Posted on 09/16/2017 10:23:58 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Under current tasking, U.S. strategic defense assets would treat a missile inbound for St. John, Newfoundland identically to a missile bound for Antarctica. This was Canada’s choice, not America’s.
The computers would ignore it. There is no scope for human override. Defended areas are defined by software tables. They are programmed to ignore non-threatening objects.
Yes, his name perked my ears up too.
NATO requires member nations to spend 2 percent of GDP on defense. Only a few meet this obligation. Canada spends 1.0 percent. Half of what is required. They figure uncle sam will defend them or there simply is no need, anymore, for defense.
NATO needs to be re-thunk. Perhaps 1 percent should be the new minimum. But, this 1 percent has to make sense from the standpoint of mutual defense.
Canada was actually a major power as recently as World War II. They had a large Army, aircraft carriers, a nice fleet of other ships and a decent Air Force.
Vancouver is a nuclear free zone so they don’t need to worry about a North Korean attack.
This general has obviously been sniffing too much maple syrup.
re “Canada is a founding member of NATO. It would be unthinkable of the U.S. not to cone to it’s aid.”
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization, founded against the Soviet threat, not against ANY Sino-Japanese-Korean threat.
And with Canaduh’s politics lately, why should america come to it’s aid?
Everyone of whom will receive the same level of protection from US strategic defense assets as Canadians living well north of the U.S. border.
I think your analysis is spot on. Let me add that the general is probably hearing it from his peers in NORAD, “why aren’t you part of the missile shield?” This is a question Canadian citizens might want to start asking their government.
The general is nonsensical. The US throughout modern history has always been a defacto defender of Canada, if nothing more than being our neighbor.
unless you piss us off..don’t confuse keeping quiet, being good neighbours and minding your own business as “harmless”
He’s trying to stir up some cooperation and funding from our arrogant northern neighbors.
Four letters makes this general’s statement false.
NATO
5.56mm
Can anyone spell N-O-R-A-D anymore?
Really???
Canadian special forces were sent to Afghanistan in October, 2001 a couple of weeks after 9/11. Was that quick enough for you? Regular forces arrived in Kandahar a couple of months later. Here is an excerpt from Wiki:
"Regular forces arrived in Kandahar during January–February 2002. In March 2002, three Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry snipers fought alongside U.S. Army units during Operation Anaconda. In the operation the team broke, and re-broke, the kill record for a long distance sniper kill ...Operation Anaconda was also the first time since the Korean War that Canadian soldiers relieved American soldiers in a combat situation. Canadian forces also undertook Operation Harpoon in the Shah-i-Kot Valley. Other forces in the country provided garrison and security troops."
159 Canadians died in Afghanistan, proportionally that would be over 1,500 American deaths. You can read the whole article here . You might learn something.
But... but... but what if NK attacks Luxembourg?
Yah...you guys are known to fight dirty against the boards.It ain't no coincidence that there's a total of only about two dozen teeth in the entire NHL!
Respectfully, I disagree. I think the general is correct, though my view depends on the definition of “defend.”
If “defend” means to try to shoot down incoming missiles, how does the US do that? Because of 30 years of progressive screaming and obstruction, the US has almost no missile defense for itself. And what it does have is questionable in its effectiveness.
If the US sees an ICBM headed toward Canada with a suspected nuclear warhead and uses the US anti ballistic missile system against it, a significant part of the US system will be used up, and irreplaceable in the short term.
If the US had a policy of “defending” Canada with the US ABM system, it would leave the US immediately more vulnerable than it already is. What a perfect situation for the Norks to now launch against the US. That’s not smart. Especially given Canada’s luke-warm if not anti-US attitude.
I don’t believe the general was saying that the US would shirk it’s NATO obligations to aid Canada if Canada was attacked. But if it comes to using the scarce and fragile US anti-missile defense system to defend Canada from an ICBM attack, I think the general would be correct in saying the US won’t do it.
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