Whose War Is It [Hardcover]

No one can accuse J.L. Granatstein-the conservative-minded historian, prolific author, and public intellectual-of being ‘soft’ on defence or terrorism. At the same time, few would deny that he doesn’t have a particular ideological axe to grind either. Those who subscribe to these admittedly shallow lables won’t be disappointed with Granatstein’s latest effort, Whose War Is It?
Granatstein has absolutely no doubt in his mind about whose war it is: It’s Canada’s war, stupid. So we had better stiffen our political spines and immediately ramp up our security services and defence capabilities or pay a huge price for inaction.
Indeed, the die is ostensibly cast from the very outset of this often hectoring and cranky narrative. “We are in a war against terror that will affect us even as Canadians hope in vain that it will not,” declares Granatstein. It is all crystal clear for him: Canada has gradually allowed our military posture to deteriorate to the point where this country is no longer prepared to handle a natural disaster and a number of simultaneous terrorist attacks.
Adopting a ‘Big Picture’ approach, Granatstein examines six critical areas that now have a great impact on Canada’s foreign and defence policies. He wants all of us to get a grip and to implement his various policy-related recommendations (particularly massive increases in defence expenditures and more funds for intelligence-gathering activities) so as to avoid a future calamity.
The first thing he tackles is the national mythology that perpetuates Canada’s image as a peacekeeping nation extraordinaire, global do-gooder, international boy scout-despite the fact that only a handful of Canadian soldiers currently participate in any of the UN missions. Canadian governments, according to Granatstein, have been allowed to wiggle off the defence-spending hook by pointing to how inexpensive and enormously popular peacekeeping has been among Canadians.
The author clearly laments the fact that Canada’s military posture continues to deteriorate in the face of declining military outlays while Canadians still cling to their remembered love affair with first-generation peacekeeping. But as Granatstein explains: “Canadian forces that are devoted only to peacekeeping will not be able to do anything else and, inevitably, will be little more than a badly trained and lightly equipped gendarmerie wearing UN blue helmets and subject to the will of a wobbly multilateral consensus at the United Nations.” Traditional peacekeeping, he correctly points out, has essentially become a lame substitute for intelligent and thoughtful defence policy in Canada.
Next up is Granatstein’s examination of Realpolitik as it should pertain to Canada’s political leadership. He argues that we should introduce “a national-interest calculus” into our foreign relations. He has no time, then, for misguided liberals such as former Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy, NDP leader Jack Layton, or Canada’s former UN ambassador, Paul Heinbecker. And, he adds, we should not be diverted by sentimental ventures into whimsical humanitarianism and “naive idealism”, “soft power”, and wrong-headed notions of Canada as a “moral superpower”. “Prime ministers must lead nationally,” he asserts, “and they must look after the national interest first and everything else second.”
As for the United States, he wants Canadians to lose their deep-seated anti-Americanism and recognise just how lucky they are to live next door to the world’s only hyperpower. Granatstein implores us to understand that we must try to get along with our American neighbours (which doesn’t always mean saying yes), and refrain from being disagreeable even when we do disagree with them. Precious little is more closely tied to our national interests, posits Granatstein, than cultivating a productive and fruitful relationship with Washington. “In the war for economic prosperity and national survival, in the war against terror, Canada simply cannot afford to alienate its largest customer, best friend, and ultimate defender,” he writes plainly.
From there he moves on to the fourth area of investigation-the often forgotten Arctic or Canada’s North. Successive Canadian governments have talked, and done little else, about national sovereignty, establishing a military presence, and identifying possibilities for commercial development. But with climate change ineluctably gripping Canada’s Arctic and setting off a scramble for territorial claims, the North is certain to open up to resource exploitation, economic opportunities, and cruise ship traffic-to say nothing of military-related incursions. “As the ice melts, as resources become assessable, and as shipping inevitably increases,” writes Granatstein, “Canadian sovereignty will be tested as never before.”
A pacifist, antimilitarist, and anti-imperialist Quebec is next to be considered. During World War I, states Granatstein, Quebeckers were decidedly antiwar. Today, they are stridently anti-American (and thus critical of ballistic missile defence), opposing everything from the Afghan mission to increased military spending. But allowing Quebec to have considerable influence on the making of Canadian foreign and defence policies, warns the author, is detrimental to the country’s national interests.
Finally, Granatstein addresses the thorny issue of multiculturalism and its connection to Canadian foreign policy. We simply can’t allow our international policies to be determined, as has happened in some instances, by vocal ethnic groups, hyphenated Canadians, and unapologetic group/multicultural electoral politics. “Our foreign policy must be based on what is important to Canadians as a whole-their national interests-not to Canadians wearing only their Old Country/ethnicity/religious hat,” Granatstein warns. On the subject of new arrivals and Canadian citizenship, Granatstein is characteristically blunt: “Those who live their lives here in the favoured land owe their allegiance first and only to Canada.”
The last chapter of this book is disappointing. Granatstein dispenses with any platitudes by stating boldly: “Canada matters today only in the minds of its own people.” Everywhere else, especially in the major councils and capitals of the world, Canada is a lowly bench-warmer. And, he insists, if we ever hope to get into the higher echelons of the global power club, we need to blow open the doors of the treasury and purchase the various military toys that the Canadian Forces have been demanding for some time now. But he doesn’t tell us where the money to pay for all of this procurement will come from. Nor does he seem interested in factoring in what the Canadian public actually wants.
Just about everything for Granatstein-including bringing the electorate onside-comes back to giving Canadians a clear idea of their country’s national interests, which he outlines in careful detail. But here is where we get into difficulty. Whose interests are we talking about here? Based on which calculations? For Granatstein to suggest that peacekeeping does not fit well with Canada’s national interests is just plain wrong. What could be more beneficial to Canadians than war-avoidance, conflict resolution, and international peace and security?
Moreover, the suggestion that a pacifist Quebec and new immigrants “have a near-stranglehold on the making of Canada’s foreign and defence policies” betrays a lack of knowledge about how Canada’s international relations are conducted. This highlights some of the major weaknesses of this book: too many generalisations (Granatstein says, for instance, that Harper has the brainpower of Trudeau), an overreliance on partial explanations (he writes that Canada’s no-go to Iraq had something to do with the never-ending softwood lumber dispute), and a tendency to read more like a rather long op-ed piece in the National Post.
It’s probably obvious that I take issue with a great deal in this book. What may not be as evident from this review is that there’s also a great deal I wholeheartedly support and commend Granatstein for outlining. Whose War Is It? is wonderfully written book. I recommend it for critics and fellow travellers, and for anyone who cares about Canada’s place in the world.
Peter McKenna (Books in Canada)
-- Books in Canada

