Who Killed the Canadian Military?: What Canada Must Do to Defend Itself in the 21st Century

by J.L. Granatstein

Book Overview

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0002006758
• ISBN13: 9780002006750
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: HarperFestival
• Length: 249 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Granatstein is as illuminating as ever

A very nice, readable volume. Grantstein's years of research in the field (not to mention his own military experience, which comes to the fore for the first time) have culminated in this very well done survey of how the Canadian military has evolved in the last 100 years. The book is straightforward, written in simple language, and is logically laid out into several distinct "eras". He discusses both the military atttitudes of the time, and the policies of the government. He is even handed (for instance, he concedes many of the positive aspects of integration while at the same time identifying the harmful effects of Unification) and at the same time ruthless. Unlike many critiques, Granatstein ends up with some constructive suggestions. Readers might like to compare and contrast his conclusions with those in TARNISHED BRASS, which also has a prescription for reviving the military. The latest version of this book carries us up to Paul Martin's election victory and is therefore rather current. Recommended, probably moreso than Bercuson's SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT which also covers the same topic, and much less muckracking that TARNISHED BRASS.

On the right track ... most of the time

Granatstein hits most of the right targets when assigning blame for the neglect, bordering on outright sabotage, of the Canadian military. Pearson-era Defence Minister Paul Hellyer's bizarre unification experiment gets (almost) the scathing criticism it deserves, as does Trudeau's neglect of the military. And the morale-sapping myth of Canada as a nation of "peacekeepers" is exposed in all its fraudulent glory. But Granatstein, like many of his opponents on the left, goes on to make that classic Canadian mistake of confusing a strong defence posture with greater continental integration. Make the military bigger, he says, while at the same time start cooperating more closely with Washington. Granatstein seems not to consider the possibility that Canada needs a stronger military to safeguard Canadian interests abroad and sovereignty at home on its own terms, rather than to blindly support U.S. foreign policy. His critique of Jean Chretien for keeping Canada out of the U.S.-led blunder in Iraq, for example, now looks particularly ill-chosen in retrospect. While sharing Granatstein's disgust at the damage and humiliation that politicians and bureaucrats have forced on Canada's military, one still can't help but wonder whether he really wants to save our military and restore its pride, or just set up a local recruiting depot for the U.S. military. Even most of the new equipment he suggests acquiring comes from the United States, with very little from Europe or Britain. Nevertheless, this is a book that every Canadian should read. And let's hope Canada's army stays Canadian, complete with the regimental system, "leftenants" and a chain of command that ultimately stops in Canada. Or we could add Jack Granatstein to the list of those who helped kill Canada's military.

An important read

Jack Granatstein has captured the culprit who has seen the demise of the Canadian military... it was the Canadian public aided by a succession of elected officials and some careerist members in uniform. Mr. Granatstein does an outstanding job of explaining his choices of reasons why the Canadian Forces (CF) has fallen into a state of disrepair. Peacekeeping vice training and equiping the military for general combat has lulled the Canadian population into thinking that we have a ready band of do-gooders in uniform instead of a cohesive fighting force. Diefenbaker, Trudeau, Mulroney and Chretien - the latter being the worst of the bunch - all destroyed the foundations required to field a capable military force.Mr. Granatstein does not espouse the need of a million person military nor does he say that the military requires all the bells and whistles our friends south of the border employ. His argument is simple: give the small military we have direction (through REAL leadership) and equip them with the tools they require to get the job done, whether it be supporting a coalition effort or an aid to civil power operation domestically. It should be noted that the book is not a collection of woes and complaints, it also provides some viable solutions to the issues faced by the CF. The only caviat he had placed on these solutions is that something has to be done NOW.All in all, the book was an easy read and well argued, I urge all Canadians, whether they care about the military or not, to read this book and feel the pulse of the current state of the CF before it flat lines.