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Top Canadian General Speaks on Afghanistan
By Lt Col P
Our Canadian doppelganger blog, The Torch, is one of my daily reads. Today they have a good post on an interview with their top man in uniform, General R. J. Hillier.
From everything I've read about him, he sounds like a fighting man, and one with a realistic view on world events. This interview seems to bear it out.
"Some Canadians don't understand the fact you can't just go and talk to people in Southern Afghanistan and say 'OK, now put your guns down and let's all come to an agreement..."
And
"The peacekeeping concept works superbly in many cases -- not all. It worked when it was state-versus-state that had come to some politically-negotiated agreement. They now needed assistance in helping separate military forces to implement that agreement."The world has changed. Now we very seldom have that. What we have are stateless threats based on terrorist groups who can operate either across several countries, regions or worldwide."
Sounds like our kind of guy, the sort we'd want to have on our flanks, be they tactical or strategic. As the debate goes on in Canada about their role in Afghanistan, I wish there were a dozen more of him. And some down here, for that matter.
One team, one fight.
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Comments
I've heard the man speak and shaken his hand, and I can tell you: Hillier is the real deal. His troops would run through brick walls for him.
What some of your readers might not know is that he was Deputy Commanding General of III Corps, US Army in Fort Hood, TX in 1998.
One team, one fight indeed.
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General Hillier has been leading the transformation of the Canadian Forces for the last few years to make it the pride of Canada, and a reliable asset to NATO. IMHO, he and his team have been succeeding.