to participate in this Cormorant exercise.”

However, military sources say no search-and-rescue demonstration was planned until the very day MacKay’s office made the request to pick him up.

Too many bureaucrats, not enough troops

By Paul Wells - Friday, September 16, 2011 at 10:00 AM - 28 Comments

Cpl Bruno Turcotte/DND

Why was a Canadian military with 65,000 men and women on active duty and 25,000 reservists sorely tested by the task of keeping 1,500 soldiers in the field in Afghanistan? Why are Arctic sovereignty patrols a strain on the same military? The way Andrew Leslie sees it, it’s because the Canadian Forces’ tail has grown bigger than its teeth.

“We have the same number, or slightly more people, in Ottawa that we have in the Royal Canadian Navy—20,000,” Leslie was saying the other day. By “Ottawa,” he meant the personnel working in command and support functions at National Defence headquarters, not far from Parliament Hill.

So that’s about as many people riding desks as the Canadian Forces has riding boats. “And we have a lot of coastline,” said Leslie, who until the first week of September was a lieutenant-general in the Canadian Forces. “And we have really busy ships’ crews.”

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A series of fortunate events on 9/11

By Michael Friscolanti - Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 9:20 AM - 0 Comments

Photograph by Blair Gable

Aylah Mitic, a few weeks away from her third birthday, is sitting at the kitchen table, fiddling with jars of Play-Doh and pouring imaginary cups of tea. Her father, Jody, is beside her, a pair of grey running shoes covering his two prosthetic feet. “I don’t know if she’s even clued in that mom has feet and dad doesn’t,” Mitic says. “I’ve been waiting for the questions, though. At daycare, I sometimes walk in with shorts and the other kids say: ‘What’s up with your legs?’ I just say: ‘They’re my magic legs.’ ”

“It’s normal to her,” adds Aylah’s mom, Alannah Gilmore. “It’s funny, but sometimes she’ll say: ‘Daddy, put your legs on. Let’s go!’ ”

Ten years ago, when Daddy still had his real legs, Aylah’s parents-to-be were stationed at CFB Petawawa. He was a sniper in training, she was a medic, and they had never met. But like thousands of other Canadian soldiers whose careers were forever changed on that September morning, Master Cpl. Mitic and Sgt. Gilmore would be off to Afghanistan—and a fateful encounter with a land mine.

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Friendly fire

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 11:04 AM - 17 Comments

Rick Hillier, whose “decade of darkness” quip is a favourite reference of the Harper government, says the Conservatives will “destroy” the Canadian military if they go ahead with cuts they are reportedly considering.

“You try to implement that report as it is and you destroy the Canadian military,” Hillier told CTV’s Power Play on Tuesday. “You simply can’t take that many people out of command and control functions…

“There are some areas where you can do some cuts and the Canadian Forces will have to pay a price, but to implement that report would not be wise,” Hillier said in the interview. “If you take a billion dollars out, you will lessen military operational capability.”

Good news, bad news: August 11-18, 2011

By macleans.ca - Monday, August 22, 2011 at 1:00 PM - 0 Comments

Good news

Serena Williams celebrates winning the Rogers Cup. (Reuters/Peter Jones)

Military pride

Forty-three years after Canada adopted the ugliest of bureaucratic names for its military services, Ottawa has reversed itself. Now, Land Forces Command will once again be called the Canadian Army; the Royal Canadian Navy replaces Maritime Command; and Air Command returns to the Royal Canadian Air Force. While some opponents call the royal names divisive, the Canadian Forces calls them an “important and recognizable” part of our military heritage. But let’s hope it doesn’t put a crimp in the military’s budget: that’s a lot of letterhead to replace.

The oracle has spoken

Warren Buffett says it’s time to stop coddling billionaires. In an opinion piece this week, the famous investor argues ultra-wealthy Americans like himself should pay income tax at the same rate as the middle class. “People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off,” he wrote. It’s a useful counterpoint to anti-tax conservatives like U.S. presidential hopeful Rick Perry, who said recently that making the rich pay income taxes kills investment. Shared sacrifice, both in spending cuts and higher taxes, are needed to get the U.S. economy back on track.

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Leaving hope behind in Kandahar

By Adnan R. Khan - Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 9:10 AM - 1 Comment

Photograph by Adnan R. Khan

Twilight in Kandahar city is not what it used to be. The light, of course, is the same as it was a half-decade ago: as the sun settles behind jagged mountain peaks, the dust kicked up by sweltering desert winds forms a natural filter in the sky, turning sunlight into an ochre-shaded mixture that settles over the city’s streets. But these days, the vermillion hues feel more ominous. Ghulam Nabi feels it: the long-time Maclean’s Kandahar fixer shifts uneasily in the passenger seat of the parked taxi cab, furtively glancing at the thinning crowds on Kandahar’s eastern outskirts. The driver, sitting in the backseat, feels it as well, as he sits unusually still and silent. The man in the driver’s seat, talking animatedly with his torso twisted to face the back, is the only person who seems not to notice the fact that the streets are quickly falling silent, that the wind is picking up force and, most worryingly, that even the police have disappeared.

