4 ms·

Hmm, need to spend taxpayer funds somehow under the pretext of security. “As our world grows darker, with Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukrain

Hmm, need to spend taxpayer funds somehow under the pretext of security. “As our world grows darker, with Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasingly assertive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific, this project has taken on heightened significance, especially given the importance of interoperability with our allies,” Anand said. Anand needs to be aware that Canada will never be threatened by China or Russia because they are not as capable as they pretend.

JimtheCoder 4y ago
"Anand needs to be aware that Canada will never be threatened by China or Russia because they are not as capable as they pretend." If this is true, why bother with any military at all...
- bombolo 4y ago
  They share a long border with the most aggressive militarised country that has ever existed.
  - mentat 4y ago
    Wasn't aware that Canada had moved to 1940s Europe...
    - satvikpendem 4y ago
      Or Mongolia. Or Assyria.
    - digdugdirk 4y ago
      I read the above statement as "militarized aggressively (in comparison to the rest of the world)". The US is/was essentially able to outmuscle multiple regional powers to such a degree that they stopped even trying to compete militarily. They were/are on a different technological level, if warfare were a technology.
    - bombolo 4y ago
      Nazi germany limited itself mostly to the same continent…
- StanislavPetrov 4y ago
  >If this is true, why bother with any military at all... Because politicians need kickbacks, wealthy shareholders need "defense" stocks to keep rising and vassal states like Canada need to act at the behest of their geopolitical master.
  - JimtheCoder 4y ago
    "Because politicians need kickbacks, wealthy shareholders need "defense" stocks to keep rising and vassal states like Canada need to act at the behest of their geopolitical master." Well, things like logic can't beat arguments like this...
    - StanislavPetrov 4y ago
      That's right, because logic works hand in hand with objective reality. On the other hand, logic would be very effective to beat the patently absurd argument that Canada's purchase of 88 F-35s is in any way related to an actual military threat faced by Canada. Unfortunately, even on HN, absurd propaganda doubling as conventional wisdom trumps logic and objective reality every time when it comes to geopolitics.
briga 4y ago
The US is growing more insular and the world is taking notice. Canadian national security has been maintained by the US for a long time now, we can't guarantee that will be true forever, and with rising global temperatures the northern territories will become more important for trade and resources than ever. Don't underestimate the power of imperialism to change the entire political order of the continent, it has already happened multiple times in the past 400 years.
- cute_boi 4y ago
  The US is spending more money on the military. [1]. Why do you think the US is growing more insular? It has donated more money to Ukraine compared to Canada. Meanwhile, the US is currently fraught with crime rates, illegal immigration, low wage, fear of recession, etc... So, advocating for the military, especially by Canada is futile. I am sure this is just about funneling money so some people can pocket big money. Maybe, it is better to spend money on Climate Change and Science than on the military.
  - briga 4y ago
    >It has donated more money to Ukraine compared to Canada It has 10x the population, of course it has. It's not going to give up it's position as world leader overnight. But it's also probably not going to get involved in foreign skirmishes as often as it has in the past. >Meanwhile, the US is currently fraught with crime rates, illegal immigration, low wage, fear of recession, etc... This is precisely why I believe the previous statement. >Maybe, it is better to spend money on Climate Change and Science than on the military. Ironically some of the greatest innovations of the century have come from military spending. The internet, nuclear power, GPS...
    - cute_boi 4y ago
      > It's not going to give up its position as a world leader overnight. It is not going to give up in the future, too. Your points would be valid if the US military budget were reduced yearly. > Ironically some of the greatest innovations of the century have come from military spending. The internet, nuclear power, GPS... Not that much if we compare it to the output that we got from investing in another way. Also, in the example, many militaries introduced the technology and most of the innovations are done by other companies.

JimtheCoder 4y ago

"Anand needs to be aware that Canada will never be threatened by China or Russia because they are not as capable as they pretend." If this is true, why bother with any military at all...

bombolo 4y ago
They share a long border with the most aggressive militarised country that has ever existed.
- mentat 4y ago
  Wasn't aware that Canada had moved to 1940s Europe...
  - satvikpendem 4y ago
    Or Mongolia. Or Assyria.
  - digdugdirk 4y ago
    I read the above statement as "militarized aggressively (in comparison to the rest of the world)". The US is/was essentially able to outmuscle multiple regional powers to such a degree that they stopped even trying to compete militarily. They were/are on a different technological level, if warfare were a technology.
  - bombolo 4y ago
    Nazi germany limited itself mostly to the same continent…
StanislavPetrov 4y ago
>If this is true, why bother with any military at all... Because politicians need kickbacks, wealthy shareholders need "defense" stocks to keep rising and vassal states like Canada need to act at the behest of their geopolitical master.
- JimtheCoder 4y ago
  "Because politicians need kickbacks, wealthy shareholders need "defense" stocks to keep rising and vassal states like Canada need to act at the behest of their geopolitical master." Well, things like logic can't beat arguments like this...
  - StanislavPetrov 4y ago
    That's right, because logic works hand in hand with objective reality. On the other hand, logic would be very effective to beat the patently absurd argument that Canada's purchase of 88 F-35s is in any way related to an actual military threat faced by Canada. Unfortunately, even on HN, absurd propaganda doubling as conventional wisdom trumps logic and objective reality every time when it comes to geopolitics.

briga 4y ago

The US is growing more insular and the world is taking notice. Canadian national security has been maintained by the US for a long time now, we can't guarantee that will be true forever, and with rising global temperatures the northern territories will become more important for trade and resources than ever. Don't underestimate the power of imperialism to change the entire political order of the continent, it has already happened multiple times in the past 400 years.

cute_boi 4y ago
The US is spending more money on the military. [1]. Why do you think the US is growing more insular? It has donated more money to Ukraine compared to Canada. Meanwhile, the US is currently fraught with crime rates, illegal immigration, low wage, fear of recession, etc... So, advocating for the military, especially by Canada is futile. I am sure this is just about funneling money so some people can pocket big money. Maybe, it is better to spend money on Climate Change and Science than on the military.
- briga 4y ago
  >It has donated more money to Ukraine compared to Canada It has 10x the population, of course it has. It's not going to give up it's position as world leader overnight. But it's also probably not going to get involved in foreign skirmishes as often as it has in the past. >Meanwhile, the US is currently fraught with crime rates, illegal immigration, low wage, fear of recession, etc... This is precisely why I believe the previous statement. >Maybe, it is better to spend money on Climate Change and Science than on the military. Ironically some of the greatest innovations of the century have come from military spending. The internet, nuclear power, GPS...
  - cute_boi 4y ago
    > It's not going to give up its position as a world leader overnight. It is not going to give up in the future, too. Your points would be valid if the US military budget were reduced yearly. > Ironically some of the greatest innovations of the century have come from military spending. The internet, nuclear power, GPS... Not that much if we compare it to the output that we got from investing in another way. Also, in the example, many militaries introduced the technology and most of the innovations are done by other companies.