Partners
The Halifax International Security Forum (HISF) lists the following organizations as its "partners":
- The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency: its stated goal is "to enhance the economy of Atlantic Canadian communities through the successful development of business and job opportunities";
- The Department of National Defence: the department bills itself with the Canadian Armed Forces as "Canada's Defence Team" which together it says "make up the largest federal government department";
- The Halifax Canada Club. The Halifax Canada Club is made up of the following companies involved with military organizations and war production, which the HISF profiles as below:
- ATCO: a major contractor for the Department of Defence and NATO, involved in privatizing their bases in Afghanistan, Balkans and Canada. Its website says, "For more than 70 years, ATCO has provided military support services, shelter solutions, logistics and energy services worldwide. As a company built upon the belief that strong partnerships form the basis of safe and prosperous communities, ATCO supports the collaborative vision of Club HFX."
- OYAK: "Established in 1961, OYAK (The Armed Forces Pension Fund) serves as an occupational and supplementary pension fund for the members of the Turkish armed forces. With investments, including multinational joint ventures, in sectors such as steel, cement, automotive, logistics, finance, energy and chemicals, OYAK supports the mission of Club HFX of securing our modern way of life through strategic alliances among democracies." Turkey is the third largest arms market for Canada. - alik Holding: " alik Holding, based in Turkey, carries out its operations in energy, construction and real estate, mining, textile, telecom, and finance sectors. With the vision to add sustainable values to the lives it touches, alik Holding supports collaborative efforts of the HCC toward global prosperity." alik Holding is also one of the top foreign funders of NATO's political arm, the Atlantic Council ($500,000-$999,999 category).
- Boeing: "Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems. As America's biggest manufacturing exporter, the company supports airlines and U.S. and allied government customers in more than 150 countries. Boeing products and tailored services include commercial and military aircraft, satellites, weapons, electronic and defense systems, launch systems, advanced information and communication systems, and performance-based logistics and training."
The HISF is clearly an instrument of giant arms and energy monopolies and oligopolies and international finance capital involved in the business of war, the most profitable business of all. U.S. imperialist theft of social wealth from the peoples of the world and its competition with other big powers feed the war economy and in turn generate increased instability, violence and war. The initiative to involve monopolies and corporate executives in the HISF as "partners" is also in conformity with strategies elaborated in the U.S. (such as in the Princeton Project on National Security). The purpose is to "form elite regional opinion" by bringing together "leading thinkers" in academia, business and non-profit sectors in countries targeted for annexation by the United States, as well as the supranational arms and energy monopolies, to work out how to usurp control over the natural and human resources and over the state itself.
- NATO: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is listed under its own heading that reads "With Support From." Its entry on the HISF website says: "The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's fundamental purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. NATO brings together 28 member countries from Europe and North America, consulting and cooperating in the fields of security and defence. In this respect, NATO provides a unique transatlantic link for political and security cooperation."
In practice, the HISF is fully embroiled in NATO's agenda and provides a venue for it to promote its aggressive aims.
Media Partners
There are three U.S. publications/media organizations which are involved in main projects of the U.S. ruling circles to unite the vying factions, especially the huge military bureaucracy and moving more deeply into Canadian ruling circles, while also keeping the people dispersed and disempowered. The HISF describes them collectively as "thought leaders," an elitist concept that denies the movement for enlightenment. Like the other HISF partners and sponsors, the basis for the partnership is not immediately clear. - Foreign Affairs Magazine: Its description on the HISF website says: "Since its founding in 1922, Foreign Affairs has been the leading forum for serious discussion of American foreign policy and global affairs. It is published by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a non-profit and nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to improving the understanding of U.S. foreign policy and international affairs through the free exchange of ideas."
CFR is a leading council that brings various ruling factions together to work out relations. It has been previously described as a veritable shadow government that plans the general strategies of the global imperialist system, acting above any government.[1] The
CFR backed the presidential candidacy of Joe Biden and champions the chorus against China. The editor of Foreign Affairs, Gideon
Rose, formerly of the U.S. State Dept., is participating in the 2020 HISF conference. - POLITICO: This is a specialized U.S. political news journal, which recently moved into Canada with a subscription-based edition and a free weekly newsletter Crossroads. This company says it "strives to be the dominant source for politics and policy in power centers across every continent where access to reliable information, non-partisan journalism and real-time tools creates, informs and engages a global citizenry." John Harris, Politico Editor-in-Chief, is a member of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS) board of trustees, original organizer of the HISF in 2009 and 2010 which followed on security conferences the GMFUS had staged in European countries targeted for U.S. influence operations, such as in Kiev, Ukraine; Riga, Latvia; Bucharest, Romania; and Istanbul, Turkey. It is hosting live streaming of the HISF conference to its readers.
- Foreign Policy Magazine: Although not listed on the HISF's "Partners and Sponsors" page, it is listed on the "About" page as a media partner. It is U.S. news publication which focuses on global affairs, current events, and domestic and international policy. It was founded in 1970 during the turmoil of the Vietnam War by the imperialist ideologue Samuel P. Huntington of the "clash of civilizations" theory and Warren Demian Manshel.