“The U.S. forces destroyed my village,” the man says in a deep voice, speaking of his home in Sachai, just 35 km west of Kandahar city. “They told us our village was a Taliban stronghold so they ordered all the villagers to leave and levelled the homes; they stripped the land of its gardens and orchards, built roads for their tanks and turned it into a military base. This is what has become of Sachai since the Americans took over control from the Canadians. But what do the Americans think they are doing? The Taliban are everywhere. If the U.S. is going to destroy places where they are, they will have to destroy all of Kandahar. Now the people from Sachai have all come to the city and they hate the Americans. They all support the Taliban.”

As he whips his hand around his head in a sweeping motion, the 32-year-old construction worker suddenly becomes aware of the darkness descending over Kandahar city. His features shift from the intensity of storytelling to thinly veiled panic. “I don’t know about you people,” he says urgently. “You can stay here if you want, but I’m leaving.” With that the interview abruptly ends. The man, who only agreed to speak to Maclean’s on condition of anonymity, gets out of the car and walks quickly down a narrow alleyway and disappears into a maze of mud walls.

Continue…

A decade in Afghanistan

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, July 8, 2011 at 9:22 AM - 10 Comments

Murray Brewster summarizes the end of the military mission and considers the potential for peace. Stephanie Levitz looks at the aid effort. Dene Moore looks at those left wounded.

From our Michael Petrou, three stories: Standing firm in Afghanistan, Another civil war in Afghanistan? and Canada’s next mission.

The National Post prints stories from those on the front lines and the Walrus publishes portraits of the dead.

And thoughts from Campbell Clark, Shaun Francis, Olivia Ward, Heidi Kingstone, JL Granatstein and Brian Hutchinson.

This bomb’s for you

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 10:42 AM - 29 Comments

John Baird leaves his mark in Libya.

In keeping with a long-held air force tradition, Baird signed a Canadian bomb destined for Gadhafi’s infrastructure with the message: “Free Libya. Democracy.”

Covering Afghanistan: logistics and ethics

By Michael Petrou - Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 10:13 AM - 2 Comments

I have recently returned from Afghanistan. The first of several articles appeared in last week’s magazine and was posted online earlier this week. A second appears in print today.

Given that I have previously criticized journalists accepting junkets, I think I’m obligated to reveal and discuss the nuts and bolts of my reporting over there.

To get to Kandahar, I accompanied Lt.-Gen. Peter Devlin, Canada’s chief of the land staff, on a military flight from Ottawa to Kandahar, with a stop at the Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. The Canadian Forces covered the cost of this leg.

Myself and reporter Alec Castonguay then toured throughout Panjwaii district, including several forward operating bases and patrol bases, with foot and light-armoured vehicle (LAV) patrols between them. During this time I was dependent on the Canadian Forces for food, water, and shelter. The also provided me with protective kit, including a ballistic vest, glasses, and helmet. Maclean’s covered other incidental costs, the most pricey of which was life insurance. Continue…

Standing firm in Afghanistan

By Michael Petrou - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 10:30 AM - 0 Comments

CPL Tina Gillies/DND/MDN

The staccato chattering sound of machine-gun fire drifts over Canada’s forward operating base at Masum Ghar in Afghanistan’s Panjwaii district shortly after dusk. The prolonged bursts are answered by other angry shots until, after a couple of minutes, the echoes fade away and silence returns. “That’s probably Wilson killing somebody,” says a soldier relaxing on a makeshift bench outside the metal shipping containers where many of them sleep on stacked bunks. Wilson is an American patrol base a few kilometres north of Masum Ghar, across the Arghandab River in Zhari district.

At dawn, from the same direction, the muffled crunch of a distant explosion sends a mushrooming plume of dust skyward above the green cultivated fields and rough mud compounds that spread from Masum Ghar beyond the river. It might have been an improvised explosive device, discovered and intentionally triggered, or perhaps something deadlier. No gunfire follows the blast, only birdsong and the puttering hum of a man coaxing a motorbike along a rutted dirt path.

“It’s the Americans at Wilson,” says another soldier. “They get more contact than we do. It’s closer to the highway, and now, with the prison break, there are 400 more Taliban there.”

