MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 16 Nov 11

• Afghanistan (1)  Toronto Star columnist becomes legal rep for teenager wanting student visa to attend school in Canada.
• Afghanistan (2)  Someone (I’m guessing) in Ottawa is pissed at how ‘terps trying to come to Canada are being handled.  “Frustration is growing in government ranks that Ottawa is falling down on its vow to help Afghan interpreters and their families find a new life in Canada. “I would say longstanding and growing frustration,” a senior official said this week after the Star highlighted the plight. The target of that frustration is the Citizenship and Immigration department, which critics say is dragging its feet on a Conservative vow to help Afghans who helped the Canadian mission in Kandahar resettle in Canada. “There is a moral obligation to do the right thing here and it’s unfortunate that CIC doesn’t feel this way,” said the official, who asked to remain anonymous ….”
• Afghanistan (3a)  Canadian Info-Machine officer Commodore Bill Truelove:  Taliban losing a grip on its troops?  “The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has said that “the Taliban leadership has lost control of their organization.” During an operational update by representatives from the ISAF headquarters and NATO on Monday, Canadian Commodore Bill Truelove, Deputy Director of the ISAF Communication Directorate, said the Taliban carried out several attacks recently in spite of the Afghan Eid holiday. “Over the past week, the Taliban showed their blatant disregard for this holy celebration through a series of attacks resulting in the deaths of many innocent civilians,” he told reporters in Kabul. Truelove said the attacks occurred after senior Taliban leaders issued specific orders to their troops, directing them to stop killing innocent Afghan civilians. “Still, enemy forces are realizing they are sacrificing their lives for a cause that is not just and under leaders who have no concern for this country or its people,” he added ….”
• Afghanistan (3b)  Does one Taliban post including alleged security plans for a major meeting (link to copy of post at non-terrorist site) constitute a “propaganda war”?  “Afghanistan’s propaganda wars are becoming almost as intense as the actual fighting, as all sides jockey for position ahead of an anticipated NATO withdrawal in 2014. On Sunday, the Taliban took their psychological operations to a new level when they attempted to derail a loya jirga, or national council, Hamid Karzai, the Afghan President, has called for Wednesday. This will discuss future U.S. troop withdrawals and possible peace talks with 2,000 community and tribal leaders. In addition to the usual threats to assassinate anyone who attends the meeting, the Taliban have published what they claim are highly classified documents detailing security arrangements for the council, scheduled to be held at the Polytechnical University in western Kabul ….”
• Afghanistan (4)  Senator Pamela Wallin on the training mission:  “…. Canada has engaged in what is an incredible act of faith, inspired by the knowledge that if we educate and train the next generation of citizens and soldiers we will truly be giving peace – and Afghanistan – a chance.”
• Afghanistan (5)  “International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo says his office will be releasing a report in the coming weeks that will decide whether to launch a formal investigation into Canada’s treatment of Afghan detainees, among other things. “There are serious allegations of crimes committed by different parties,” he said in an exclusive interview with Postmedia News during a stop at the University of Ottawa on Tuesday. “We are trying to find who is really allegedly responsible for crimes to check if there’s a need for us to investigate or not.” Moreno-Ocampo said his report will not specifically focus on Canada’s treatment of detainees in Afghanistan, but all crimes allegedly committed in that country and seven others. Most allegations, he added, are against the Taliban, but all claims are being looked at ….”
• “Canadian Forces reservists can face extra hardships after returning from deployments, researchers say. Difficulty finding employment and poor post-mission communications between reservists and military units are major barriers to soldiers reintegrating into civilian life. The findings of a study by Defence Research and Development Canada in Toronto were presented at the second annual Canadian Military and Veteran Health Research Forum in Kingston. The study involved 125 Canadian reserve soldiers who returned from an overseas deployment. The troops were contacted six to eight months after returning and about one-quarter of them took part in the 20-minute electronic survey. The results showed many reservists struggle to find work following their deployments. The lack of work added greatly to their struggle to reintegrate themselves into civilian life, said researcher Donna Pickering Tuesday afternoon ….”  A bit more on the Forum here, and the latest, updated (as of yesterday) CF Info-Machine backgrounder on PTSD here.
• Another research tidbit from the same conference:  “Almost one-quarter of a group of frontline soldiers sent to fight in Afghanistan in 2007 have been diagnosed with mental health problems, according to a new study by the Canadian Forces. The figure shines a light on the psychological risks facing Canada’s battle-hardened veterans not only in CFB Gagetown, where the study was conducted, but at CFB Petawawa in Ontario, CFB Edmonton in Alberta, CFB Valcartier in Quebec and at other major military bases where soldiers have deployed in great numbers over the last few years. The study of 792 members of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, found 23.1 per cent of soldiers who served in Kandahar four years ago were now being treated for their mental health problems. One in five of those soldiers have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, one of the chief health risks to Canadian soldiers after a decade of combat in Afghanistan. The study was presented Tuesday at a military health-care conference (in Kingston) that is bringing together some of the country’s best minds to share the latest research on how to help soldiers with broken minds and bodies ….”
