Hillier says - Canada at higher risk of attack.

[Nielsen_Noetic]

Hillier has come out saying that Canada is at more risk of a direct attack now than at any time during the cold war, any thoughts on that assessment?

 

[Slim]

Yes...I know it for a fact.

Without releasing too much i will say that there have been people caught in major city centers doing targeting related activities when arrested.

These people were found to be sympathetic to the Taliban and the AQ.

Sorry no source for this one folks. Pm me if there are any issues with verafication please.

Slim

 

[Block 1]

Now none of us believe we are immune from attack. So now we know it and have started to prepare for it, by training and passages of information.  A good friend from the NIC told me once that â Å“ insurgency can only be stopped by a surgical strike in the hart of the festering woundâ ?. Now that said this will not happen until an attack is initiated or has occurred. So all we can do is prevent it form happening This is done by good homeland defence. This must be done without infringing with individual human rights, its a hard path to follow but we as Canadians have no choice, it must be done.

Chimo !

 

[Nielsen_Noetic]

If that is true it is very disturbing, the government really needs to pick up the ball on this one. Then again if there was a terrrorist attack while the liberals were in office maybe the east would be shaken enough to vote conservative, and give our armed forces a fighting chance(excuse the pun)

 

[chrisp1j]

Its not a matter of "if" we're going to be attacked, but rather when.

This fact hopefully serves to remind those of us who will respond first (in the military context, that would be the local reserve units), that this is not a game,or just a part-time job. If your area gets hit with somthing, you must be ready to respond both physically and mentally, because it will be bad.

This hightens the importance of those things which are being taught, at least in 32 Brigade, at the DRU execises.

If it happens near you, you'd better have your shit together.

I'm not being pessimistic, far from it, as the glass is half-full. I'm simply being realistic.

Chris P.

 

[Nielsen_Noetic]

Well despite the lack of funds our men and women are trained well, in the event of an attack I am sure they will do us proud.

 

[John Nayduk]

Have you got a link to the story or can you post it here?  I'm asking because I like to post this stuff at the Armoury so the guys can read it.  They hear me talk but I'm sure some of them think it just the "old guy" talking.  I like them reading this kind of stuff from other sources.
Thanks.

 

[Torlyn]

Then again if there was a terrrorist attack while the liberals were in office maybe the east would be shaken enough to vote conservative

:

Must everything go back to the Liberals?  I'm conservative myself, but this is getting a bit far afield, don't you think?  Oh, and you may want to take a look at what the last conservative federal gv't did to the CF before you continue to bash the Liberals.  Just a suggestion.

T

 

[scm77]

Country at risk of direct attack: General
Bigger threat than during Cold War

Need planes to lift troops, equipment

GRAHAM FRASER
NATIONAL AFFAIRS WRITER

OTTAWAâ ”Canada's military planners have to consider the country a potential location for armed conflict, the chief of the defence staff said yesterday.

"What we have to do in order to be responsive is start treating Canada as an operational theatre," Gen. R.J. Hillier told the Conference of Defence Associations Institute seminar yesterday. "In some respects, Canada and Canadians, despite their not being fully au fait with it, are at more risk now of direct attack than they have ever been during the Cold War itself."

He said since Sept. 11, 2001, it has been clear that the Canadian Forces have to treat Canada as an operational theatre if they are to be able to respond to a direct attack.

Hillier said that to be more effective, the Canadian Forces have to develop what the military calls "a strategic lift capacity" â ” meaning planes that can transport troops and equipment â ” in order to deploy troops.

"The question is whether we have to own it, or whether we can assure ourselves of it," he said. "I have to tell you I come from the school that if there is any way we can assure ourselves of the lift and responsiveness that we need without owning, that's the route I would recommend we could take."

Later, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci suggested that Canada would be wiser to have its own airlift capacity rather than renting or leasing planes from other countries.

"To respond to future crises, it is likely that Canadian Forces will require their own aircraft," he said. "I can think of nothing that would contribute more to Canada's 3-D (defence, diplomacy and development) foreign policy approach than a steady flow of Canadian air lifters with Maple Leafs on their side delivering humanitarian aid, whether to South East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Haiti or elsewhere."

