Jan. 1, 2005. 01:00 AM
Relief team in Sri Lanka next week
Military needs to rent Russian aircraft to transport group
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1104534613024
Disaster Assistance Relief Team members being recalled
BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH
OTTAWA BUREAU

Sat, January 1, 2005

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Peter_Worthington/2005/01/01/pf-803803.html

A big question in the tsunami catastrophe in the South Pacific is why Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) isn't there? Instead, we've sent a plane load of water purification pills and, almost a week after the disaster, a military team to "assess the situation."

Good God! What is there to assess? It's arguably the world's greatest natural disaster ever, with the number of dead reaching towards 150,000. The lack of food, drinking water, the inevitability of disease, not to mention the injured, is so apparent as not to need much confirming or assessing.

The real reason why we -- "we" meaning Canada --haven't sent the much-ballyhooed DART to Sri Lanka or Indonesia is because we can't. It doesn't exist. Oh, it exists mostly on paper and in rhetoric, but there is no emergency team poised to rapidly respond to disaster as federal propaganda claims.

As recently as last Sept. 10, DND issued a "backgrounder" boasting that the genesis of DART was the 1994 Rwanda genocide when the army dispatched a Field Ambulance unit to "provide medical relief to refugees." Unfortunately, the relief effort arrived too late, when the cholera epidemic was diminishing.

"This experience convinced the Canadian government of the need to create a rapid-response capability to provide effective humanitarian aid ... (and) the concept of DART was born," the backgrounder says.

Water purification

It said 200 trained military personnel "ready to deploy quickly" to conduct emergency relief for up to 40 days to "bridge the gap" until international aid can provide long-term help. Primary medical care and a water purification unit capable of producing 50,000 litres of fresh water a day are DART's specialty -- at least in theory. Coincidentally, drinkable water and medical care are the greatest need of tsunami victims.

So what went wrong? Again, it must be repeated that DART is largely propaganda, a smoke-and-mirrors concept. The people designated to "rapidly respond" were probably all on Christmas holidays, as were the PM, the foreign minister, the international co-operation minister. Only Defence Minister Bill Graham was around. Mercifully, he took charge and seems to be the only minister capable of making decisions and dealing with the emergency. Thank goodness for him.

Even if DART was operational (which it clearly isn't), we have no aircraft to transport the equipment. As it is, the military "assessment" team that flew to the South Pacific had to go by commercial aircraft, since the military doesn't have enough planes anymore. Nor do we seem to have planes that can make a long distance flight without turning back because of engine trouble (remember the Timor emergency a few years back?).

Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew, who is both hapless and hopeless in a job he has no talent for, insists Canada "is not a banana republic." This is true, so why do our political leaders behave as if it was?

To see the futility of Ottawa's betrayal of Canadians, go to the DND Web site (forces.gc.ca) and quick search DART and read the inflated bumf -- then wonder why a week after the tsunami nothing has happened. Some "rapid-response!"

Yet there'll be no repercussion until we elect a different government that doesn't indulge in secrecy and bafflegab. While we're at it, it should be mentioned that another classic example of DND myth-making is the vaunted JTF2 commando unit that is so secret reporters visiting Canadian units must promise not to interview or identify these guys whom regimental combat soldiers don't hold in high regard. A secret army within the army is, or should be, alien to a democracy.

Anyway, Ottawa has been caught with its pants down. In a curious way the tsunami disaster underlines how pathetic our federal government is.

Happy New Year, you guys and gals.

Sat, January 1, 2005

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Edmonton/Scott_Haskins/2005/01/01/pf-803801.html

As a child of the '60s and '70s, I was always being told to duck and cover. Usually by my older brother. "And kiss your ass goodbye," he would say.

The heavy-handed threat of nuclear destruction hung over our heads during the Cold War. The Red Army was to be feared and never trusted. And that was just the hockey team.

Older now, and perhaps just a wee bit wiser, I have figured out that it really wasn't the Russian people I despised. It was the government.

Today, I feel much the same way about my home and native land. While the Canadian people are beautiful, giving and thoughtful, the government scares the hell out of me.

The cold bumbling and bungling of our leaders in the wake of the tsunami tragedy in southeast Asia goes beyond embarrassing, all the way to infuriating.

Ted Menzies, the Conservative critic for international co-operation, called Canada's initial response "pathetic." And he was being overly kind.

Shouldn't there always be money for a good idea? The government always seems to be able to find the money for bad ideas.

Canada initially pledged $4 million in aid to the 11 countries devastated by what is being called the worst natural disaster in human history. That works out to approximately 11 cents per citizen. Defence Minister Bill Graham proudly made the announcement ... because everyone else was on vacation.

