Three Books On the History of Current Military Conflicts: Canada, Afghanistan, Iran, Isreal, and America

Unexpected War: Canada in Kandahar

By Janice Gross Stein and Eugene Lang

Afghanistan may have been a war unexpected in Canada, but a familiarity with American expectations concerning the New American Century combined with the fawning willingness of the Canadian military would make it more probable than improbable. In The Unexpected Warthe authors Stein and Lang continually highlight two motifs: first, the degree of appeasement towards Americans by the Canadian government for its lack of commitment to Iraq and its lack of commitment to missile defense; second the obsequious manner in which the Canadian military tried to ingratiate itself to its American counterpart, wanting to prove itself with the big boys.

All the politicians and military personnel involved in this current events history come across as not being able to provide Canada with an independent stance across the board with the US, allowing us to become entangled in the Afghan war. The politicians of all labels acted as typical politicians, highly susceptible to manipulation and as is unfortunately too frequent in Canada, unable to strike a truly independent pose from the United States.

Ostensibly for the restitution of the Afghan government, the broader view of the Afghan geopolitical landscape is that of an American imperial conflict to control the territory for both oil and natural gas resources and to isolate and contain Russian and Chinese moves into South Asia. It is a complex situation that members of the Canadian government, from the members of parliament up through to the higher echelons of government, obviously have not understood. Canada became entangled in Afghanistan partly through our own subservience to the US, partly through sheer ignorance. One member from a representative of the current Conservative government attempted to contradict one of my many submissions to all parliamentary members by saying there was no oil in Afghanistan. I had not stated that, but what that member and probably many others were ignorant of was the issue of transporting oil through Afghan territory to avoid Iran and Russia. As well, there are some valuable natural gas fields in the northern Caspian end of Afghanistan.

It is this ignorance of both American intentions and of the actual situation and its complexities within the region that have led to so many problems for the Canadian military – now nearing its first century of 100 killed in combat – and for its interpretation and attempts to garner public support for it in Canada. A Canadian deputy minister of policy in the Defense Department is quoted as saying “We don’t know anything about this country.” All too true, and that ignorance has led to all too much political confusion at home and the unnecessary endangerment of Canadian forces in Afghanistan. Read more about Canada in Afghanistan here....


The Secret War with Iran: The 30-Year Clandestine Struggle Against the World's Most Dangerous Terrorist Power

By Ronen Bergman

If one knew little about the Middle East and its many strands of religious, political, military, and strategic interests, this seemingly well written work would have the reader believing that Israel is the altruistic good guy - although making tactical mistakes in its counter terrorist endeavours - and the Iranians are the cause of all the atrocities in the Middle East. In the epilogue Ronen Bergman indicates that he "began researching this book in order to uncover and make sense of the "secret war" that has been ongoing between Israel and Iran, and "to place the events...in their historical context." If that is what he intended to do, then this work fails completely.


The major fault with The Secret War with Iranis exactly that, one of context. It is a fault that puts this book squarely in the genre of blatant apologetics and rhetoric exhorting the Americans to attack Iran. The contexts not revealed in the text are several. The main hidden context being the reasons for much of the Middle East's anger at Israel, the ongoing occupation and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian "territories." This uses many guises from outright military force, imprisonment, torture, house demolition, through to the subtler and yet more psychologically abusive tactics of land expropriation, marriage laws, and a multitude of other laws that make it impossible for the Palestinian people to have a home and a culture. Only once in the work do I recall the word occupation being used, with the implication otherwise that the Israeli military is in Palestinian territory to stop the terrorists, not to ethnically cleanse the territory for Jewish Zionist settlers.

The United States is mentioned frequently with the final commendation being that "Israel's considerable contribution to America's endeavors to make the world a better place must be acknowledged." I would consider that an outright lie, unless Israel's contribution is the shaping of the American political landscape (consider AIPAC and all the right wing American apocalyptic rapture fanatics looking for Armageddon). America has little consideration for the world being a better place, only a place that is subservient to its demands and wishes for resources and geopolitical control. That underlies the second major dissimulation in the text, the massive support that the United States has given Israel both directly as $3 billion in direct aid and more in military aid (per annum), and the aid it has provided to other Middle East countries in its attempts at hegemonic control. Alongside rests the American tendency to make this a religious war, "this crusade" in the words of Bush, and the Israeli acceptance and support for that are all concealed to the reader. Iran is not the only country that uses money, religious fanaticism, and subterfuge to work towards its goals. Read more about Iran and the secret war here....


A Good War

Patrick Bishop

A Good Waris a decent debut novel from Patrick Bishop, the author of non-fiction bestsellers 3 Para, Fighter Boys: The Battle of Britain, 1940,and Bomber Boys: Fighting Back 1940-1945.

Bishop began his career as a journalist with the British task force sent to recover the Falklands in 1982. Since then he’s covered most of the major wars for the Daily Telegraph. He has a talent for crystallising the rationale behind events and the driving forces that compel major characters.

Set during World War II, his readable tale of love and betrayal contains enough intrigue to appeal to thriller devotees, and sufficient strategic and tactical detail for war fans to get their kicks and ample love affairs for romance lovers. Ultimately, this is a wartime adventure that’s a worthwhile read for almost anyone.
After the fall of Poland, Adam Tomaszewski joins the RAF as a Hurricane pilot during the Battle of Britain. Far from family and friends, he befriends a roguish and garrulous Irish soldier named Gerry Cunningham. Throughout the war Adam's and Gerry’s lives intertwine including falling for the same bewitching woman and fighting alongside each other behind enemy lines. Bishop brings to the story the kind of persuasive detail one associates with quality journalism. He handles the plot with dexterity and paints especially poignant pictures of the men and women who fight for their country during wartime. Overall this is a sensitive novel that is worth a read. Read more about A Good War here....

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