South of the border, there have in recent years been a growing number of voices expressing serious concern over the militarization of American life.
I certainly share that sentiment.
Is an F-16 fly over and trooping the colours really appropriate for the opening of the Super Bowl?
The USA is apparently becoming the Praetorian pole in an increasingly heterpolar world order. Still, I think that a debate of this nature is culturally healthy, and have always admired the fact that some of the most trenchant, even withering criticism of U.S. policy and actions comes from domestic sources, including not least that country’s many military academies and war colleges.
Even in the mainstream media, a decade’s worth of assumptions used to justify deploying the military to pursue the epically misguided global war on terror are finally being questioned.
One could only wish that a similar degree of the scrutiny accorded defence issues in the USA might one day be evident in the discourse on international policyin Canada.
Apart from a few faint echoes in the academy and a handful of specialized publications, that discussion here is practically non-existent. I find that most unfortunate.
Canadians need to start talking about the kind of military that they require in the face of all identifiable threats and challenges. They must then somehow try and square the outcome of that conversation against a thoughtful consideration of whether or not the defence capability that they need matches the one that they have got.
I have my doubts.