Continue…

Meanwhile, in Libya

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 1:28 PM - 15 Comments

While the NATO mission grinds on, officials confirm that Canadian jets have dropped 240 laser-guided bombs on Libyan targets so far. David Pugliese reported last week that each bomb costs approximately $100,000 and that the Defence Department has ordered another 1,300.

In other news, Foreign Affairs confirms that Canada has been in contact with the Libyan Transitional National Council.

In other news

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 11:49 AM - 15 Comments

Last evening, after four hours of debate, the House unanimously approved the following motion.

That, in standing in solidarity with those seeking freedom in Libya, the House welcomes United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973; that the House deplores the ongoing use of violence by the Libyan regime against the Libyan people; acknowledges the demonstrable need, regional support and clear legal basis for urgent action to protect the people of Libya; consequently, the government shall work with our allies, partners and the United Nations to promote and support all aspects of UNSC Resolution 1973, which includes the taking of all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in Libya and to enforce the no-fly zone, including the use of the Canadian Forces and military assets in accordance with UNSC Resolution 1973; that the House requests that the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and the Standing Committee on National Defence remain seized of Canada’s activities under UNSC Resolution 1973; that should the government require an extension to the involvement of the Canadian Forces for more than three months from the passage of this motion, the government shall return to the House at its earliest opportunity to debate and seek the consent of the House for such an extension; and that the House offers its wholehearted support to the men and women of the Canadian Forces.

Detained and transferred

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, February 7, 2011 at 3:49 PM - 3 Comments

On Friday, the Defence Department released statistics on the number of individuals detained and transferred during operations in Afghanistan in 2009. The year set a new high mark for the number of those detained, but only 40% of those individuals were transferred.

In 2009, the CF detained 225 individuals. One (1) individual detained in 2008 remained in custody into 2009, bringing the total of detained individuals in 2009 to 226. Of the 226, 126 were released by the CF, while 92 were transferred. One (1) individual died of wounds as a result of injuries suffered on the battlefield. The individual passed away at the Role 3 hospital while receiving medical care. Seven (7) individuals were detained near the close of 2009 but remained in CF custody until 2010.

The best plane money can buy

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, January 24, 2011 at 12:40 PM - 65 Comments

While two former members of the Canadian military defend the purchase of new F-35s, an American military analyst questions the cost.

I can guarantee to you, however, that the unit cost Canada will pay for a complete, operational F-35A will be well in excess of $70 million – even taking into account whatever exclusion of American costs to develop the aircraft your government may be able to negotiate. If and when Canada signs an actual purchase contract for F-35As in 2014, as I understand is currently planned, the real question is what multiple of CAD$70 million will Canada have to pay?  I do not believe it unreasonable to expect a multiplication factor of two.

What's a life worth?

By Michael Friscolanti - Monday, January 10, 2011 at 9:40 AM - 7 Comments

Compensation for an innocent’s death ‘is very appropriate’ in Afghanistan; A Canadian Forces vehicle | Rahmat Gul/AP, Master Corporal James Ross/Canadian Forces

From a strictly legal standpoint, the Canadian military is not responsible for Afghan civilians caught in the crossfire of war. Like every nation with boots on the ground, Canada signed an agreement with Afghanistan’s government that waives any liability for so-called “collateral damage,” including property destruction, injury, and even death. Simply put, the deal ensures that if soldiers in the heat of combat accidentally destroy a farmer’s field—or mistake that same farmer for a Taliban insurgent, and open fire—Ottawa is safe from lawsuits.

But that doesn’t mean the army ignores the innocent (and inevitable) victims of Canadian missions. Instead of “compensation,” a term that implies a certain acceptance of blame, the Forces provides ex-gratia awards—a one-time, no-strings-attached payment made “out of kindness,” not obligation. JAG lawyers in Kandahar can approve such claims up to $2,000 (anything higher requires a signature from the deputy minister of defence), and according to the latest figures, the handouts are growing larger and more common.

Continue…

Newsmakers

By macleans.ca - Friday, January 7, 2011 at 9:00 AM - 0 Comments

All’s well that ends well
Shania Twain tied the knot on New Year’s Day in Rincon, Puerto Rico, with Frédéric Thiébaud, the ex-husband of her ex-best friend, who apparently was too friendly with her ex-husband, Mutt Lange. Twain was escorted down the aisle by her nine-year-old son, Eja. “I’m in love!” she wrote in her blog last month.

Drummers, they get no respect
It’s no surprise the birthplaces of the Beatles have a special place in their countrymen’s hearts. Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, where John Lennon was born, has been preserved and converted into apartments. Walton Hospital, Paul McCartney’s birthplace, has likewise been maintained and converted into luxury apartments. People still live in George Harrison’s birthplace, 12 Arnold Grove. Then there’s Ringo Starr, whose childhood home faces the wrecking ball. British Housing Minister Grant Shapps has urged Liverpool council to reconsider plans to raze the rundown row house at 9 Madryn Street, where the former Richard Starkey was born, as part of a redevelopment plan. Ringo has said the house should be “done up” rather than knocked down. The campaign is on behalf of fans, who contribute millions to the local economy, says the group Save Madrin Street. It’s not for Ringo, “who has enough homes of his own.”

