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Canada NATO and Canada

A Conversation with Senator Joseph Day, Chair of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Defence and Security Committee

By: Ryerson Neal Sen. Joseph Day has represented Saint John – Kennebecasis, New Brunswick, in the Canadian Senate since 2001. He is a member of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association and takes a keen interest in defence issues. In October, he was part of the Canadian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Bucharest, Romania. Read More…

Cyber Security and Emerging Threats Eastern Europe and Russia Simon Miles Western Europe

A Modern Missile Gap

By: Simon Miles Russia will deploy its own missiles, with enhanced missile defence penetration technology, if the US and NATO do not halt in their project for a pan-European missile defence network, President Dimitri Medvedev warned. Furthermore, the western enclave of Kaliningrad will be host to a new arsenal of tactical weapons. With obvious relish, Read More…

James M. Bridger NATO and Canada Terrorism

A Week of Carnage in Afghanistan

By: James Marcus Bridger A brazen succession of insurgent attacks has claimed the lives of over two dozen foreign and Afghan security personnel in the last week. This wave of assaults sparks fresh fears regarding the militants’ continued ability to strike deep within International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and government-controlled territory. The readiness of the Read More…

Canada Maritime Nation

Canada’s Submarine Supposition

By: Ryerson Neal A seemingly innocuous off-the-cuff remark made last week by Defence Minister Peter McKay inspired a flurry of headlines suggesting that the federal government might be interested in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Canadian Navy. Minister McKay sparked the furor while speaking with reporters about the future of the Navy’s chronically dockyard-bound Read More…

Africa James M. Bridger Maritime Nation Terrorism

Kenyan Troops Go Where Others Fear to Tread

By: James Bridger Despite attempts to brand itself as a luxury tour destination, Kenya has been unable to escape the harsh reality that it borders a failed state of Hobbesian proportions. Instability has spilled over in recent weeks, as Somali militants launched a series of daring raids into Kenyan territory: On 11 September Judith Tebbutt, Read More…

Canada Kavita Bapat NATO and Canada

Canada-NATO Relations, the Future of Afghanistan and its Implications on the Transatlantic Alliance

By: Kavita Bapat In July Canada began the process of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan after nearly a decade of engagement in the war torn country. In the early days of the Afghan conflict Canada contributed troops to Joint Task Force 2 with the aim of routing out remaining Taliban and al Qaeda forces. In 2003 Read More…

Africa Cyber Security and Emerging Threats James M. Bridger Maritime Nation

Piracy Watch: Preventing the “Somalization” of West Africa

By: James Marcus Bridger  An All Too Familiar Event On September 14, armed pirates commandeered an idling tanker, the Matteus I, making off with its cargo of crude oil and 23 hostages. While such events no longer make headlines when they occur off the coast of Somalia, this hijacking took place on the other side Read More…

Cyber Security and Emerging Threats

Starving for Change: Is the Hunger Strike a Legitimate Democratic Tool?

By: Nabila F. Qureshi For thirteen days, a frail old man wrapped in homespun cotton captured widespread media and public attention across India.  Channelling the anger and frustration of Indians over a series of poorly handled government corruption scandals, 74-year-old political activist Anna (“Elder Brother”) Hazare staged a hunger strike for nearly two weeks.  He Read More…

Cyber Security and Emerging Threats The Middle East and North Africa

Unrest Erupts in Yemen Amid Concerns of a Humanitarian Crisis

By: Nabila F. Qureshi In the worst violence Yemen has seen in several months, four days of bloodshed resulted in over 75 people killed and hundreds more injured in the capital of Sanaa.  Troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh opened fire on protesters, sniping civilians from rooftops while other security forces dispersed tear gas Read More…