Help Generations help kids generationsfoundation.com O 514-933-8585 NOVEMBER2008 theseniortimes.com VOL.XXIIIN 2 INSIDE Brothers in arms p. 5 GUIDE TO RESIDENCES Residence, Condo and Apartment Listings pp. 35-41 Before you sign p. 13 Running the show pp. 24, 34 Ottawa’s Canadian War Museum p. 20 Editorial: Don’t allow our infrastructure to deteriorate Mot du premier ministre The worldwide stock market im- pects an additional 5 million Amer- Le jour du Souvenir rend hommage à tous ces plosion and the start of a recession icans to join the 47 million already femmes et hommes, héros de guerre, à l’ines- in North America present a partic- without health care in 2006 accord- timable sacrifice qu’ils ont fait pour que l’avenir ular challenge to our governments. ing to the U.S. Census Bureau – du monde soit meilleur. With his increased standing in the 15.8% of the population, a rate that Honorons la mémoire de ceux que la guerre Commons, Stephen Harper will be has increased for six consecutive nous a enlevés, saluons nos vétérans qui sont tou- tempted to pursue his belief in trickle- years. A recent survey of 4500 U.S. jours avec nous, et pensons à nos militaires québé- down economic policies. We think hospitals, reported in the New York cois et canadiens qui sont présentement en otherwise. The decreased value of the Times, found that more than half mission à l’étranger pour défendre la paix, la jus- Canadian dollar, linked to the stun- were technically insolvent or at risk tice, la liberté, le respect des droits humains. ning, though cyclical drop in oil and of insolvency. The evidence is there Portons fièrement le coquelicot en leur honneur. natural gas prices, can only help our for all to see: We must not allow our challenged manufacturing sector. medicare system to deteriorate in a Remembrance Day pays tribute to all the men But it won’t be enough. Now is the similar fashion just because a right- and women, to all the war heroes, whose ines- time to revert to much-maligned wing government believes the mar- timable sacrifices made the future of the world Keynesian solutions – yes, deficits ketplace solves everything. It doesn’t. better. are bad, but massive unemployment The Harper government must Let us honour the memory of those who are no and swollen welfare rolls are worse. strengthen our health care system at a longer with us. Let us salute the veterans who are We urge the Harper government to time when the seniors and soon-to-be still with us. Let us remember our troops who are massively invest in infrastructure, seniors who paid those heavy taxes, abroad to defend peace, justice, freedom, and re- especially health care and mass tran- compared to the U.S., will be needing spect of human rights. sit. When prices in fossil fuels return greater care. If the ripple effect of the Let us proudly wear the poppy in their honour. to where they should be, given lim- world economic crisis curtails de- ited supply and exponentially in- mand for our products and creates creasing demand, government more unemployment, we expect our revenues they supply can be used to governments to see this as an oppor- pay down this spending. tunity to rebuild crumbling urban in- Canadians can be thankful that frastructure and extend mass transit, our more closely regulated (and to make us less dependent on fossil more monopolistic) banking system fuels when prices start to rebound, as is not facing the same problems as they will. Then will come the time for those in the U.S. One estimate ex- deficit fighting, not now. For gracious living at its best! 2 November 2008 www.theseniortimes.com THE SENIOR TIMES Pistols and blue berets? Retired general and military historian speak out Adam Desaulniers Rwanda, and it just went on and on and on... the only way to save money This Remembrance Day will be was to cut personnel.” observed by Canadians deployed “Today the infantry is 2000 smaller abroad in over a dozen countries – than the Toronto Police,”he laments. many in UN contingents that “As far as the army itself goes, it re- wouldn’t fill a minivan. When it ally has to be rebuilt – it needs at comes to tackling modern conflicts least five years. I say it’s broken be- like the Balkans, Somalia, Rwanda, cause it’s turned itself inside out. and Afghanistan, has the political The army commanders have a hor- expediency of Canada’s peacekeep- rendous challenge these days. ing image left our soldiers fighting There’s very high attrition. A lot of – and losing – yesterday’s war? soldiers are on their fourth tour, and “The politicians who make these when they come home they’re only decisions – who decide for instance, with their families for two weeks. ‘We’re going to