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How many? (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, December 2, 2010 at 7:48 PM - 13 Comments

For the fourth consecutive day, Lawrence Cannon was pressed during QP to say how many children have been detained and transferred by the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan. For the fourth consecutive day, this did not result in an answer.

Afterward I emailed Mr. Cannon’s office with the following.

According to the Canadian Forces records released in September, 439 individuals were detained by the CF in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2008. Two-hundred and eighty-three of those individuals were transferred. Two questions: How many of those detained were juveniles? How many of those transferred were juveniles?

That was eventually forwarded to the Department of National Defence, which responds as follows. I’ve bolded the portion that seems most particularly applicable to the questions at hand. Continue…

How many?

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, December 1, 2010 at 12:21 PM - 5 Comments

Aside from a fire alarm, Question Period was highlighted, if that’s the right word, yesterday by various attempts to coax the government side into providing specific information on the transfer of children detained in Afghanistan. Jack Layton, Jean Dorion and Bob Rae all failed to find the right combination of words that unlocks such secrets—notably on the question of how many children have been transferred.

The number of detainees transferred by Canadian Forces was, until this past September, a matter of operational security. Since then the Canadian Forces has committed to releasing such data.

Although some types of Afghanistan detainee-related information remain OPSEC in nature, basic statistical information such as number of persons detained, released, transferred and deceased, does not pose OPSEC concerns. Additionally, the CF has determined that releasing cumulative detainee-related statistics would not pose a threat to Canadians or our allies in the field. In light of these considerations, and in the interest of accuracy and transparency, historical detainee data will now be released on an annual basis – once per calendar year after being protected by the CF for a period of 12 months.

Mitchel Raphael on the Belinda connection to MacKay's hot date

By Mitchel Raphael - Thursday, November 25, 2010 at 1:00 PM - 8 Comments

MacKay’s new romance?
There was much buzz about Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s date for the True Patriot Love fundraiser for Canadian troops held in Toronto. MacKay arrived at the dinner with former Miss World Canada Nazanin Afshin-Jam. Rumours of a romance have been reported. The interesting twist is that back in 2006, Afshin-Jam was on the Hill talking to MPs and fighting to save the life of another Iranian who shares her first name, Nazanin Fatehi. Fatehi stabbed one of the men who attempted to rape her and was sentenced to hang. (She was eventually released.) One of the MPs who helped Afshin-Jam at her Ottawa press conference was former Liberal MP (and former MacKay girlfriend) Belinda Stronach.

Coffee, compost and the PMO
The closest coffee place to the PMO, which is in the Langevin Block, used to be a Tim Hortons. A while back it was replaced with a Bridgehead café, known for its fair trade and organic coffees. Not only does Bridgehead have recycling bins, it has compost bins as well. Bridgehead staff say they see a lot of PMO staffers come in and also note that NDP Leader Jack Layton gets his hot beverages there too. When PM spokesperson Dimitri Soudas was spotted with a Bridgehead hot apple cider, he said his choice of coffee purveyor was based purely on convenience and was in no way a political statement.

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Flying into trouble

By Chris Sorensen and Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, November 23, 2010 at 10:10 AM - 62 Comments

Using its Airbus A380s, Emirates wants to offer daily flights to Toronto; Rovinescu accuses Emirates of being a foreign predator | Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images; Darryl Dyck/CP

In early October, Canada’s armed forces learned they had just one month to pack up and move a key Mideast military base used to support the war in Afghanistan. Located in the United Arab Emirates, Camp Mirage has been used primarily as a transfer point for Canadian Forces flying to and from Kandahar. For the past eight years, it had provided the Forces with a safe place to land and refuel hulking Hercules transport planes while weary soldiers relaxed at a makeshift camp, complete with a ball-hockey rink.

But the desert oasis, a short drive from Dubai’s beaches and air-conditioned shopping malls, ceased to be part of the military’s operations as of Nov. 3, following a high-level spat between Ottawa and the U.A.E. over commercial airline flights between the two countries.

It was an abrupt end to a long-standing strategic relationship between the countries, and it sent the military scrambling. “It’s a pain in the ass for all these guys who are supposed to be doing other things,” says Douglas Bland, the chair of defence management studies at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University. “Now they have to stop, pack up and move all of this equipment.” At no small cost: by some estimates $300 million.

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