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Perspectives

Should the Canadian military deploy armed drones?

If there is one theatre of war tactic that remains controversial – aside from the inevitable divisions of futuristic killer robots I keep reading about – it is the use of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles as the military prefers to call them.  Relentless, tireless, brimming with state of the art gadgetry, these flying platforms […]

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Perspectives

Terrorism perception vs reality – part 1

There are many occasions on which public perception does not hold up well once research is carried out and data collected.  For instance, people in Canada and the US think that crime is on the increase when statistics show quite the opposite and that we are in an era of unprecedented safety.  Global warming  is […]

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The right way to carry out airstrikes

I have stated this on several occasions and I will repeat it here: I am not an expert on the use of military force.  Hell, I’m not even slightly knowledgeable about all things military  So I write this blog carefully and hope I do not sound completely out of my depth by the end. Airstrikes […]

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The fallout from airstrikes

I have said it before and I will repeat it here: I am not an expert in military affairs.  Hell, I am not even a well-informed John Q Public when it comes to things military.  When I talk about the military I am bound to sound dumb. So, here it goes: my take on why […]

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Perspectives

Lessons from Normandy

I have spent the last week touring northern France (Brittany and Normandy) with my eldest daughter.  We have seen some amazing cathedrals and abbeys (Mont St Michel and Rouen among others), the thousands of standing stones at Carnac and some incredibly quaint Brittany seaside villages (Pont Aven was particularly lovely). But what has struck me […]