On February 26, Foreign Affairs and the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft co-sponsored a conference to explore "A New Vision for America in the World," describing it as "a leadership forum on the future of U.S. foreign policy and national security." Key topics included: "Ending endless wars in the Middle East, the impact of the Sino-American antagonism, democratizing foreign policy, and international cooperation in an era of American restraint." The conference was funded by billionaires George Soros, a big Clinton backer, and Charles Koch, a Trump supporter, each of whom put up $500,000 to finance the start-up of the Quincy Institute in 2019. Former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus was the big name draw for the conference. The roster of speakers included Rosa Brooks, an HISF Fellow, columnist for Foreign Policy, founder and co-director of Georgetown Law's Program on Innovative Policing and a Senior Fellow, New American Foundation. Along with Tom Wright of the Brookings Institution, she argued that the U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria are really
"counter-terrorism operations" rather than "wars." This is what the Biden Democrats mean by a "return to normal," around which they hope to unify the executive and military power. Brooks was Senior Adviser to Mich le Flournoy, U.S. defense undersecretary for policy from 2009 to 2011, now Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security, and expected to be Biden's Defense Secretary (see article below). Sponsors
- CAE: Formerly known as Canadian Aviation Electronics, CAE is a global aerospace monopoly and the only Canadian company listed in the top 100 arms producers in the world, ranking 85th. It calls itself "a worldwide leader in training for the civil aviation, defence and security, and healthcare markets. "Our vision is to be the recognized global training partner of choice to enhance safety, efficiency and readiness.
"Unmatched on a global scale, we continue to help define worldwide training standards with our innovative virtual-to-live training solutions to make flying safer, maintain defence force readiness and enhance patient safety." - Pansophico: This company deals in arms and security equipment for military and law enforcement clients, among others. Its website says, "Pansophico works exclusively with democracies. We are dedicated to enhancing national and international security through strengthening democracies, building commercial relations, bolstering military readiness, and connecting key leaders and groups that protect and strengthen democratic processes. Pansophico supports the military and security readiness of democracies by sourcing and providing access to military and security hardware, technology, concepts, and training. Building on 30 years of substantive experience in international diplomacy, military affairs, and intelligence, we are experienced in identifying and finding the right solution for every national security need. "Our ethos IS democracy. Pansophico invests profits from its commercial ventures back into democracy-building entities. We financially support key global institutions that build, guide, and support global democracies. Our success in turn contributes to building global democracy. "Pansophico works hand-in-hand with global democratic governments, identifying, sourcing, and providing military and security materiel and hardware through DCS [direct commercial sales] transactions. With global reach, international connectivity, and breadth of experience, our team will help resolve the most sophisticated challenges facing your team."
- Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC): This is a Taiwanese arms company, originally founded in 1969 under the authority of the Republic of China Air Force and later privatized. AIDC is responsible for the development of Taiwan's Indigenous Defense Fighter, created when diplomatic agreements between the U.S. and China prevented the sale of U.S. fighters to Taiwan. AIDC is a partner of Boeing. The presence of an arms manufacturer from Taiwan -- a country frequently used as a cat's paw by the U.S. imperialists in their dealings with China -- at the HISF is in line with the war conference's preoccupation with China as a purported "threat to democracy." - Konrad Adenauer Foundation: The website of this German foundation says, "Nationally and internationally, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation is committed to achieving and maintaining peace, freedom and justice through political education. We promote and preserve free democracy, the social market economy, and the development and consolidation of the value consensus." Regarding its name, the foundation says, "We are proud to bear the name of Konrad Adenauer. The first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany's name and principles are our guidelines, duty, and obligation."
As for Adenauer's principles, he was a noted anti-communist; he opposed the post-war program of denazification and instead introduced an amnesty law for Nazis, to the benefit of nearly 800,000 war criminals; he advocated for West Germany's membership in NATO and its alignment with the Anglo-American imperialists in the Cold War. - Ipsos: This French-owned polling and marketing firm says of itself "In our world of rapid change, the need for reliable information to make confident decisions has never been greater." It is a NATO contractor.
"At Ipsos we believe our clients need more than a data supplier, they need a partner who can produce accurate and relevant information and turn it into actionable truth.
"This is why our passionately curious experts not only provide the most precise measurement, but shape it to provide True Understanding of Society, Markets and People.
"To do this we use the best of science, technology and know-how and apply the principles of security, simplicity, speed and substance to everything we do.
"So that our clients can act faster, smarter and bolder."
Polling firms like Ipsos are more and more discrediting themselves, as they do not assist the polity to discuss and analyze important issues, but present issues in a limited and prejudiced way to serve establishment interests. A question that arises is what is the role of a polling and public relations firm like Ipsos at the HISF, when the starting point for the majority of Canadians and Quebeckers is to oppose imperialist war and aggression. A November 13 article in the Ottawa
Citizen reported on plans by DND that "would have allowed military public affairs officers to use propaganda to change attitudes and behaviours of Canadians as well as collect and analyze information from the public's social media accounts."
Note
1. Laurence H. Shoup and William Minter, The Imperial Brain Trust: The Council on Foreign Relations and U.S. Foreign Policy, 1977.
(TML Weekly Supplement, November 21, 2020 - No. 45)
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