Posted on 07/16/2005 2:59:48 AM PDT by Clive
OTTAWA (CP) - If Canadians were shocked that the head of their military called his enemy "detestable murderers and scumbags," they better get used to it. Gen. Rick Hillier has never minced words, nor is he likely to start any time soon.
His blunt assessment of terrorists in Afghanistan and elsewhere this week has the wholehearted backing of the prime minister.
"General Hillier is not only a top soldier, he is a soldier who has served in Afghanistan," Paul Martin said Friday in Nova Scotia.
"The point he is simply making is we are at war with terrorism and we're not going to let them win."
Defence Minister Bill Graham's office refused Friday to soften or explain the comments of its top soldier.
No "clarification" will be forthcoming, said spokesman Steven Jurgutis.
"I can certainly understand that there may be people who are concerned with the tone of his statements," said Jurgutis.
But he said Hillier "has certainly been a fairly straight-talking individual throughout his career.
"I wouldn't say this represents a change in attitude."
Defence analysts and soldiers alike lauded Hillier's appointment as chief of defence staff earlier this year as a fundamental shift in the Canadian military.
Known as a soldier's soldier, Hillier is the most operationally experienced commander to take the top post in many years, breaking the bureaucratic mould that seemed to dictate many appointments since the Cold War.
Born in the outport of Campbellton on Newfoundland's north coast, Hillier doesn't attempt to cover a Scottish-Irish lilt that turns "Afghanistan" into "haffghanistan" and "horse" into "orse."
One factor in Hillier's promotion was his fearlessness and penchant for calling things as he sees them.
The defence minister was looking for a new vision for the Canadian Forces and, in Hillier, he got it.
A defence policy statement released in April charted a whole new course for defence - much of it adhering to Hillier's direction.
His current list of requests for interviews is at about 50, so this week the general with the reddish-blond moustache held an informal, on-the-record media luncheon. Audiotapes were OK, cameras were banned.
Reporters familiar with Hillier's style barely flinched when he said all elements of the Canadian Forces need to be revamped, including the part where "you go out and bayonet somebody."
"We are not the Public Service of Canada," he declared. "We are not just another department. We are the Canadian Forces and our job is to be able to kill people."
The terrorist bombings in London underscore the need to take the fight to the enemy in failed states where they have room to thrive, said Hillier.
As a Western society that values rights and freedoms, Canada is already in conflict with "what people like Osama bin Laden, Mullah Omar and those others want."
"These are detestable murderers and scumbags," Hillier said. "They detest our freedoms, they detest our society, they detest our liberties."
It's time for Canada to take a stand, he said, just as it did 66 years ago when it joined the Second World War against the Nazis, whom he described as "those despicable, murderous bastards."
The Polaris Institute, a left-leaning think tank based in Ottawa, said Friday the defence minister needs to "clarify" Hillier's "very alarming" comments.
"His use of epithets such as 'scumbags' and 'killers' is reminiscent of language used by (U.S.) President (George W.) Bush and U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld," said project director Steven Staples.
Taken alongside recent defence policy changes and an increase in the defence budget, Staples said they "show an unmistakable trend toward the Americanization of the Canadian Forces."
Jurgutis noted that Canada was already listed as a terrorist target and he doubted Hillier's comments would change matters.
Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden declared Canada a "legitimate target" in March 2004.
Adrian Gordon, executive director of the Centre for Emergency Preparedness, gave a qualified endorsement of Hillier's blunt talk.
"Part of me agrees with that, part of me says that's true," Gordon said in an interview from Burlington, Ont.
"But at the same time, if we're really going to deal with this problem and have a hope of putting an end to terrorism, then we have to work towards understanding the root causes, which go much deeper than current events in Iraq and Afghanistan."
>
> "I can certainly understand that there may be people who are
> concerned with the tone of his statements," said Jurgutis.
>
what??
oh, yeah, terrorists i guess.
geez what is wrong with these people
That group probably wants our military reduced to nothing. Fortunately, few people outside Quebec share that view...
Mia Culpa....... Apologias.
I remember Canada when it WAS free.
Praps there are a few Canucks lurking who also remember.
Hope so!
It is about friggin time.
I can only pray the lefties in Ottawa do not shut this guy down anytime soon.
Nice to hear a warrior speak out. Its been way too long!
I believe Maleherbes was being sarcastic.
In order to defeat the scumbags we must first fix the immigration system. If you're not going to go after the enemies within, because there are a lot of al-Qaeda people here then the efforts in Afghanistan will be rendered useless.
"What I am surprised at is that the libs picked him in the first place. He's the kind of guy who can send off the leftists crying and covering their ears."
Hi North:
Considering his 'tough' (i.e., truthful and completely appropriate) language, I'm surprised some jerk liberal gov't flunky hasn't sent the good General to "Club Ed".
I wish him and the Canadian Forces well.
Regards,
Levante in Spain
Refreshingly blunt.
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