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blackrams
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OCT 22, 10:37 PM
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NATO Has a Canada Problem
https://www.msn.com/en-us/n...20e35019faf408&ei=14
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NATO members in Western Europe have drawn a torrent of criticism in recent years for failing to spend enough on defense and take their own national security seriously. It’s a fair charge, despite some recent improvements. Yet, one of the least responsible NATO members isn’t in Europe at all. It’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Canada.
In 2014, NATO members committed to a defense spending guideline of 2 percent of GDP. At the time, only three allies met this target. However, since Russia invaded Ukraine, many NATO countries have accelerated their commitments to increase defense spending, and most NATO members now hit this spending goal.
The Canadian government, however, is one of the few NATO allies that fails to meet the 2 percent defense expenditure threshold.
Canada isn’t a small country, nor is it a poor one. It’s perfectly capable of meeting its treaty obligations. Yet it spends a mere 1.37 percent of its GDP on defense, or roughly $30.5 billion a year. Despite having the sixth largest GDP among NATO countries, Canada ranks twenty-seventh in defense spending as a proportion of GDP. For comparison, the United States is the third-highest NATO member ranked in percentage of GDP (3.38 percent), behind only Poland and Estonia.
Canada is more than capable of meeting its obligations and has done so before. During the Cold War, Canada was a hugely capable NATO member whose contributions to deterring the Soviet Union were absolutely critical to hemispheric security.
The need to spend more on defense is particularly salient for Canada, as threats to NATO don’t only come from Eastern Europe. Canada also needs to take Arctic and North American security far more seriously as the Arctic emerges as a critical area of concern, rich in untapped resources and new navigation routes that are attracting attention from our adversaries.
China and Russia are actively increasing their presence in the Northern Pacific Ocean as they seek to expand into the Arctic. In late September, officials from both nations convened to form a “comprehensive strategic partnership” aimed at advancing their initiatives in the region. China describes itself as a “near Arctic” state (despite being nowhere near the Arctic) and has stated its intent to build a “Polar Silk Road.”
On September 28, the U.S. Coast Guard spotted Chinese and Russian coast guard ships near St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, just south of the Arctic Circle. With increasing “near Arctic” encounters, Canada must bolster its defense against potential incursions from China and Russia along the Arctic coastline and not rely on the United States for Arctic security.
As Canadian Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu put it:
“We can no longer ignore the threats to our sovereignty…Foreign powers are already testing our resolve, whether in the air through spy balloons or on the water through monitoring buoys. We are too dependent on the United States for Arctic defence—we must live up to our responsibilities as a northern country.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced plans to reach NATO’s 2 percent defense spending target. Yet these plans won’t have Canada hitting the target until 2032. This eight-year timeline is far too slow. No other NATO ally has submitted such a lackluster plan.
Trudeau’s priorities appear to lie elsewhere. His priorities for the Ministry of Defense have been to “build an inclusive and diverse” defense team, prioritizing the elimination of “anti-Black racism, LGBTQ2 prejudice, gender bias and white supremacy.” Prime Minister Trudeau would have done better to spend Canadian resources to strengthen Canada’s military readiness and ensure Canada could defend itself and its allies.
Canada’s continued underinvestment leaves its NATO obligations unmet and weakens the overall defense of both the alliance as a whole and the North American continent. Canadians deserve better. |
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Canadians deserver better? All of NATO deserves better. If Canada won't pull it's fair share of the load then Canada should stop expecting such a cozy relationship with those who do.
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Rams
Learning most of life's lessons the hard way. . 
You are only young once but, you can be immature indefinitely.
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olejoedad
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OCT 23, 09:15 AM
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Canada has had a Trudeau problem for far too long.
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blackrams
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OCT 23, 09:38 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by olejoedad:
Canada has had a Trudeau problem for far too long. |
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Pretty sure the problem has been identified:
| quote | | Trudeau’s priorities appear to lie elsewhere. His priorities for the Ministry of Defense have been to “build an inclusive and diverse” defense team, prioritizing the elimination of “anti-Black racism, LGBTQ2 prejudice, gender bias and white supremacy. |
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Addressing the above issues isn't a money problem, it's a leadership problem. I do know a few Canadians who don't support Trudeau but, they are all military friends, one has to assume the majority of Canadians don't mind.....................
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Rams
Learning most of life's lessons the hard way. .
You are only young once but, you can be immature indefinitely.
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Mickey_Moose
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OCT 23, 02:08 PM
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ray b
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OCT 24, 10:04 AM
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the rump supports putin
he will fix it
right ?
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olejoedad
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OCT 24, 03:36 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by ray b:
the rump supports putin
he will fix it
right ? |
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You support Satan
God will fix that for you.
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ray b
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OCT 25, 10:35 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by olejoedad:
You support Satan
God will fix that for you. |
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no I reject BOTH AS FAIRY TALES
WITH NO HISTORY OUTSIDE OF MYTHS
but if evil has a side it is clearly the RWNJ SIDE THE Gop SIDE
AND YOUR MADE UP GOD NEVER COULD FIX ONE TRUE CHURCH
SO MANY CULTS ALL CLAIM TO KNOW THE WILL OF GOD
NO EVIDENCE THAT ANY ONE EVER DID
THAT IS THE TRUE TEST
IF THERE WAS ONE TRUE GOD
THERE WOULD BE ONE TRUE RELIGION CLEARLY FAVORED BY THE GOD
BUT THERE IS NOT AND NEVER WAS
JUST EVERY MAN GETS TO CLAIM WHAT EVER
AND SPIN THE VERSION HE LIKES BEST
NO GOD IN ANY OF THE CULTS
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ray b
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OCT 25, 11:00 AM
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NewDustin
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OCT 25, 12:25 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by ray b:
...
THAT IS THE TRUE TEST
IF THERE WAS ONE TRUE GOD
THERE WOULD BE ONE TRUE RELIGION CLEARLY FAVORED BY THE GOD... |
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Unless that god didn't want to establish a religion.
...or didn't want reveal itself, or interact with humanity.
...or couldn't interact in a way humanity could understand or interpret.
...or didn't even have any purpose at all.
That's not a very absolute test.
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blackrams
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OCT 25, 12:31 PM
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Ya know, responding to a troll simply encourages them. They just love throwing a thread off topic and stirring a pot.
It's simply a waste of time and effort to respond and feed a troll.------------------
Rams
Learning most of life's lessons the hard way. .
You are only young once but, you can be immature indefinitely.
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