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September 29, 2005
Rusty tools
Looks like Canada's military is stretched too thin:
The military budget should double and the Canadian Forces should sign up thousands of new recruits, a Senate committee said Thursday.
The budget should be $25-billion to $35-billion a year instead of the $14.3-billion earmarked this year and the Forces should have 90,000 people in uniform instead of the 62,000 authorized today, the report said.
Canada has never been the military juggernaut that its southern neighbor has been, but its armed forces have developed a reputation for professionalism and skill in peacekeeping operations the world over (a few scandals aside). Today, the Canadian Armed Forces are an active component of the NATO ISAF force n Afghanistan.
Apparently, such extensive do-gooding does little good from a wear-and-tear perspective. Perhaps the most apt (and amusing) quote from the report sums it up best:
“Canadians should think of Canada's military as a tool box for the government to use to fix things that are of vital interest to Canadians ... our tools are rusting.”
Posted by Daniel Widome at 08:21 PM to Americas
