Harjit Sajjan – Ted Campbell's Point of View … an old soldier's thoughts on shoes and ships and sealing wax and many other things. I self describe as a classical liberal ~ which means, in 21st century Canada, that I’m a Conservative. I believe in four fundamental rights for each and every individual: Life, Liberty and Property, as described by John Locke in 17th century England, and Privacy, as defined by Brandeis and Warren in 19th century America. Your comments are welcome, but my views (and obvious biases) are pretty well established after 75+ years.

What’s needed

So, another Globe and Mail editorial cartoon, this one by Brian Gable, gets right to the point: Another “watchdog” is going to do exactly nothing. The former Ombudsman did his job, he did the right thing. The problem was that the political leadership ~ specifically Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan ~ decided to ignore him andContinue reading “What’s needed”

Ooops

So, about a month ago, when the allegations about now retied General Jonathan Vance first surfaced, “Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan repeatedly said he was “surprised” by the allegations made against former Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance but would not disclose when he learned of allegations, stating that his hands were tied when it came to providing anyContinue reading “Ooops”

Do it now!

The very sad, to me, anyway, news that just retired General Jon Vance and his replacement, Admiral Art McDonald are both being investigated for sexual misconduct and that Lieutenant General Chris Coates had an inappropriate relationship with an American lady … … while he was Deputy Commander of the combined (Canada-USA) North American Aerospace DefenceContinue reading “Do it now!”

What Canada needs

““There is no way you can look at the global landscape and see [anything] other than increased indicators of danger and threats … [but] … The level of real and actual danger will depend on how it is that nations around the world hold China to account, and the same can be said for Russia.””Continue reading “What Canada needs”

Doing the right thing

This article, in the Hindustan Times and this in the South China Morning Post, both deal with the same issue: China is trying to wear down Japan’s ability to assert sovereignty over the disputed Senkaku (尖閣諸島 in Japanese) or Diaoyutai (or Diaoyu Islands (釣魚臺列嶼 in Chinese) which are, in reality, little more than a few (eight)Continue reading “Doing the right thing”

Ballistic Missile Defence NOW!

So, I came upon this backgrounder (updated in December 2019) on North Korea’s military capabilities by Eleanor Albert published by the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations. One key takeaway is that North Korea continues to develop its intercontinental nuclear tipped ballistic missile force. Its missiles can now reach anywhere in North America: Anyone, which, IContinue reading “Ballistic Missile Defence NOW!”

A timely warning

The generally non-partisan Macdonald-Laurier Institute has published a new report, authored by retired CBC journalist Terry Milewski, who has tracked pro-Khalistan/Sikh separatist groups for decades, which says that Pakistan is the driving force behind the Khalistan (Sikh) separatist movement which seems to have many (too man) supporters in Canada. Mr Milewski notes that considerable pressureContinue reading “A timely warning”

Why does this not surprise me?

This article in the National Post just caused me (and many of my friends and former colleagues with, in total, centuries of experience in National Defence Headquarters) to shrug. You might have looked for at least an eye-roll, but, no, all it rated was a shrug. What didn’t surprise anyone? Well, according to the CanadianContinue reading “Why does this not surprise me?”

I wonder if anyone is listening

Michelle Carbert, writing in the Globe and Mail, says that “Canada’s top general [General Jonathan Vance, ⇐ the Chief of the Defence Staff] says Russia poses the most immediate military threat to this country and the international community today, while China represents a significant risk for cyber attacks … [and, the point was echoed byContinue reading “I wonder if anyone is listening”

Another costly and unnecessary delay

Lee Berthiaume of the Canadian Press, in an article published in the National Post, writes that “Canada’s long-running effort to buy new fighter jets is facing another delay … [because] … The federal government announced Tuesday it is giving jet makers another three months to submit their proposals for replacing Canada’s aging CF-18s. Companies wereContinue reading “Another costly and unnecessary delay”