That was Tuesday, two days after unrelenting tsunamis transformed a pristine paradise into a living hell. The death toll now stands at more than 120,000, or 40 times as many people as died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on New York City. More than five million people are without food, water and shelter.

Quote of the week, courtesy of Col. Guy Laroche of the Department of National Defence, 48 hours after the waves hit: "It seems DART is not the right tool at this time."

DART is the Canadian Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team. This is a catastrophe that is being talked about in "biblical proportions." And this isn't the right time for deployment?

Five minutes spent watching CNN makes it clear there isn't five seconds to spare.

Did I mention that it would cost up to $15 million to put the DART team in the field? No, it's much better to send a surveillance team so we can watch what's going on.

Canadians, naturally, were disgusted and embarrassed by the response, or lack thereof.

The U.S. announced an aid coalition. Japan immediately pledged $30 million and joined. Australia pledged $27 million and joined.

On Wednesday, as the death toll climbed towards 100,000 and the rest of the world reacted, Graham said Canada would increase its pledge tenfold to $40 million.

That's better, but why must the government be dragged kicking and screaming when it comes to doing the right thing? More than anything, it seems, Ottawa was shamed into it by harsh criticism from citizens. And there was still no DART deployment.

On Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and International Co-operation Minister Aileen Carroll both returned from vacation and held a joint press conference. It was announced that debt payments from affected countries will be put on hold. How nice.

There was no announcement concerning the deployment of DART.

Meanwhile, generous Canadians from coast to coast reached into their wallets and broke open piggy banks to make donations at an unprecedented pace. As the number roared past $25 million, Ottawa proudly announced it would match the pledges of its citizens. What it didn't announce quite so loudly is that the money is part of the $40 million pledged earlier.

Yesterday, six days late, Prime Minister Paul Martin arrived home and announced, quite proudly, that Canada will join the coalition. Better late than never, but also always late and always a follower.

And DART has been put on 48-hours' notice.

Leave it to the electorate to show the elected how it's done. Companies and individuals jumped at the chance to help. Bars across the city accepted donations and turned over tips last night. The Roadrunners donated money from the Chuck-A-Puck promotion to the Red Cross. And so on.

I am proud of Canadians, but the actions - or inaction - of a few makes us all look bad.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2005/01/02/pf-804686.html

Sun, January 2, 2005
Canada pledges jets, troops
FRIGATE ALREADY COMMITTED TO NATO RAPID REACTION FORCE
By STEPHANIE RUBEC, OTTAWA BUREAU

CANADA WILL commit frigates, CF-18 fighter jets and ground troops to the newly created NATO rapid reaction forces, says our military's top general. Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Ray Henault said he's already committed a frigate to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's maritime response force.

And in the next year Henault said he expects ground troops and fighter jets to be earmarked.

"We already know where we can fit into it," Henault said in an interview. "For the land force in particular, it's beyond August of '05. The navy is already involved."

The 19-member defence alliance created a multinational quick response team in late 2002 and expects it to be ready to deploy by 2006.

The 5,000-strong land force unit is meant to be deployed to hot spots within five to 30 days of a unanimous decision by NATO members.

Henault said the Liberal government's pledge to finance the recruiting of 5,000 new regular force soldiers will allow Canada to commit ground troops to the NATO force without stretching itself too thin.

Henault said that'll happen once the army is done its 18-month break from major deployments in August.

"Deploying faster will become an important factor for us, especially with the NATO transformation that we're part of," he said. "That means the force has to be at a very high state of deployment readiness."

Henault retires in April and in June will take the top military post in NATO, where he will work as the military adviser to the alliance.

Henault said the Canadian Forces expects to commit CF-18 fighter jets by late 2005 and at least another frigate to the maritime leg of the rapid response force.

He said Canadians will begin training with NATO counterparts in 2005, even before the federal government makes a full commitment to join the maritime force. Canadian fighter pilots, frigates and ground troops will be committed for about one year to the NATO response forces -- six months for training and a six-month deployment.

"You really commit your forces for a year when you start engaging in NATO Response Force activity," he said.

Canada hasn't deployed its CF-18 fighter jets since the Kosovo bombing campaign in 1999. Since then 80 of the 118 Hornets have been undergoing massive upgrade to give them the technology to work with allies.

It will take another four years for all the aircraft to get the full upgrades. The air force expects to fly the 20-year-old CF-18s into 2017.

Buddy, can you spare a plane?
Canada shouldn't have to rent the aircraft it needs to get our troops to where they're needed
http://www.canada.com/owensound/story.html?id=85316f73-c764-4b0b-8fa1-884785c64bb3 
Colin Kenny
The Ottawa Citizen
January 7, 2005

The South Asian tsunami has produced lessons to be learned by every country in the world, including Canada. Our lesson is the need to focus on how our nation can increase its capacity for quick and efficient response to disaster at home and abroad.