• “After almost five years of legal wrangling, Dennis Manuge says he’s relieved that Canada’s disabled veterans are finally getting their day in court. “How I feel about it is a little bit of relief and absolute faith in the justice system that we are going to begin to have our case (heard),” he said Tuesday. Manuge, of Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S., is the representative plaintiff in a lawsuit against the federal government that alleges it is illegally clawing back the long-term disability insurance benefits of injured veterans. The Federal Court in Halifax will begin hearing arguments Wednesday in the class action, which could potentially affect the benefits of as many as 6,000 injured veterans ….”
• A reminder:  “For the sixth year in a row, friends and families of Canadian troops deployed overseas will be able to send their holiday letters and parcels for free via Canada Post. The program, which started in 2006, has delivered close to 90,000 parcels to members of the Canadian Forces serving overseas in war zones. With capacity limitations on military aircraft carrying supplies to deployed forces, this program is restricted to family and friends of the deployed service men and women serving overseas in war zones. Troops serving on any of the deployed Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships are also included in the program. Canada Post will accept regular parcels free of charge to designated Canadian Forces Bases overseas from October 17, 2011 until January 13, 2012. Lettermail weighing up to 500 grams to deployed troops can be sent free of charge until December 31, 2012.”  More from Canada Post here.
• Canada’s mission to help Jamaica is wrapping up – safe travels home, folks!  More on OP Jaguar here.
• “Haiti’s efforts to restore its disbanded army could deplete resources from more pressing matters in the Caribbean nation, which is still recovering from the massive earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people almost two years ago, a Canadian diplomat said Tuesday. John Babcock, a spokesman for Canadian Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy, said in an email to The Associated Press that Haiti’s decision to create a second security force is a sovereign right but that its formation “seems premature” because of the difficult living conditions that many Haitians still face following the January 2010 earthquake. “Canada fears that creating a second security force will significantly reduce resources available for Haiti’s other important priorities,” one of them being the need to strengthen Haiti’s national police department, Babcock wrote. Haitian President Michel Martelly is moving ahead with a plan to restore the national army that was disbanded in 1995, and recruiting an initial force of 500 troops would cost an estimated $25 million. Babcock said Tuesday Canada wouldn’t help pay for a second security force, echoing sentiments of foreign diplomats who told Martelly in October they wouldn’t fund the force ….”  Here’s a bit of what Canada’s done for Haiti’s police force, as well as the official line on our relations with Haiti.
• Way Up North  More on how expensive it could be to keep troops in the north (again with no disclosure of “obtained” documents).
• At least one Canadian Press reporter is not personally averse to the idea of sharing documents obtained through Access to Information Act requests, even if his employer doesn’t seem to be using available technology to make that happen yet – one can hope….
• F-35 Tug o’ War  “U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned the F-35 project will be scrapped if a congressional “super committee” doesn’t come up with a credible plan to reduce the U.S. federal deficit by next week. Opposition parties in Ottawa jumped on the comments Tuesday, accusing the federal government of continuing to bury its head in the sand as the stealth fighter program suffers ever-increasing amounts of turbulence. But the government again stood firm, saying Panetta’s comments were in response to internal U.S. politics while expressing fresh confidence in the controversial military jet being delivered to Canada on time and on budget ….”  More on Canada continuing to stand behind its decision here, and how it could cost way more if the U.S. cancels here.
• “As the nuclear crisis over Iran heats up, Canada is veering toward a dangerous place. Israel is again contemplating a military attack on Iran to prevent its developing atomic weapons. This time it’s not clear that U.S. President Barack Obama can forestall the Jewish state …. In the past, Canada would have happily stayed on the sidelines …. Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, however, Canada has taken a more militant approach to international affairs. His support for Israel has been rock-hard. He has also shown himself willing to deploy Canada’s small but effective military in combat operations the government deems politically useful …. In short, both sides now see the nuclear issue as life or death. The question for nations like Canada is not which country we like more but which alternative is worse. Is it better to let Iran follow in the footsteps of the U.S., France, Britain, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea by acquiring nuclear weapons? Or is better to unleash another Mideast war?”
• A bit of Canadian aviation history will become a bit of a British monument honouring Bomber Command (PDF).  “A Royal Canadian Air Force C-17 Transport (landed) in Lethbridge, Alberta on Remembrance Day to pick up 800 pounds of aluminum that was once part of a wartime RCAF Halifax Bomber. The metal will become part of a £6,000,000 Bomber Command Memorial currently under construction in Green Park, London. The aluminum is being provided by the Bomber Command Museum of Canada to draw attention to the fact that 10,000 of the over 55,000 airmen lost with Bomber Command during World War II were Canadians. Halifax Bomber LW682 was part of 426 “Thunderbird” Squadron RCAF. It was shot down in 1944 and crashed into a swamp in Belgium. The seven Canadians and one Briton aboard were killed. The bodies of three of the Canadian airmen, missing in action and entombed in the Halifax bomber, were recovered in 1997 and given a full military funeral in Gerarrdsbergen, Belgium. The recovered parts of the Halifax were all saved and brought to Canada. Some of the parts were used in the restoration of the Halifax currently on display at Trenton, Ontario. The unusable aluminum was saved due to the rarity and heritage of this RCAF metal and was then melted down into ingots to be used into the future for Air Force Memorials, plaques, and statues by the Bomber Command Museum of Canada ….”

