A Legal Disney World, Harper's party is beset SPP problems

Loading...

Sign in or sign up now!
Alert icon
Upgrade to the latest Flash Player for improved playback performance. Upgrade now or more info.
1,229
Loading...
Alert icon
Sign in or sign up now!
Alert icon

Uploaded by on Feb 4, 2008

join Congressman Wexler's call for Bush/Cheney Impeachment Hearings
http://wexlerwantshearings.com/
http://www.impeachbush.org/
http://www.youtube.com/CongressmanWexler
http://www.youtube.com/wexlerforcongress (more)

http://www.freewebs.com/habeascorpuscanada/grounds.html

http://www.forthecause.us/000ftc-newstopic-nafta-corridor.shtml

"Stephen Harper lives in a legal Disney World. In that Disney World, there's no constitution, no Charter of Rights. No rule of law."
— Irwin Cotler, the Liberal justice minister, reacts to the Conservative leader's comments about some Canadian judges being "social activists."
http://www.pacificfreepress.com/content/view/1965/1/
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=414820f7-998a-496f-b41d-c033e5...
OTTAWA -- The Canadian Forces are using a controversial private security firm to train some of its troops sent to Afghanistan.

Select Canadian soldiers have been sent to Blackwater U.S.A. in North Carolina for specialized training in bodyguard and shooting skills. Other soldiers have taken counterterrorism evasive-driving courses with the private military company now at the centre of an investigation into the killings of Iraqi civilians and mounting concerns about the aggressive tactics of its workers in the field.

Critics of Blackwater label the firm as a mercenary organization and question why a professional military such as the Canadian Forces can't do its own training in specialized areas.

But Canadian military officials say the company was selected because it is a leader in its specialty areas, which range from weapons training to executive protection. The company boasts on its website that its instructors are "ranked the best in the world."

But Blackwater has found itself under intense scrutiny since a Sept. 16 incident in Baghdad in which 11 people, including a couple and their infant, were killed during a firefight. Iraqi officials put the blame for the killings on the private soldiers, but the company has denied its men fired on innocent civilians, saying instead that its convoy had been attacked by insurgents.

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he has sent a team to Iraq to investigate whether there is enough oversight of the private soldiers employed by firms such as Blackwater.

On Thursday, a congressional report into the deaths of four Blackwater security contractors in Iraq in 2004 found that the company appeared more interested in cutting costs than in the safety of its personnel.

Canadian military police trained by Blackwater operated in Kandahar last year in support of coalition special forces. Members of the Strategic Advisory Team, which operates in Kabul, also underwent counterterrorism driving training, according to a military official.

The Ottawa-based counterterrorism unit, Joint Task Force 2, has also maintained ongoing training links to the company.

Military officials did not have further details on why Blackwater would be hired, but promised to provide those. Later, however, they did not comment on the matter.

Canadian Forces spokesman Lt.-Col. Jamie Robertson said the military does not discuss its special forces training. But he noted that Blackwater and other firms have been contracted to provide services for other units.

"The Canadian Forces has occasionally contracted companies to provide specialized training to our personnel in those cases when specialized training is not available within the Canadian Forces due to a range of factors, including the unavailability of training resources, expertise or specialized facilities and equipment," said Robertson.

He said the training is adapted to Canadian Forces requirements and procedures.

Still, Dawn Black, the NDP's defence critic, questioned the need for Blackwater to be involved in training Canadian troops.

"My understanding is we have some of the best-trained forces in the world, and great trainers, so why do we need our armed forces personnel to be trained by a mercenary organization?"

A total dollar figure on what has been spent on Blackwater training was not available by press time, since training is contracted out individually on a unit-by-unit basis, said Robertson.

But he provided an example of one such contract: 18 members of the Strategic Advisory Team sent to Kabul went to Blackwater in June for a two-day course called hostile-environment defensive driver

Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day, when asked whether the training in Blackwater is appropriate, defended the Forces.

BILL MOYERS: We turn now from the rhetoric of the race to the reality of governance. Congress has begun a new round of hearings to get answers to questions the Bush administration refused to answer last year — questions about accountability.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02012008/watch2.html

  • likes, 0 dislikes

Link to this comment:

Share to:

Top Comments

  • I can't believe people will watch this and believe all the lies that these creatures spew. Canada is a safe place to live but if we allow the borders to fold then all the violence that goes on in America will come up here. This makes me so mad, there are so many lies and nonsense in this video that I can't sum it up in 500 letters.

  • Multiple Congressional investigations. A federal grand jury. Allegations of illegal arms smuggling. Wrongful death lawsuits brought by families of dead employees and US soldiers. A federal lawsuit alleging war crimes. Charges of steroid use by trigger-happy mercenaries. Allegations of "significant tax evasion." The US-installed government in Iraq labeling its forces "murderers."

see all

All Comments (10)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • Thanks for this news, I am not afraid to stand up for Canada, and all innocent freedom loving people. More on what the S.P.P. all means to Canada, and also the issue of the North American Community (mostly known as the NAU the North American Union) I will be posting this on facebook, for others to view.

  • Alot of us don't want to stand up for whats right because of fear. I,am not afraid to stand up for Canada and I will not be silenced.Thanks to sites like this and many other on the net the truth can be found. Harpers goverment is allowing big media to "shape" internet results

    under the guise of bandwith limitations. Censorship is censorship the CRTC is looking into this "controlled results" from big media and internet providers.

  • Is there any good central page with a list of presenters, links, other references? The various hand-outs were all general topical stuff, nothing written up with an agenda.

  • With Economy heading slippery slopes,I will not be surprised if NAU common currency gets introduced before end of Bush term.

    With on going WARS and potential of adding one or two more countries,I will not be surprised to hear Canadian RCMP and police deployed abroad, while we will have to learn Mexican to ask, Did I catch any trouble, officer?

  • Courtenay BC, the 9th at the filburg center they will be talking about the NAU bullshit. If you live on vancouver island, or evern better, in courtenay, I encourage you to go.

  • Thanks to CanadaPetitions for informing us on something that CBC should have all over the airwaves. It leaves the same foul taste of what they were serving us regarding NAFTA. I would like to see some old footage of Mulroney promises of NAFTA.

  • Critics of Blackwater label the firm as a mercenary organization and question why a professional military such as the Canadian Forces can't do its own training in specialized areas.

Loading...

Alert icon
0 / 00Unsaved Playlist Return to active list
    1. Your queue is empty. Add videos to your queue using this button:
      or sign in to load a different list.
    Loading...Loading...Saving...
    • Clear all videos from this list
    • Learn more