What if a major earthquake devastated the west coast of North America, killing thousands of people, flattening entire cities and fracturing the economy? How would the Canadian government address the crisis when many of our already weakened forces are deployed in Kandahar or in supporting roles? Or suppose terrorists attacked the Toronto subway system during a convention of Canadian and American emergency-room physicians? Would our military have the manpower, equipment and technical resources to protect our citizens and visitors?

Granatstein says never mind hypothetical - and completely probable - threats; our military is incapable of dealing with current and ongoing crises that require well-trained, well-equipped and properly deployed troops, supported by a confident military policy. He argues that Canadians' once-vaunted role of peacekeeping is no longer relevant in a post-9/11 world, since recent missions, from Somalia to Kosovo to Afghanistan, are akin to war. Granatstein also takes Canadian attitudes to task, criticizing our increasing reluctance to support a military presence in countries such as Afghanistan.

Whose War Is It? asks the questions Canadians need answered right now:

- How can we negotiate with US policymakers when anti-American sentiment is affecting our military and foreign policies?

- Do multiculturalism and our immigration policy make us vulnerable to terrorist attacks?

- How can we protect our northern sovereignty most effectively?

- What should we do about a "pacifist" Quebec?

- Just what are Canada's national interests, and how can we advance them?

In the same tradition as his #1 bestseller Who Killed the Canadian Military?, Whose War Is It? is a hard-hitting, timely clarion call to arms.