Canada's Contribution (Extreme irony alert)

The Toronto Sun ^ | March 24, 2003 | CHRIS DOUCETTE

[IvanT]

Canadian troops may not be part of the Iraq conflict, but our technology is front and centre.

About 1,700 defence contractors in Canada export military hardware such as armoured vehicles, electronic equipment and flight simulators around the globe.

And much of the gear sold to the U.S. has improved since 1991, meaning American soldiers are better equipped to fight than they were more than a decade ago.

"Technology is much more advanced," said Chris Stellwag of CAE Canada's military training division.

Based in Toronto, CAE is a world leader in flight simulation technology,.

Its state-of-the-art simulators can prepare pilots for night missions and even reproduce the sand kicked up from the blades of a helicopter for added realism.

Thanks to satellite imaging, any area in the world can be transformed into virtual reality -- down to the buildings and trees -- providing an edge to soldiers preparing for battle, Stellwag said.

About 550 commercial satellites orbiting the earth use components made by Com Dev of Cambridge.

If the war is fought on city streets as expected, light armoured vehicles (LAVs) made in London, Ont., should do Canada proud.

"They did quite well the last time around," Ken Yamashita, of General Dynamics Land Systems, said of the LAVs' appearance in the first Gulf war.

In fact, the U.S. has been so impressed with the performance of the eight-wheeled vehicles that it has ordered another 2,100 in addition to the 800 already in use, he said.

"These types of vehicles do very well in an urban setting," Yamashita said of the versatile, easily transported LAVs.

[IvanT]

Irony, or outright hypocrisy, given our government's stance?

[SF Geo]

Hey, A new meaning for the "V" so-called peace sign

Legs in the air, come on in and f*ck me.

Pass it on.

[Kozak]

And how much equipment did our Canadian friends sell to the Iraqi's either directly or indirectly?

[dawgmeat9]

What a crock of sh*t. They haven't helped and will continue to sit idle w/ chretien

[Conspiracy Guy]

I wonder how many reverse gears were designed into their LAV's? We probably had to have custom trannies for US version.

[Snowyman]

And how much equipment did our Canadian friends sell to the Iraqi's either directly or indirectly?

Don't know. How much has the US or Britain sold ?

[IvanT]

I'm not aware that any Canadian companies have sold Iraq anything. That's pure speculation, so in that train of thought, I wonder how much the US has sold to Iraq?

I seem to recall a certain government and person named Donald Rumsfeld helping Iraq out bigtime in the 80's against Iran.

[IvanT]

What a crock of sh*t. They haven't helped and will continue to sit idle w/ chretien

Um, no kidding. Well, dogmeat9, my friend, I can see that you entirely missed the point of me posting this article. Look 'irony' up in the dictionary please. Do try to keep up.

[cynicom]

So nice that the Canucks can make money while our soldiers shed blood.

[B4Ranch]

The V sign once was the Victory sign. Remember Churchill holding his hand up?

[dawgmeat9]

Wow, you're sure a winner. I post replies to articles not titles.

[Snowyman]

I'm not aware that any Canadian companies have sold Iraq anything

Neither am I. That's why I asked the question.

[Kozak]

I seem to recall a certain government and person named Donald Rumsfeld helping Iraq out bigtime in the 80's against Iran.

Big deal. The US helped the Soviet Union during world war 2 when it was in OUR interest to do so. Enemies (and ALLIES) change over time.