Seeking insight on Canadian Security and Defence

[PoliticsStudent]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping you all could share some insight with me. I am a student and am writing a major paper on defence and security policy. I have 7 topics in total to choose from, however I find 4 worthy of consideration. I am going to post the topics, and I would love to hear from you guys on which topic you think I could find the most information without setting myself up to conquer a mountain (i.e. too broad a topic). I am a civilian and could use some advice on perhaps what specifically is available for research and perhaps the best places to check out to get me started. I am not familiar with Canadian Forces Websites that would provide this type of information thus I am looking for your knowledgeable insight. 

Topic 1: Should Canada join the American Ballistic Missile Defence initiative?                       
  - I think most of my information could come from academic journals who are proponents and opponents.

Topic 2: Should Canada stay the course in Afghanistan?
  - Unfortunately, most information comes from the media and we all know this isn't the most reliable source.

Topic 3: What are the positive and negative consequences of defence policy initiatives allowing women to serve in combat roles in the armed forces?           
  - How can I get my hands on defence policy initiatives specific to this topic?

Topic 4: Canadians pride themselves on their nation's participation in UN peacekeeping operations, but Canada currently contributes most of its peacekeeping personnel to non-UN (i.e. NATO) peacekeeping missions. What are the positive and negative implications of this change in emphasis?           
  - I could get Statistical data from the UN website and perhaps Parliament of Canada. But what can I get that would be from the military perspective?

Thanks and I am looking forward to your knowledge.
E 

 

[GAP]

This is a great resource for fleshing out your essay....use search, it is your friend....we are not going to do your homeword for you.

 

[PoliticsStudent]

we are not going to do your homeword for you.

Thanks for the search option... I am working on it. As for doing my homework... that's not what I am asking of you guys and gals. I am simply asking for links of places I could check out for REAL QUALITY research instead of the Globe and Mail or the National Post, lol. This is more of a... what would you choose? You guys have the advantage of knowing what could be both a successful and interesting topic to cover.

Thanks again,
E 

 

[niner domestic]

I'm going to hazard a guess and say a library with a reference librarian would be an excellent place to gain access to, or as you put it - real quality, research.  If you were my student, and you handed in a research paper with just newpaper articles as a primary source, I'd give the paper back to you to rewrite. 

If you do not have a university or reference library near you, then learn how to do an inter-library loan on academic material.  As for assisting you on your topic choice, would you not be better off discussing this with your professor or TA as opposed to complete strangers who really have no vested interest in what you end up writing about?

 

[PoliticsStudent]

library with a reference librarian....

Hi There,
Thanks for the insight. Already checked with the Librarian. She actually recommended trying out a military forum. Hence, I'm here. Of course there are academic articles at my university, I will be using those as primary sources... I was more or less looking for the military perspective itself. Not some Professor with a Ph.D. who has studied military matters without having actual experience on the inside.

As advised previously, I was searching through your boards for information. I have settled on topic 4. I think between some points addressed on this board, I could make some great arguments and some great counter-arguments. Now I will go get the research to disprove and approve of points brought up here. I am going to see what Romeo Dallaire has written for starters. Your boards are quite extensive and very helpful.

Thanks again,
E 

 

[RangerRay]

For topics 1, 2 and 4, I would try to get your hands on anything by Major General (Ret'd) Lewis Mackenzie.  Other scholars to check out are Jack Granatstein and David Bercuson.

Not sure on topic 3...maybe some anecdotes from some grizzled old NCOs... ;D  (where's my flame-proof suit?)

EDIT: For the other side of the fence, look up Stephen Staples and the Polaris Institute.  Then search for his name on this website and you'll be able to punch holes the size of Volkswagens through his arguments.  ;D

 

[GAP]

As for newspaper articles regarding your subjects check out the "Sandbox" threads. There is a new one each month. Myself and a bunch of others collect articles from sources all over the world and post a bit of a summary so you know what it's about, and a link to the original article.

 

[rautenstrauchc]

Ah, to be in school again. The nice thing about the essay questions is that you can argue any side of the question that you want. You can even stay on the fence. In my socail studies class we needed to do one of those essays a week. What I found was a real good resource that you can qoute, are usually most of the major Canadian news sources (CBC, MSN.ca, Canoe etc.), as well as blogs. You can find some  pretty interesting blogs from allot of the big name politians. Just remember to use their thoughts to sell your own.

 

[PoliticsStudent]

For topics 1, 2 and 4, I would try to get your hands on anything by Major General (Ret'd) Lewis Mackenzie.  Other scholars to check out are Jack Granatstein and David Bercuson.

Not sure on topic 3...maybe some anecdotes from some grizzled old NCOs... ;D  (where's my flame-proof suit?)

EDIT: For the other side of the fence, look up Stephen Staples and the Polaris Institute.  Then search for his name on this website and you'll be able to punch holes the size of Volkswagens through his arguments.  ;D

Thanks so much for the names. I was really looking for articulate examples such as these names. I will definitely check into Major General Lewis Mackenzie. I am going to see if I can find some pieces from Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier as well as it can put a current perspective on things. I notice his name raised a lot. I have checked out the military.com board as well for particular primary sources... but that board appears to be central to the United States.

Thanks also for the suggestion on the 'Sandbox' threads. This is great and I have made some headway on information gathering. This paper stops short of a full dissertation, so I am looking for as many valuable contributions to reading materials as possible. Thanks again to all of you.

E 

 

[Cloud Cover]

Also check out http://www.ruxted.ca/

There is an article on peacemaking vs. peacekeeping.

cheers

 

[The Bread Guy]

PM inbound with some sources of information....