Cellucci said little about Canada's refusal to participate in ballistic missile defence, except to say that the U.S. had always hoped that Canada would participate."Canada and the United States have a long-standing military relationship," he said.

"We will continue that relationship."

Other speakers at the conference were not so diplomatic.

John Noble, a former diplomat who is now director of research for the Centre for Trade Policy and Law, called Prime Minister Paul Martin's decision "a public relations disaster on all fronts."

Additional articles by Graham Fraser

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1109890212304&call_pageid=970599119419

 

[John Nayduk]

Thanks.

 

[shaboing]

Yes...I know it for a fact.

Without releasing too much i will say that there have been people caught in major city centers doing targeting related activities when arrested.

These people were found to be sympathetic to the Taliban and the AQ.

Sorry no source for this one folks. Pm me if there are any issues with verafication please.

Slim

i being in police foundations have been shown the video's they were making while picking out their targets.... i will not release any info on where they were filming or what they were filming just for the simple fact that people may be in this area daily or know someone who is. but these people were obviously caught and the tapes never sent, not saying someone else might have already got the footage sent away though

with that being said if you are somewhere and you see someone with a vid camera taking notes and filming buildings and acting suspicious contact the local authorities cause its better to be safe then sorry is what we were told

 

[Bo]

I don't think increasing defense funding will significantly reduce the risk of getting attacked. Look at the US. They had a 300 billion dollar defense budget at the time of 9/11 and look how that turned out.

While I agree that an increase in defense spending will allow the CF to RESPOND to an attack faster, I seriously doubt it will be able to prevent one. And remember, we're talking about a "terrorist" attack here so it will happen from within our country via a bomb or hijacking (or whatever else they can come up with). Nobody's gonna be launching ICBM's or sending MIG's our way.

Also, who would want to attack Canada? I doubt very much any terrorist organization would consider an attack on Canada to be a worthy cause. The only thing that they would accomplish is making another enemy.

So why exactly are we at risk? I see alot of you are agree with General Hillier's statement:

"

In some respects, Canada and Canadians, despite their not being fully au fait with it, are at more risk now of direct attack than they have ever been during the Cold War itself."

Were we at serious risk during the Cold War? I don't mean to sound disrespectful with my questioning, but I'm just curious. Who are we at risk from? And why would they want to attack us?

 

[scm77]

Also, who would want to attack Canada? I doubt very much any terrorist organization would consider an attack on Canada to be a worthy cause. The only thing that they would accomplish is making another enemy.

That's strange, I could've swarn the terrorists were already our enemy.  Oh well, guess I'm just a moron. :

 

[shaboing]

Also, who would want to attack Canada? I doubt very much any terrorist organization would consider an attack on Canada to be a worthy cause. The only thing that they would accomplish is making another enemy.

actually from what we were also told in the lecture in police foundations we are number 5 on Al Quida's list of top 10 countries to attack following 1) US 2) GB 3) i cant remember 4) australia then 5) canada.

all the countries on the list b4 us have been attacked by Al Quida already

 

[Bo]

That's strange, I could've swarn the terrorists were already our enemy.   Oh well, guess I'm just a moron. :

Who are we referring to when we say "terrorist"? Hezbollah? Hamas? Who exactly?

 

[Bo]

actually from what we were also told in the lecture in police foundations we are number 5 on Al Quida's list of top 10 countries to attack following 1) US 2) GB 3) i cant remember 4) australia then 5) canada.

all the countries on the list b4 us have been attacked by Al Quida already

Can you provide some sources? Links? Something reputable please 

 

[scm77]

Al Qaeda.  Remeber them? They were the ones that killed 3,000 people in the US, three and a half years ago.

 

[Bo]

Ok, so we're at risk of getting attacked by Al Qaeda. Why?

 

[daniel h.]

Ok, so we're at risk of getting attacked by Al Qaeda. Why?

We went to Afhanistan, but even before that, Islamic fundamentalists consider those who aren't like them to be "infidels."

 

[spenco]

Bo, we are at risk of being attacked because we are a capitalist, secular society with close ties to the US.  We arent oblivious just because we arent in Iraq or because were not in BMD, we would make a great target b/c we are pretty much defenceless and couldn't do anything if we were attacked.  Try taking your head out of the sand for a while

Shaboing:

Was the third country Spain?