Were senior Canadian government officials on vacation during the holidays? Of course. Were they quick enough in scrambling to ramp up Canada's response? To those Canadians who felt so helpless watching the bleak images on their TV screens, no response was good enough -- everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

There may have been a bit of early stuttering at the federal level, but, in fairness, nearly every government in the world was mesmerized by the scope of the disaster -- including those directly affected. We weren't alone.

Within a few days, the federal government made some excellent decisions. It was one of the earliest to vastly expand its financial commitment (to $80 million), and it encouraged Canadians to dig down when it quickly offered to match private donations.

After early resistance, it also deployed the Canadian Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). The DART is expensive to mobilize and its field hospital capacity is far from a cost-effective response, but the DART does have a water purification capacity. Providing 50,000 litres of fresh water a day won't be much more than a drop in a very huge bucket, but it should save some lives.

Canadians should be scrutinizing how we are deploying the DART, and how, in fact, we are forced to deploy Canadian military assistance in all kinds of emergency situations.

Too often, Canadian Forces either have to hitch-hike or take a cab. In this case, they are taking some cabs -- the government has rented Antonov cargo planes -- to ship the DART's equipment.

The Canadian military hasn't had a large lift capacity for some time now. In 1992, we relied on the U.S. Air Force to transport some of our armoured vehicles to Somalia. Ten years later, we used civilian rentals and U.S. military aircraft to deploy infantry to Afghanistan. During the 1998 Ice Storm in eastern Canada, Canada rented planes and turned to the Americans to move our troops and equipment -- across our own country.

Canada does have planes that can carry troops and equipment, but these aircraft are relatively small. The Canadian military has between 16 and 24 Hercules tactical-lift transport planes (out of a fleet of 32) available on any given day. It takes 26 separate Hercules lifts to move the Disaster Assistance Response Team, compared to the six lifts it would require if Canada operated the Boeing C-17s used by the United States and Britain. It has been estimated that hundreds of pieces of Canadian military equipment won't fit into a Hercules without being dismantled.

The most elderly of our Hercs, which first flew for us in the 1960s, constitute the oldest operating Hercules used for military purposes anywhere in the world. Canadian military people shudder to recall the deployment of Canada's peacekeeping force to East Timor several years ago -- the plane was forced to return to base three times because of faulty equipment before finally lumbering to its destination.

Think of the Hercs as the next Sea Kings.

Hercs don't have the range to get our troops to far-off places quickly. So, if they can't hitch a ride, the Canadian Armed Forces rent transport planes -- often old, rickety planes from suppliers in Russia and Ukraine, mostly Antonovs. There aren't many Antonovs still flying, and those that are don't have much lifespan left. Moreover, they have uncomfortable similarities to the Yakovlev-42 that crashed in Turkey last year, killing 62 Spanish peacekeepers.

It would only take one crash like that one to wipe out more of our troops than have been killed on a single deployment since the Korean War.

Canada requires large, new, military transport planes. The Boeing C-17 is the best option. Unlike the incipient European Airbus A400M, it is already in production, and has proven its value.

The net annual cost of acquiring 10 of these planes on a lease arrangement (based on 800 annual flying hours per plane) would be quite low, around $30 million a year.

The 10 C-17s would cost us $340 million annually, including crew and maintenance costs. We could mitigate these costs by retiring our entire fleet of Hercs, saving about $265 million a year. We would no longer be forced to rent commercial strategic lift, saving another $50 million a year.

This is pocket change compared to the overall amount Canada should be spending to modernize its military.

The U.S. Air Force would likely wedge us into the order line so we could have these planes flying for us in two years -- as they did for the British recently.

Few countries have a strong airlift capacity. All kinds of countries need to get their troops from place to place to perform UN missions. They, like Canada, are forced to rent. If we owned our own C-17s, we could rent them to other countries and make a little money, while offering a safer option than the Antonovs and Yakovlevs.

Having a formidable airlift capacity would mean that Canada would feel less pressure to come up with ground troops when crises arise. We would be able to help, quickly. We would not only look good to our allies and the rest of the world, we would look good to ourselves.

Canadians have demonstrated their generosity with a very emotional response to the South Asian tragedy. But if Canada is going to play a useful role in the world, we need to run on more than our emotions. We need to formulate intelligent response systems. Improved air lift should be a big part of what we have to offer.

Senator Colin Kenny is chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence.

the next time you're dealing with an 'anti-America' Canadian, remind them of this little tidbit:"During the 1998 Ice Storm, Canada...turned to the Americans to move our troops and equipment -- across our own country."