+1 on the Sandbox news only thread.  There's a wide range of news sources - although you'll learn from the forums where the media gets it wrong

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Topic 4: Canadians pride themselves on their nation's participation in UN peacekeeping operations, but Canada currently contributes most of its peacekeeping personnel to non-UN (i.e. NATO) peacekeeping missions. What are the positive and negative implications of this change in emphasis? 

PoliticsStudent- not to be pedantic, but ( here comes the pedantic part  )- we are not peacekeepers.  We are soldiers, sailors, and airmen, who are trained, first and foremost, to engage in combat with whatever enemy our government tells us to.  Since the Korean war, we have, from time to time, engaged in the act of peacekeeping, but will find that for the the bulk of the past 60 years, we have prepared for and actually engaged in, warfighting.  Have a look at Sean Maloney's excellent "War Without Battles" and Jack Granatstein's "Who Killed the Canadian Military?"

Good luck and welcome to Army.ca.  I hope that you stay awhile and enjoy some of the discourse.

 

[observor 69]

i like what Brian Stewart at the CBC has been saying on topic number 3. He comes into the National  News and provides input from high level international sources such as the CIA, NATO and ISAF . In other words at a grad student level of research, using sources outside Canada to get a broader more informed outlook.  As you know ISAF is a multinational group so I would be checking those countries out on their take on Afghanistan operations. Some stuff in the British Guardian newspaper is very good, the Brits are being very truthful about the Operation.

Observer

 

[PoliticsStudent]

PoliticsStudent- not to be pedantic, but ( here comes the pedantic part  )- we are not peacekeepers.  We are soldiers, sailors, and airmen, who are trained, first and foremost, to engage in combat with whatever enemy our government tells us to.  Since the Korean war, we have, from time to time, engaged in the act of peacekeeping, but will find that for the the bulk of the past 60 years, we have prepared for and actually engaged in, warfighting.  Have a look at Sean Maloney's excellent "War Without Battles" and Jack Granatstein's "Who Killed the Canadian Military?"

Good luck and welcome to Army.ca.  I hope that you stay awhile and enjoy some of the discourse.

Thanks for invite. I fully agree with you about not being peacekeepers, but soldiers, sailor, and airmen. I don't believe there is any 'peacekeeping' mission that I have come across, UN sanctioned or not,  ended without casualties or an exchange of gun fire. I think it is a politically coined term myself to fit the Pearsonian era of Canadian History; an extension of foreign policy to reflect multilateralism and 'peacekeeping': "the friendly fixer". We sway between liberal internationalist visions to realist visions frequently, or at least I find this to be the case depending upon our Prime Minister. I see peacekeeping and warfighting as involving the same mechanisms of training. It is great to hear that you see yourself trained this way. I feel like I'm not such an awkward outsider looking at this topic now, lol.

Thanks again everyone. I have taken your information and suggestions and am going through them.
E 

 

[paracowboy]

Some stuff in the British Guardian newspaper is very good, the Brits are being very truthful about the Operation.

the Guardian? Bwaaaahahahahaha! Why not the Toronto Star, or the Weekly World News?

Hey, Student, for some real news, try FAS.org, Strategypage, Janes, and the Economist. You may need to get subscriptions to some, but they're resources you'll come back to often in your studies. Especially the Economist. Send me a pm tomorrow, and I'll see what sorts of civi sites I can direct you to from the Int cell. (It'll cost you, though. Nudie pics or cookies. Your call.)

And this site has reams of info, and even more opinions. As stated previously, ruxted has some good stuff, although it can be somewhat dry. 'Search' will be your friend. (As will I, for nudie pics or cookies.)

 

[GAP]

Did I just hear a political animal say she understood that "peacekeeping" is a task, but that a soldier must be prepared to engage in combat?......nah.....she's lying.....isn't she?    ;D

 

[George Wallace]

Oh Crap Para!  You left out the BBC, Spotlight on Military News and International Affairs ( http://www.cfc.forces.gc.ca/spotnews_e.html ), Christian Science Monitor, and all the other Int Open Source sites......but that is getting away from National Policy.

 

[PoliticsStudent]

Did I just hear a political animal say she understood that "peacekeeping" is a task, but that a soldier must be prepared to engage in combat?......nah.....she's lying.....isn't she?    ;D

Cute.... very cute.  ;D I certainly did say it! I truly believe it too. I don't understand this current public persception that many (not all) Canadian's hold of peacekeeping being separate from warfighting. This is why I don't understand how so many Canadians are upset about the 'role' of our troops in Afghanistan and were shocked with the extension of deployment till 2009 by PM Harper. I don't understand the outcry when he said 'we' are in a combat role because this is 'war'. War is the variable and peacekeeping is a dependent variable on war. Therefore there is always War. War requires combat training. Peacekeeping is a task.  That's just my thought and I could be way off. I'm just a civillian.

Thanks again for everything,
E

 

[RangerRay]

the Guardian? Bwaaaahahahahaha! Why not the Toronto Star, or the Weekly World News?

Took the words right out of my mouth, Para!  :rofl:

 

[a_majoor]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping you all could share some insight with me. I am a student and am writing a major paper on defence and security policy. I have 7 topics in total to choose from, however I find 4 worthy of consideration. I am going to post the topics, and I would love to hear from you guys on which topic you think I could find the most information without setting myself up to conquer a mountain (i.e. too broad a topic). I am a civilian and could use some advice on perhaps what specifically is available for research and perhaps the best places to check out to get me started. I am not familiar with Canadian Forces Websites that would provide this type of information thus I am looking for your knowledgeable insight. 

Topic 1: Should Canada join the American Ballistic Missile Defence initiative?                       
  - I think most of my information could come from academic journals who are proponents and opponents.

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/2706.0.html
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/46948.0.html
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/23544.0.html

There are plenty more threads on the boards, but this is a good cross section to start.

(Paracowboy, I'll bet I get those cookies first!)