November 11, 2011 – Robert Sibley of the Ottawa Citizen interviews Jack Granatstein on whether the Canadian Forces should do peacekeeping only in a new article published today. An excerpt below:
Not surprisingly, Granatstein takes a different tack. He doesn’t necessarily oppose a peacekeeping role for the Canadian Forces, but says that cannot be their main role. “We should do peacekeeping when we can, when the circumstances are right, when the United Nations is really on board, when there is money to pay for it from the UN, and when it’s in a place that serves our national interests.”
The notion that the Canadian military is or should be primarily devoted to peacekeeping is not only a distortion of history, but reflects a naïve and sentimental view of the world, says Granatstein. If Canadian soldiers have been good peacekeepers, he says, it’s because they were first and foremost trained as combat troops.
Read the entire article in the Ottawa Citizen here.
There is still time to get your tickets today for this evening’s debate! Click here to get more information or click here to get your tickets!