On sharing ATIP’ed documents: The Canadian Press

Here’s a Twitter exchange I recently had with a Canadian Press reporter about being able to share documents CP obtains via Access to Information Act/Privacy Act (ATIP) requests.

• @Murray_Brewster DND mulls how to get Canadians out of harm’s way in future crisis: documents – via @winnipegnews shar.es/bFVcu #cdnmil
• @milnews_ca @Murray_Brewster Is CP going to share the obtained docs anyplace online? Thx!
• @Murray_Brewster @milnews_ca Unlike the Globe and newspaper publications, we don’t have a format or venue to share documents online. I wish we did.
• @milnews_ca @Murray_Brewster Interesting – how about Scribd.com or other file sharing sites? Thx for the response – much appreciated.
• @Murray_Brewster @milnews_ca Traditionally, once our stories are published, we’ve provided hard copies of ATIP docs to whoever has asked.
• @milnews_ca But that was back in the stone age.

No response re:  posting docs to Scribd.com or other document sharing sites.

My read:  individual reporters may be amenable to sharing documents obtained via ATIP requests, but some outlets don’t have (or don’t want to set up) the infrastructure to share them.

Then again, what about the outlets with infrastructure already in place to share such documents?

More as we find it out….

Canadian Fast-track Terp Immigration Progam to be Extended?

I’ve shared my concerns with the program to fast-track the immigration of Afghan interpreters who helped Canadians into Canada.

It appears common sense is prevailing – this, from the Canadian Press:

Ottawa may extend its fast-track immigration policy for Afghan translators who help the Canadian Armed Forces and aid workers in Kandahar if troops remain in Afghanistan beyond 2011.  Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Friday it would make sense to continue the program for as long as such translators work with Canadians.  “The basic principle is any Afghan whose life is at risk because they’ve assisted Canadian Forces or aid workers we’re going to give them fair consideration for expedited immigration to Canada,” Kenney said Friday.  “If there is some kind of extension of a non-combat mission, I’m sure we’ll extend the same principle in the future …. We’re on track to receive between 150 and 200 by the time the program is over.” ….

According to the Canadian Press, about 250 applications have come in so far.  There have apparently been delays in processing because some of the groups who provide input into the process have pulled out of Kandahar or Afghanistan because of security concerns.

Let’s hope common sense DOES prevail.

