NATO

The philosophy — and politics — behind the Liberal government’s desire to keep Canada a NATO deadbeat

There was an unscripted moment during a panel debate in Toronto last month that could go a long way toward explaining Canada’s long-term reluctance to publicly and wholeheartedly embrace NATO’s guideline for members’ defence spending.

Appearing on a panel at the Eurasia’s group’s U.S.-Canada Summit, the typically unflappable Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly was asked pointedly how Ottawa could be considered a reliable ally when it appears unable — or unwilling — to meet the western military alliance’s benchmark of spending at least two per cent of GDP on defence.

Big tranny army.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", "Canada - Security Risk Under Liberal Party Regime", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, NATO

NATO is losing patience with one of its own members …

Canada has been dodging its commitment to NATO for a decade. It may not be able to hold out for much longer.

Over the past several years, Ottawa has become an outlier among the 32-member alliance. It has failed to hit domestic military spending goals, has fallen short on benchmarks to fund new equipment and has no plans to get there.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, NATO

Trudeau should expect criticism at NATO summit over defence spending: analysis

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heads to Washington for the NATO summit early next week with more than $30 billion in recently awarded military equipment contracts and a new defence policy that promises a major cash infusion for the Canadian Forces.

But that spending spree will likely carry little weight and Trudeau can still expect criticism that Canada isn’t doing enough on defence.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, NATO

Trudeau government rejects warnings of ‘diplomatic isolation’ over defence spending

OTTAWA — The federal government is pushing back against criticism that Canada is becoming a laggard on military spending within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), with Treasury Board President Anita Anand stating Tuesday that it is “superficial” to focus on the alliance’s spending target without broader context.

The comments came after NATO published new estimates for how much its 32 member countries are spending on defence. The list placed Canada near the bottom — fifth last — in defence spending in proportion to the size of its economy, with an estimated share of 1.37 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2024.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", "Canada - Security Risk Under Liberal Party Regime", Canada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, NATO

Joe Varner: Canada’s selfish disregard of defence is the Achilles heel of NATO’s northern security

In the face of global adversaries like Russia and China bent on hegemony and conquest, Canada’s hands-off approach to defence and security is no longer tenable. While the country itself has seemingly not woken up to this realization, its NATO and Western allies certainly have.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, NATO

Canada risks ‘diplomatic isolation’ if it fails to meet NATO spending target, business leaders warn

Canada is the only one of 32 member nations not to publicly release a plan to meet the target

One of the country’s leading business voices is warning that Canada faces “diplomatic isolation” if it’s not prepared to deliver a concrete plan next month to raise defence spending to meet NATO’s benchmark.

The Business Council of Canada — which has been wading more and more into the debate on national security lately — made the assessment in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The letter comes as both NATO defence ministers and G7 leaders prepare to gather at separate meetings in Europe, and as leaders of the NATO alliance nations get ready for a summit in Washington, D.C. next month.

We are a Clown State.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, NATO

Canada now ‘the outlier’ in NATO on defence spending: U.S. ambassador

The United States’ ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, says Canada is becoming “the outlier” in NATO following a bipartisan letter from 23 American senators calling on Ottawa to meet the two per cent of GDP defence spending target.

“At the end of 2024, the way projections are looking, Canada will be the only country in NATO that is not spending at least two per cent of its GDP on defence and does not have a plan to get there,” Cohen said in an interview with The West Block host Mercedes Stephenson.

“Canada has moved within NATO from being a bit of an outlier to being the outlier in the entire alliance.”

But we have Trannies galore in the pipeline! Don’t we?

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, NATO

Western countries are gearing up for war for the first time in decades

Western nations are taking steps to put their armed forces on a war footing for the first time in decades, according to the boss of defence-technology company QinetiQ.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concerns about China’s ambitions in the Pacific, escalations in the Israel-Hamas conflict and Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have spurred Britain, the US, Australia and their allies to invest time and money in testing the readiness of air, sea and land forces, said Steve Wadey, QinetiQ’s chief executive.

Canada is 4th from the bottom in NATO expenditures.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"CAF - Canadian Armed Forces", Canada, NATO

U.S. senators write to Trudeau asking him to meet 2% GDP defence spending commitment

A bipartisan group of 23 U.S. senators have written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging his country to live up to its commitment to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence amid concerns that key members of the NATO alliance are not pulling their weight.

“As we approach the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., we are concerned and profoundly disappointed that Canada’s most recent projection indicated that it will not reach its two percent commitment this decade,” the senators wrote. “In 2029, Canada’s defence spending is estimated to rise to just 1.7 percent, five years after the agreed upon deadline of 2024 and still below the spending baseline.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, NATO, USA

Trump considering new 3 per cent Nato defence spending target

Donald Trump is considering plans to push Nato members to increase defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP if he wins a second term in the White House, The Telegraph understands.

The former president thinks member states should be asked to contribute more to the alliance’s collective defence in light of threats from Russia and China.

He also believes the accounting rules should be changed so that spending on military assistance for Ukraine is not counted towards the target – a policy that would push several countries below the current target of 2 per cent of GDP.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inNATO, President Trump

NATO turns seventy-five… what’s next?

NATO marks its seventy-fifth birthday today, but the alliance is in no mood for celebration.

At its foundation, and for much of its lifetime, NATO worked well. On April 4, 1949, representatives of a dozen countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, DC “to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.” Although the Cold War was not always cold, and flared into bloodily hot conflicts in Vietnam, Cambodia and Angola among other places, there was never a face-to-face showdown between NATO and members of the Soviet Union-led Warsaw Pact, let alone a nuclear one.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inNATO

Russia’s neighbours urge Nato allies to bring back military service

Rain drips down the glasses of new recruit Toivo Saabas, tracing the contours of the green and black face paint that completes his camouflage.

Lying on the saturated ground, and peering through the sight of his gun, the only frailty that threatens to give away his position is the plume of air he breathes out silently into the icy Estonian forest.

Then comes the deafening call to attack.

The 25-year-old springs to his feet. Forming a line with his brothers in arms, he bounds through the trees towards the Russian border.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inNATO