declare the [Afghan] You do that for five or six years, and war over in 2011, folks’ – do not usu- your spouse looks at you and says, ally get challenged with the conse- ‘You’d better make up your mind.’” quences,”observes military historian The theory that a peacekeeping na- Desmond Morton of McGill Uni- tion does more with less takes its toll versity. “These small [UN] opera- on fighting cohesion too, according tions that have two guys or a to MacKenzie:“It used to be that sol- sergeant and a corporal are cheap, diers slept, trained, and fought to- and they can say ‘We were involved gether for three years. Now we have in 93% of all UN operations.’When units we patch together from all over they want two Canadian staff offi- the country – a lot of them are re- cers to go to Goma or some such servists. The troops call it ‘plug and place, it seems like a small commit- play.’And then when we bring them ment and a little bit of profile.” back they disperse.” But such peacekeeping posturing At the same time, much of the excuses neglect on the ground.“Suc- Forces’ infrastructure is getting out- cessive governments have created this sourced. “A general told me recently myth – of both political stripes,” he was working on his business plan,” maintains retired Major-General says Morton, recounting cost-cutting Lewis MacKenzie, who detailed the efforts that required trainees to return aftermath in his recent memoir Sol- to the mess hall mid-day rather than diers Made Me Look Good, “because cook in the field.“That’s what I mean you can slash and burn the defence about privatization,”he says.“Gener- budget if the country is convinced als who have to think about nickels. that we’re just peacekeepers and we The military have lost all their battles only need pistols and blue berets. No- in Ottawa since the early nineties.” body much complains... Northern Uganda, the Balkans, Somalia, (continued next page) www.theseniortimes.com November 2008 3 THE SENIOR TIMES Factional warfare makes traditional peacekeeping obsolete (continued from previous page) were brought back in the hours of darkness as a chance that you’re not even going to be able to find matter of policy, and sent to the home towns them... Because they’re factions. And as a result – The Pearsonian myth has done worse than send where they were buried with proper dignity and I know people are critical of me for saying it – but peacekeeping-equipped soldiers to do counterin- military funerals. But it sure as hell wasn’t a media when we go into missions like this now, we have to surgency work, insists MacKenzie – it’s politicized event, because it was deemed – erroneously, what be strong enough to say to the factions: ‘Keep the the treatment of war dead as well. “In the we were doing – as peacekeeping. But it wasn’t – it peace or we’ll kill you.’ That’s the only way to con- Balkans when we had 27 killed and over 100 seri- was two factions fighting each other. That was not trol these bullies and drunks and war criminals. ously injured, nobody but nobody except for the deemed to be in Canada’s image, so there was a You can’t go in and negotiate, like you used to be families in Canada knew about it. In fact bodies blackout as far as media reporting, that went on able to do with countries when they went to war. for about two years.” Not many countries are going to war these days .” Remembering Our Fallen Warring factions with no clear lines of authority A case in point being Kosovo, where both experts are the players in many modern conflicts, notes agree Canada failed to act in its own interest. Says MacKenzie, not warring states capable of broker- MacKenzie: “We got sucked into protecting a state ing a truce. “Factions don’t have a flag in front of run by a terrorist organization... Now it’s sort of a the UN, they don’t have a delegation, and if you mini-state with, unfortunately, prostitution and broker a deal with them, there’s a very good the slave trade and drugs and foreign troops as Royal Canadian Legion their source of income.” Says Morton: “CNN wanted war – it wanted people to go to Kosovo for Branch #4, Verdun various news-type reasons, and it presented 514-769-1911 Kosovo as a shocking case of Serbian genocide on humble, beautiful and lovable Albanians. The media went along with it.” Where opinions diverge is on the lessons to be applied to the situation in Darfur – MacKenzie favours another NATO intervention, where Mor- I In West End Montreal ton sees more of the same, merely “a crude Su- I Luxury Cars at Regular Rates on Request I Special Attention to the Elderly danese attempt to put down a separatist I 100% guaranteed Airport Reservations insurrection” with bad actors on all sides.