MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 13 Feb 11

• Remeber this tidbit about Switzerland selling Canada a dozen unarmed Leopard tanks for conversion into “protected special vehicles”? Well, an eagle-eyed reader at Army.ca spotted this interesting line in the English statement:  “The parties agreed not to disclose the terms of sale.” Really?
• “Civilian contractors building a road that has been described by senior NATO commanders as a dagger through the Taliban’s heart are being protected from lethal harassing fire by Canadian Griffon helicopters. The potshots stopped the instant Canada’s once-maligned Griffons and their powerful Gatling guns and high-tech scopes appeared above a tongue of grey farmland that, until three months ago, was controlled by insurgents, aircrews said. “The single biggest element that air power brings is that the Taliban is afraid of us and this weapon,” said Capt. Luc Savoie, a reservist who once flew F-18 fighter jets and in the civilian world is an Air Canada pilot. “We can see a lot of sh– from up here. When we show up, the grunts tell us the Taliban flees. In this way, the Griffon really shows its worth.” ….”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  Taliban claims responsibility for loads o’ killing in Kandahar City.
• As Egypt continues to sort itself out, Canada’s sending diplomats over to help out (in one way or another).  “A team of 14 senior diplomats have been dispatched to Egypt to help with the evacuation of Canadians and keep an eye on our interests in that country, according to Foreign Affairs officials. The department was tight-lipped on Friday on whether the civil servants will collect information to help Ottawa prepare for a transition of power in Egypt now that President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down after 30 years of rule. Canadian government officials said some of the diplomats will be starting dossiers on potential leaders, who stood out during the protests, as they look to protecting Canada’s economic interests in that country. In 2009, Canada exported $639.4 million in goods to Egypt. Foreign Affairs spokesman Lisa Monette refused to speculate on what roles, if any, the diplomats will undertake in Egypt. Monette said an additional 44 foreign affairs staffers were deployed to European countries to help more than 520 Canadians get home after being evacuated from Egypt ….”
• There’s a new country being created in Africa:  South Sudan.  Some warnings are out there about Canada doing the right thing treating it as a still-to-be-sorted-out kinda place.  “(Because of oil in the area), the United States welcomed the independence of the oil-rich South Sudan even before the outcome of the referendum that was to decide the fate of the country. “If as is expected” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “southern Sudan votes to have its own country, then I hope we in this border region, and certainly the United States, will help.” Unlike the U.S. however, Canada prefers to deal with Sudan within the context of fragile or failed states. It is this philosophy that inspired strategists in Ottawa to handle the Sudan situation with extreme caution, especially because of the fragility of the new state and the evident potential for renewed violence. Former Canadian ambassador to Sudan John Schram sounded this view when he warned, “There is no guarantee that all these guys in the south of Sudan will continue to work together” he said. “They have been enemies in the past.” ….”