MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – August 9, 2012

• “The Department of National Defence hasn’t acted yet on a decision to cut mental health professionals in the military, according to the Canadian Forces’ top psychiatrist and mental health adviser.  Col. Rakesh Jetly told Embassy on July 30 that the department has not yet axed the 15 out of 25 positions dealing with suicide prevention and support for post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as researchers and epidemiologists, that were reported as good as gone in May.  “We looked at some of the programs, and that has been reversed,” said Col. Jetly.  “Upon further consideration…the decision to make these affected positions was changed.”  When pressed for a reason as to why the cuts hadn’t been carried out, Col. Jetly could not offer more details.  “I am not sure if we can expand on this response. I can [confirm] that this potential cut was only a consideration and that currently no CF mental health care providers have been laid off because of budget cuts,” he said in a follow-up email on Aug. 2 ….” – more here.
• “Josh Tuckett is no Canadian hero. But that didn’t stop the Winnipeg man from pretending to be one for more than two years and even fooling members of his own family into believing he was serving his country.  The bizarre web of lies was laid out in a courtroom Tuesday as Tuckett pleaded guilty to a rarely used charge of impersonating a member of the military by wearing a uniform without authorization.  “Obviously this was a very elaborate type of fantasy world you built for yourself,” provincial court Judge Patti Umpherville said upon hearing the facts of the case. She agreed to a recommendation from lawyers to spare Tuckett a criminal record by giving him a discharge, citing the fact he didn’t gain any benefit from his unusual actions.  Tuckett, 21, was arrested last November after he showed up at an official military event in Winnipeg in full uniform, passing himself off as a corporal who had recently done tours of Afghanistan and Haiti and had previously been stationed in Alberta. His story unravelled when he presented a false name badge and identification number, court was told ….”- a bit of discussion of the case at Milnet.ca here.
  
• A bit more on the former Blackwater court case  “Canadian troops and police were trained for two years by the international security contractor formerly known as Blackwater without the permission of the U.S. State Department.  The revelation is contained in U.S. federal court records, unsealed in North Carolina as part of a $7.5 million settlement of criminal charges against the company now called Academi LLC.  The Harper government has had a standing contract with the company since 2008.  It’s paid millions of dollars going back to 2006 for the specialized training, given to special forces troops and some police officers.  U.S. prosecutors say Blackwater didn’t seek the permission required under American arms control laws for the instruction, which took place between 2006 and 2008 and included training in marksmanship, defensive driving, bodyguard and close combat skills ….”
  
• Good to hear the Foreign Affairs Minister having a good time in some of the military’s simulator equipment  “During a recent media event at Carleton University in Ottawa, announcing a $38 million contract for flight simulation technologies, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird was all smiles as he “flew” a CH-146 Griffon helicopter.  “The minister enjoyed the experience so much it was difficult to pry him away from the simulator,” says Lieutenant-Colonel Rick Thompson, project director for the Canadian Forces Canadian Advanced Synthetic Environment (CASE) project ….”
  
• Way Up North (1)  Mark Collins on “Russian, Chinese and US Arctic Maritime Plans–and an Odd Coincidence”
  
• Way Up North (2)  Wired.com’s Danger Room blog was sharing this assessment for a while, but now it’s not working:  “The exaggerated fears of a coming Arctic war with Russia have largely receded since a media freakout last year. But that isn’t stopping Russia from building new bases in the frigid north. Canada is also splurging on Arctic drones. Less assertive is the U.S., which is boosting Coast Guard operations near Alaska.  On Monday, Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev said Russia is planning to build a string of new naval bases in the Arctic. The bases are intended to be “key double-purpose sites” for warships “in remote areas of the Arctic Seas.” There’s no word on what those double purposes might be. Russia’s plans to create a “combined-arms force” for the Arctic is also still on track, according to Moscow-based news wire RIA Novosti.  The logic behind Russia’s Arctic bases is seductive. The thinking goes like this: as global warming causes the northern polar ice to recede — and one day disappear during the summer months — nations like Russia, Canada, Norway and the U.S. will scramble for the bountiful deposits of oil, gas and minerals hidden beneath, sparking an Arctic resource war. Oh, and a swarm of media reports — and even video games — about a hypothetical war on the northern horizon.  But a war is exceedingly unlikely — because Russia would lose ….”  You can check out the rest of the piece elsewhere here.   
• Senator in Chinese interest in Canada’s (and other countries’) natural resources  “…. Do we face the prospects of Canadian oil or its profits from enabling Chinese crackdowns on democracy, neighbouring territorial rights, or territorial assertions, even by the use of force? Or would Canadian oil and rights worldwide be supporting an anti-democracy China-based axis supporting the likes of Iran, Assad and conspiring with Putin’s authoritarian excess? This is likely an exaggerated fear. But exaggerated does not, in this context, mean baseless ….  We need not hypothecate all economic relations to concurrence between domestic political values in our two countries. But where democracy and human rights are so absent from a major power’s domestic or worldwide pursuits, it is certainly cause for thoughtful pause and careful reflection ….“
  
