(The
following article is from
the December 1-31,
2007
issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles
can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in
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People's
Voice
Editorial, Dec. 1-31, 2007
Next time you hear some Tory dinosaur
claim that Canada can't afford a comprehensive national child care
program, remind him that taxpayers just forked over $1.3 billion for
the purchase and maintenance of 120 utterly useless Leopard tanks in
Afghanistan. That works out to $40 per Canadian, and it's just a small
fraction of the military boondoggles the Harper government aims to
purchase over the next several years.
The tank
deal was the outcome of
an expensive battle of another kind: a fight between so-called "tank
men" in the Department of National Defence, versus "new guard" warriors
like military chief of staff Rick "Killer" Hillier. According to files
obtained through an access-to-information request by Canadian Press,
the "tank men" convinced former defence-minister Gordon O'Connor to
borrow 20 German Leopard A6M battle tanks and buy 100 used ones from
the Dutch, arguing that the tanks would protect Canadian troops from
explosive devices. Hillier wanted lighter, more mobile vehicles better
suited to offensive warfare in the harsh Afghan climate.
As anti-war
groups note, this
exposure of massive waste of taxpayer dollars has been ignored in the
current atmosphere of "supporting our troops." The Tories want to boost
military spending to the $25 billion annual range, an enormous burden
of some $750 per Canadian every year. At a time when Canada's
infrastructure is collapsing, social programs are slashed to the bone,
and day cares are shutting down for lack of funds, the Harper
government is blowing billions of dollars to kill people in
Afghanistan. This criminal policy must be condemned, both inside
Parliament and in the streets.
Found at:
http://www.peoplesvoice.ca/articleprint08/12__TANKS_FOR_NOTHING___.html