- Reaction score
- 2,535
- Points
- 1,260
Am I the only person reading this thinking the military is involved, but there has to be a VERY high level political OK before people can go in theatre?
Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act.
Military draws heat over visits to Afghanistan
Bars senators, oks supporters
Mike Blanchfield, National Post, 16 Nov 06
Permalink
OTTAWA - The military says Kandahar is not safe for visits by
committees of MPs, senators or the Governor-General, but recently
welcomed a taxpayer-assisted junket of retired senior officers, all
of who routinely appear in the media to support the controversial
mission.
The trip has drawn criticism from at least one pundit who was not
invited -- and who has been openly critical of the government's
conduct of the Afghanistan deployment. It has also prompted a
warning from one senator to the government not to play politics with
who it allows to visit its soldiers.
The group of retired military officers included a former admiral,
two former generals and at least one retired colonel. They spent
several days in Afghanistan in late October and early November,
travelling first to Kabul and then to Kandahar Air Field, where the
group was on hand for the change of command of the NATO mission from
a Canadian to a Dutch general.
General Rick Hillier, the chief of the defence staff, invited the
group, which included retired major-general Lewis Mac Kenzie, a
well-known military commentator; retired colonel Alain Pellerin, the
executive director of the Conference of Defence Associations, a
leading military lobby group; retired rear admiral Ken Summers, a
frequent television military pundit; Don Macnamara, a retired
brigadier-general and senior fellow in international relations at
Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.; and Alex Morrison, president
of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies.
"I was a bit surprised that they did not extend this invitation to
me since I have been fairly active in the debate along with many of
the other analysts," said Steven Staples of the left-leaning Polaris
Institute, an organization that has heavily criticized the military
intervention in Afghanistan and which has aligned itself with the
NDP, which wants the government to bring Canadian troops home.
The visit came several weeks after the Senate committee on national
security and defence spent a week in nearby Dubai waiting in vain
for permission from Gen. Hillier to board a military flight to
Kandahar.
The committee later faced accusations of wasting taxpayers' money
in Dubai, but a separate Senate panel said the $30,000 spent there
did not violate the upper chamber's travel policy, and that its
budget had been approved.
Liberal Senator Colin Kenny, the chairman of the Senate defence
committee, said his committee still wants to go to Afghanistan and
has since been assured by Gen. Hillier that it will be granted
access.
Mr. Kenny said if his committee is allowed to visit Kandahar by the
end of the year, "then I'll say they're not playing politics. But if
I see another gang going in, or I see the Commons going in before we
go, then I'll say they're yanking our chain."
Mr. Pellerin said his group travelled from Canadian Forces Base
Trenton in Ontario on a military Airbus that was already flying to
Afghanistan with supplies and personnel. "We paid for our own
hotels where that was required."
Mr. Mac Kenzie said he saw nothing wrong with accepting Gen.
Hillier's invitation. "If I was in his shoes, I'd recognize there
are people out there writing that have military background, have
experience, appearing in front of Senate committees and Commons
committees fairly regularly and he might as well give us the goods."
Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act.
Military draws heat over visits to Afghanistan
Bars senators, oks supporters
Mike Blanchfield, National Post, 16 Nov 06
Permalink
OTTAWA - The military says Kandahar is not safe for visits by
committees of MPs, senators or the Governor-General, but recently
welcomed a taxpayer-assisted junket of retired senior officers, all
of who routinely appear in the media to support the controversial
mission.
The trip has drawn criticism from at least one pundit who was not
invited -- and who has been openly critical of the government's
conduct of the Afghanistan deployment. It has also prompted a
warning from one senator to the government not to play politics with
who it allows to visit its soldiers.
The group of retired military officers included a former admiral,
two former generals and at least one retired colonel. They spent
several days in Afghanistan in late October and early November,
travelling first to Kabul and then to Kandahar Air Field, where the
group was on hand for the change of command of the NATO mission from
a Canadian to a Dutch general.
General Rick Hillier, the chief of the defence staff, invited the
group, which included retired major-general Lewis Mac Kenzie, a
well-known military commentator; retired colonel Alain Pellerin, the
executive director of the Conference of Defence Associations, a
leading military lobby group; retired rear admiral Ken Summers, a
frequent television military pundit; Don Macnamara, a retired
brigadier-general and senior fellow in international relations at
Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.; and Alex Morrison, president
of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies.
"I was a bit surprised that they did not extend this invitation to
me since I have been fairly active in the debate along with many of
the other analysts," said Steven Staples of the left-leaning Polaris
Institute, an organization that has heavily criticized the military
intervention in Afghanistan and which has aligned itself with the
NDP, which wants the government to bring Canadian troops home.
The visit came several weeks after the Senate committee on national
security and defence spent a week in nearby Dubai waiting in vain
for permission from Gen. Hillier to board a military flight to
Kandahar.
The committee later faced accusations of wasting taxpayers' money
in Dubai, but a separate Senate panel said the $30,000 spent there
did not violate the upper chamber's travel policy, and that its
budget had been approved.
Liberal Senator Colin Kenny, the chairman of the Senate defence
committee, said his committee still wants to go to Afghanistan and
has since been assured by Gen. Hillier that it will be granted
access.
Mr. Kenny said if his committee is allowed to visit Kandahar by the
end of the year, "then I'll say they're not playing politics. But if
I see another gang going in, or I see the Commons going in before we
go, then I'll say they're yanking our chain."
Mr. Pellerin said his group travelled from Canadian Forces Base
Trenton in Ontario on a military Airbus that was already flying to
Afghanistan with supplies and personnel. "We paid for our own
hotels where that was required."
Mr. Mac Kenzie said he saw nothing wrong with accepting Gen.
Hillier's invitation. "If I was in his shoes, I'd recognize there
are people out there writing that have military background, have
experience, appearing in front of Senate committees and Commons
committees fairly regularly and he might as well give us the goods."