• Speaking of China’s interest in natural resources ….  “Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his cabinet are wrestling with how to handle the proposed takeover of Calgary-based Nexen Inc. (NXY) by China’s Cnooc Ltd. (883) as some investors anticipate Canada will block the bid.  Cnooc’s $15.1 billion agreement to buy Nexen will be part of the discussions when Harper meets his ministers in Ottawa today, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition he not be identified because the talks aren’t public.  The state-owned company’s bid, which the U.S. is also studying, tests Harper’s ability to balance the need to bolster economic relations with China while ensuring the Asian country doesn’t gain too much influence over the oil sands, the world’s third-largest pool of oil reserves. Options for Harper include capping investments by Chinese enterprises or placing strict conditions on their operations in Canada as allowed under the country’s foreign investment law.  Jack Mintz, a member of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s council of economic advisers, favors the first option.  “You could see with the amount of capital that’s available from China and some of the other Asian countries that they could be back looking at mining companies, they could be back looking at oil and gas companies, and even bigger ones than Nexen,” Mintz said yesterday in a telephone interview.  “What’s our policy going to be in the longer run?” said Mintz, who is also director of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy and a board member of Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO), the Canadian unit of Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) ….”
  
• (Allegedly) BAAAAAD Canadian in Egypt?  “A Canadian student has been arrested by Egyptian authorities for allegedly being involved in a terror attack in the Sinai peninsula, according to an Israeli newspaper.  The Times of Israel reported that David Edward was carrying Egyptian identification that did not belong to him at the time of his arrest Wednesday. Egyptian authorities alleged Edward was photographing armoured personnel vehicles.  Sixteen Egyptian guards were killed in the terror attack and Egyptian aircraft retaliated by hitting targets along its border with Israel and Gaza.  Foreign Affairs would not confirm Edward’s arrest, but issued a generic statement.  “Canadian officials in Cairo are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information regarding reports that a Canadian citizen has been detained in Egypt,” a spokesman wrote in an e-mail. “Consular assistance is available.” “  More on this one here, here, here and here.
  
• One Canadian reporter’s view of what (some) Brit troops have to say about their tasking at the Olympics  ” …. Having to wear heavy army garb in Friday’s unusually warm, sunny weather was the smallest of hardships for some of the 18,000 troops deployed at these Olympics. Many of the soldiers are staying in living quarters so spartan and smelly that one soldier’s mother told a local paper the digs were “worse than Afghanistan.” Many haven’t been able to watch any Olympic events; others have said they got turned away because they didn’t have tickets.  Through it all, the military troops are among the friendliest — and some of the youngest — faces to greet media and ticket holders at the Olympic Park venues every day. Publicly, anyway, they don’t complain. They soldier on. And while the Olympics, so far, has been a safer posting than some of the alternatives, the assignment has not been all fun and Games for the men and women wearing the brown military gear, checking buses and bags for bombs.  A female reporter from Canada recently remarked to one of the soldiers at a security check, “I guess you’d rather be here than in Afghanistan.”  His answer: “not really.” ….”
  
• In a related vein, here’s an outstanding analysis of what the Brit military should be learning from its deployment at the Olympics, courtesy of Humphrey over at the Thin Pinstriped Line blog.
  
• Governor-General/Commander in Chief, Veterans Affairs Minister to mark 70th anniversary of Dieppe Raid in France    “Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that His Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, will attend ceremonies in Dieppe, France, from August 19 to 20, to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Dieppe Raid.  The Governor General will join the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, who will lead an official delegation to France from August 17 to 21, which includes Veterans who participated in the Dieppe Raid.  While in France, the Governor General, Minister Blaney and the Canadian delegation will attend a number of commemorative ceremonies including the Government of Canada’s signature event at Canada Memorial Square on August 19 and a ceremony at the Pourville Memorial on August 20.  In addition to the ceremonies taking place in France, there will also be a ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, as well as a number of events in communities across the country ….”
• War of 1812 (1)  “Opposition MPs say Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has crossed a line with its anniversary events marking the War of 1812—by buying costly advertising space to promote the militaristic anniversary through television coverage of young Canadian athletes competing at the Olympic Games.  The “Fight for Canada” images depicting Canadian and military heroes from the war sparked by a U.S. invasion of Canada 200 years ago have appeared frequently through CTV coverage of the Olympics, including the gritty soccer match between U.S. and Canadian women’s teams that sparked a storm of controversy and Canadian anger at disputed referee calls.  Liberal and NDP MPs said the ads, which invite viewers to visit a special government website also marking the 200th anniversary of an often vicious and bloody colonial and expansionist war, 1812.gc.ca, are inappropriately slotted in the coverage of a sporting event that was founded to bring nations together.  “It’s counter to the Olympic spirit, where sport was going to unite the world, right, in this relationship building,” Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul’s, Ont.) said ….”
• War of 1812 (2)  Some of the U.S. Navy’s work with the War of 1812  “USS De Wert (FFG 45) left Jacksonville, Florida on July 16 to begin a 73-day cruise through the Great Lakes to commemorate the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. Since her departure, De Wert has visited the Canadian cities of Halifax, Quebec City, and Montreal and is currently en route to her first American port, Milwaukee.  At each of the Canadian port visits, De Wert  hosted distinguished visitor receptions for the respective cities’ mayors, military officials, and other public figures to further our ties with our sister country.  We did a phenomenal job because we functioned as a team and were dedicated until the end,” said Cmdr. Joseph Thomas, commanding officer of USS De Wert ….”