MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 12 Jan 11

• A bit more excitement at CSIS offices in Toronto than they would have liked.  “Toronto police say they have arrested a man in connection with a bomb scare in the city’s downtown. Police used a stun gun to incapacitate the man they believe left his car and suitcases in front of the CSIS building, prompting a bomb scare …. one of the city’s main traffic arteries, was shut down for a second time during the height of the evening rush hour as police reopened their investigation into the incident. Police told CBC News that the man they arrested was the owner of the car involved in the earlier incident. The man apparently put up a struggle with police even after being stunned with a Taser and was taken to hospital for observation, said police spokesman Const. Tony Vella. During the evening there were three loud noises near Front Street. Police later explained they were controlled explosions, detonating a package the man was carrying when he was arrested. The earlier bomb scare ended quietly after police cleared an area outside the offices of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service after finding nothing untoward in two abandoned pieces of luggage and a car parked nearby ….”
• Here’s what the head of NATO’s training effort in Afghanistan had to say in a recent paper on what Canada could do in Afghanistan (PDF):  “…. The Canadian military and civilian police forces have done much to support NTM-A (NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan) and the development of the ANSF (Afghan national security forces). The recent addition of 44 police trainers and 10 air mentor trainers to the NTM-A mission has been invaluable, as these specialties are particularly hard to fill.  However, to move from building the basic Afghan military and police forces to developing the key capabilities required for those forces to be self-sustaining requires, more of your trainers with specialized skills and experience are required. Police, air, and medical trainers are especially needed, and your nation has the capabilities to provide more air mentor teams in Kandahar, police trainers in Kandahar, trainers at the ANA medical facility in Kandahar, and logistics facilities across the country. Your forces are more broadly experienced than most other nations serving in the International Security Assistance Force, and such mature soldiers, with multiple tours serving in Afghanistan, would be extremely effective trainers for the ANSF ….” Sorry, General, but there’s a parliamentary motion out there that says we’re outta Kandahar, but thanks for the compliment.  More on the U.S. aching for Canada to stay in Kandahar here, here and here.
• In case you missed it in yesterday’s e-mailed version, “The military will ground Canada’s spy plane program after the Afghan combat mission ends this summer. The commander of the prop-driven CU-170 Herons, which operate out of Kandahar Airfield, said the Canadian Forces will disband his squadron once troops pull out of Kandahar. Maj. Dave Bolton, the new and final commander of Task Force Erebus, said his team will then go on to other jobs within the military. “There’s a lot of very young people that were involved with this program,” he said in an interview. “There’s probably going to be a hiatus of somewhere between two and five years ….”
• “…. Bureaucrats working alongside the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan are baffled why civilian police officers and Tim Hortons employees at Kandahar Airfield are eligible for military medals but they aren’t. Public servants were eligible for the military’s General Service Medal when the mission began in 2002 and they worked under the authority of the Canadian Forces. But several months ago, bureaucrats were notified by Afghanistan Task Force officials they no longer qualified because they don’t work for the military. The change ruffled feathers earlier this month when Task Force Commander Brig-Gen. Dean Milner handed out medals to 14 civilian police officers at the Kandahar Airfield for their nine-month stint working with Afghan police. Bureaucrats say most police officers are paid by the Foreign Affairs Department and work for it on its projects. National Defence officials have since begun an examination into whom the civilian police reported to and whether they were given the wrong medal ….”
• An interesting suggestion from a former Canadian general on how to improve Veterans Affairs Canada:  “…. The only way to change Veterans Affairs in favour of instead of against Veterans is to convert the place into a department filled with younger Veterans of all three services starting with the post of Deputy Minister–if the Prime Minister can’t find a Veteran in his caucus to be minister.” I have to disagree, General.  The people implementing it aren’t the problem – it’s the RULES that have to change.
• Remember this woman, who ran a pro-Taliban/jihadi news page, who was kidnapped in Pakistan and reported dead?  It appears some journalists aren’t happy with the lack of attention paid to her (reported) plight.  “…. Giesbrecht never defined herself as such but she was, in a sense, a practitioner of immersion journalism—sometimes defined as reporting from an intensive personal perspective. As author/journalist Norah Vincent puts it in her book Voluntary Madness: “The whole point is that you are not objective.” As for her controversial website, friends say it was not propaganda, but rather a tool to gain the confidence of the people she wanted to interview. “If you put up a website that looks like another CNN wannabe,” says one close friend in Canada, Glen Cooper, “they’re not going to pay much attention to you.” Giesbrecht herself said of her website: “It is my hope that this will inspire others to Islam and to take a stand against this shameful war on ‘terrorism.’ I am not a ‘terrorist,’ a fanatic or mentally unbalanced. On the contrary, I am a level-headed, capable woman, a humanitarian and a contributing member of society.” ….” In my as-yet unposted comment, I raise the point that if she was “inspiring” people to “take a stand” and running pro-Taliban material to seek the group’s attention, 1)  this is a columnist, not a journalist, and 2)  be careful what you wish for.
• Latest volley in the “the F-35 is great – no it’s not!” fight comes from a senior politician.  “The federal government is standing by its multi-billion dollar investment in the Joint Strike Fighter program, which has boosted the country’s economy and will create job opportunities in the Canadian aerospace industry for decades, Government House leader John Baird said Tuesday. Baird defended the government’s commitment to purchase 65 F-35s, insisting the deal will help the Canadian Forces while significantly contributing to the economy. “It’s the right thing to do and our government is committed to seeing this through,” Baird said of the planned purchase, which is estimated to be at least $14 billion, while touring MDS Aero Support Corporation, an Ottawa-based engineering organization involved with the development of fighter jet engines ….”
• It seems I’m not the only person out there thinking this column on the woes and misery that will befall the U.S. military when it allows gays/lesbians to serve is a bit beyond its best-before date.  “…. The article actually tries to make the point that European countries have gays in the military but have underperformed in Afghanistan. Tell that to the Danes that have been fighting hard in the toughest parts of Afghanistan with few restrictions (few caveats) and paying a high price in casualties–highest per capita. Tell that to the Aussies who have been working hard in Uruzgan but/and have gays in their military. Same for the British ….” Another take:  “…. He cites some NATO countries lack of “resolve” to continue the fight in Afghanistan, as if all decisions related to the Afghanistan adventure somehow hinge upon the fighting ability of homosexual soldiers. In this narrow view of the world, Stephen Harper’s decision to end Canada’s “combat” role in Afghanistan must be because gay soldiers have inundated Defence Minister Lawrence Cannon’s office with pleas to come home, or to at least relocate behind the wire in Kabul. Likely, the truth is that the Conservatives received more letters from those upset with the long form census than from gay soldiers lacking the will to carry on Canada’s mission. ….”
• A UN official says Canada was asked “pretty please” to keep its post-earthquake military presence in Haiti longer. “The Canadian government turned down a plea to extend its military relief effort in Haiti after last year’s earthquake, says a top United Nations official in Port-au-Prince. Canada was widely praised for rushing to provide emergency help, including clean water, security and medical care, following the devastating temblor last Jan. 12. Armed with heavy equipment, Canadian military engineers also cleared rubble and helped Haitians reopen their roads, particularly in the hard-hit areas around the cities of Leogane and Jacmel. But despite attempts by the UN and local authorities to persuade Ottawa to keep the engineers in Haiti beyond the end of Canada’s relief mandate, the military packed up and left. “I think there was a strong request that they stay on,” Nigel Fisher, the UN’s head of humanitarian aid in Haiti, told The Canadian Press in an interview from Port-au-Prince. “Many felt that they wished they had stayed because they were extremely effective.” ….” More from The Canadian Press here.  Meanwhile, this just in:  Canada finds $90 million for Haiti assistance – more on that from Postmedia News here.
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  Taliban page post asks, “Why isn’t the Peace Council calling for American forces to withdraw from Afghanistan?!?”