Earlier rants on this one:

• Weasel Wording = Dooming Afghan Interpreters
• Helloooooo? Anything Happening with AFG ‘Terps Getting Here Faster?
• AFG ‘Terps Split on Canada’s Offer of Fast Track Immigration
• Getting Terps into Canada Faster

 

 

Weasel Wording = Dooming Afghan Interpreters

You know how I’ve felt about Canada’s proposed plan to fast track the immigration process for interpreters who’s helped Canada in Afghanistan:

Canada Slamming Door on Afghan Help Post-2011?

AFG ‘Terps Split on Canada’s Offer of Fast Track Immigration

Getting Terps into Canada Faster

Well, this quote from the Immigration Minister’s office to the Canadian Press, if it’s been shared correctly, shows an interesting  nuance in the rules being applied – highlights mine:

“The applicant must demonstrate that: the threat is directly related to the individual’s support of the Canadian mission in Kandahar, or directly related to an immediate family member’s support of the Canadian mission in Kandahar; and the threat is greater than the level of risk faced by the many others working for the Canadian government in Kandahar province in general.”

Really?  I’ve been searching through the media material Canada shared with reporters in mid-September of last year (material also available here at Scribd.com if links don’t work) :

• Government of Canada creates special immigration measures to recognize contribution of Afghan staff in Kandahar
• Backgrounder:  Special immigration measures for local staff in Kandahar who support Canada’s mission in Afghanistan
• Frequently asked questions: Special immigration measures for certain Afghan nationals

…but I haven’t found the phrase used in the  CP story.

Wow.

Just.

Fucking.

Wow.

All I can say is that I have to agree with this column headline from today’s Ottawa Citizen:

We’re dooming our Afghan helpers

Way to help those who helped us, Canada.

WHAT’S CANADA BUYING? Self-healing UAV systems

Another link in the “swarming robot/UAV” research stream – this “ask”, from MERX

…. Self-Healing Networked Control Systems Study …. The objectives of the work are:  To conduct an extensive study on the synthesis, the analysis and the validation of self-healing networked control systems for heterogeneous teams of small-scale unmanned vehicles. On the one hand, to develop concepts and theory pertaining to the following functionalities in teaming autonomous systems: cooperative health management and decision making, condition monitoring, information fusion, and robust fault-tolerant control. On the other hand, to prove the validity of the proposed concepts and systems in autonomy by means of theoretical proofs, extensive studies of modeling and simulation, and hardware-in-the-loop experiments.

(….)

The maximum funding available for the Contract resulting from the bid solicitation is $275,000.00 (Goods and Services Tax or Harmonized Sales Tax extra, as appropriate) ….

Who got the work?

Numerica Technologies Inc
3420 Lacoste
QUEBEC
Quebec
G2E4P8
Canada

(….)

Amount $288,750.00 CAD

Earlier:

WHAT’S CANADA BUYING? Micro-chopper UAVs and Recce Robots

WHAT’S CANADA BUYING? Canadian Press Catches Up…

What a Difference a Headline Makes

Canadian Press started running a story this week talking about the results of public opinion polling carried out in Kandahar – note the headline (PDF of original here if link doesn’t work):

Public support for Taliban in Kandahar hit ‘all time high’ last spring: poll

When CTV.ca ran CP’s story, here’s the headline they used:

Support for Taliban hit ‘all time high’ last spring: poll

When CBC ran the same story, from the same source, here’s the headline they used (PDF here in case link doesn’t work):

Taliban support strong in Kandahar: poll

When I was a radio reporter eons ago, I was told that as much as possible, the first sentence to a story should be in the present tense to lend an air of immediacy to the text.  That said, the rule doesn’t mean one should distort the meaning of the story by using the present tense in a lead or a headline when the event is PAST.

Bias?

I don’t think so.

Aiming to save space?

Maybe.

Headline writer doesn’t know the different between past and present tense?

I doubt it.

Is this ammunition for those who think there is bias at the CBC?

Yup.

Another quick question, this time to CP:  when do we get to see the original document obtained through the Access to Information Act?  Don’t trust the reader to come to his/her own conclusions?

Getting Terps into Canada Faster

Let’s see what’s happened on this so far.

30 Apr 09:  We hear from the Canadian Press that “Canada is set to open its doors to hundreds of Afghans who face life-threatening risks after having worked with our military and diplomats …. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says he’s putting the final touches on a policy to provide safe haven to Afghans endangered by their association with Canada.

15 Sept 09: Canada commits to helping those who helped “Canadians in Afghanistan by making it easier to immigrate to Canada.

15 Sept 09: I express some skepticism about the cut-off for the program.  Given Canada’s intent to get the @#$% out of Kandahar and Afghanistan, I can understand the deadline.

8 Dec 09: We hear of someone who was working as an interpreter for Canadian forces in Afghanistan who may have been gunned down by the Taliban in a Kandahar shop.

18 Dec 09: We hear of someone who helped Canadian troops who could use the immigration fast tracking.  I ask the same question as the article:  “Will Ottawa help man who saved Canadian’s life?”

29 Dec 09: Toronto Star editorial raises a good point:  “We owe our Afghan partners more than a faint hope.”

24 Jan 10: We hear from the Canadian Press that:

• Potential candidates were briefed on the program around October of last year.  (Ok, that seems to be on track.)
• A committee that is supposed to assess cases for fast-track immigration hasn’t been set up yet – this part has been reportedly ” “negatively impacted” by the security situation in Kandahar”. (They didn’t know it was a bit…. unsettled in Kandahar at the time?)
• The application?  A “three-page referral form, which comes with an eight-page set of instructions, all in English.” (Which is more important in a local language, this kind of application or a news release highlighting a Canadian prison official’s visit, like this in Dari or this in Pashto?)

The original news release said “The government plans to implement these measures in October 2009″.  Does that mean “we’re setting up the system in October 2009″ or “the system will be up and running by October 2009″?  It appears to be the former, not the latter.

Cold comfort for those whose lives are at risk waiting for “plans to implement these measures.”

Is this the fault of officials taking too long?  Perhaps.  Is this the fault of a Minister (and Government) wanting to make it look like something was being done when it really wasn’t yet?  Perhaps.  Is it something else we don’t know about?  Perhaps.

I hope the next update I share is one with some REAL good news.

UPDATE (1): BruceR over at Flit shares his theories about what might be wrong with the fast-tracking program.

WHAT’S CANADA BUYING? Canadian Press Catches Up…

….on some research being done by the CF.

24 Oct 09, MILNEWS.ca:  “DND Looking into Micro-UAVs, UAV Swarming”

10 Nov 09, MILNEWS.ca:  “WHAT’S CANADA BUYING? Micro-chopper UAVs and Recce Robots”

10 Jan 10, the Canadian Press:  “DND experimenting with robotic tanks and helicopters, hoping to make them think”

Why you have to “triangulate” media reports….

…. to get the closest approximation of reality.

One news conference by Commander of Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM) Lieutenant-General Marc Lessard, four different headlines:

• Globe & Mail, first version: “Afghan strategy working, Lt.-Gen. says”
• Globe & Mail, later version:  “Troops must prove local commitment, general says “
• The Canadian Press:  “Difficult year ahead in Afghanistan, warns senior Canadian commander”
• CanWest/National Post:  “Commander sees hope in war-weary Afghanistan.”

Follow-up coverage elsewhere then depends on which version is shared:

• CTV.ca:  “Rough year ahead in Afghanistan: Canadian commander” (from Canadian Press)
• CBC.ca:  “Lt.-Gen. Marc Lessard, commander of Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM) told The Canadian Press he agrees with McChrystal’s assessment that the next year in Afghanistan will be critical.” **

** -  This excerpt is from a longer story about a related issue.  I haven’t been able to find a stand-alone story by Canada’s national broadcaster from this news conference. I guess it wasn’t newsworthy enough.

I would love to hear from someone in the government comms business about how feasible it would be to share transcripts of such interviews (not just CF, but any GoC department).  That way, the whole exchange could get out there, not JUST what the media pick/choose from it.  I know it’s done in other countries – how feasible would it be to do here?

Finally, Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan!

I missed this earlier in the week – thanks Macleans.ca for making me look – from a Canadian Press story linked to the PM’s visit to the United States.

The last line of the CP story?

“Harper made it clear in Washington that the country is not walking away from its commitment: “Canada is not leaving Afghanistan; Canada will be transitioning from a predominantly military mission to a mission that will be a civilian humanitarian development mission after 2011.” He said “that transition’s already in place.” “

At last a politician, Canada’s chief government spokesperson, makes a short, clear and easy to understand statement, and it gets buried at the bottom of the story.

Good to have at least the start of some clarity regarding what happens next.