More on Nabbed Pro-Taliban Web Mistress

Remember Beverly Giesbrecht, aka Khadija Abdul Qahaar?

While I can’t say I agree with everything on The Jawa Report, I love the bluntness of some of the content.  Case in point:  this, on the missing web mistress:

Let me just make note of a few things in this terribly researched Canada.com story. The author, “Jane Seyd”, seems to interview only a few people for the story, but the main source is a close friend of Beverly’s named Glen Cooper.

Any person who was close friends with Beverly Giesbrecht will also meet one or more of the following criteria: very stupid; on the Leftwing fringe; a terror supporter; or the kind of person who finds it necessary to befriend the crazy old lady with all the cats down the street.

Besides the source, here are the two major problems:

1) Nowhere does the article mention that Jihad Unspun was an objectively pro-terrorist and pro-Taliban publication.

2) The friend tells us that Beverly went to Pakistan to make a documentary. What it does not mention is the fact that the documentary was meant to portray the Taliban as the good guys in the war.

Accurate, brief and clear – the ABCs of good writing.

Remember the Canadian Jihadi Web Site Operator…

….kidnapped in Pakistan last year (lots of back-story and comments on this one at Milnet.ca here)?  The latest from the Canadian Press suggests work continues via Pakistan to get her out:

Glen Cooper, whose friendship with Giesbrecht spans more than two decades, said he spoke to her by telephone two months ago …. Cooper said he’s had several conversations with the kidnappers, though the number of direct calls has slowed in recent months.

“I did speak to her in the summer so I knew she was alive then,” Cooper said. “I have not heard from her since and I don’t know what her status is.”

Cooper has been reluctant to speak out on Giesbrecht’s abduction in the past while officials worked to secure her release. But as the one-year anniversary of the kidnapping approaches, he said government officials aren’t telling him anything and he’s worried his close friend won’t last much longer.

“I have her phone number,” he said, speaking of Giesbrecht and her captors.

“I could just phone her but I don’t because that gets in the way of what other people are doing.”

In the weeks following Giesbrecht’s abduction, Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Lisa Monette issued a statement saying, “Canadian officials continue to engage with Pakistani authorities in seeking her safe and early release.”

This week, when asked to update the situation, Monette issued a near-identical statement, saying, “Canadian officials are engaged with Pakistani authorities in seeking her safe release.”

Monette declined further comment.

“I’m sure that you can appreciate that we will not comment or release any information which may compromise our efforts or jeopardize the safety of a Canadian citizen,” she said.

John Weston, a Conservative MP for the West Vancouver riding that Giesbrecht used to call home, confirmed he’s familiar with the case but declined to provide further details.

“I look forward to a day when I can discuss with you more openly what hopefully will have been a successful release of Ms. Giesbrecht,” he said.

“This is a peculiar case where we’re relying on the local government (in Pakistan) to assist in the release of Ms. Giesbrecht.”

A spokeswoman for the High Commission for Pakistan in Ottawa also declined comment on the case.

Meanwhile, someone’s updating parts of Giesbrecht’s web page Jihad Unspun (although it appears to be more than a year since the site’s news archives have been updated).

I hope for her safe release, if only to see what she has to write about her hosts now that she’s been a guest for so long.