No. 67November 24, 2021

Make Canada a Zone for Peace

Break the Taboo on Discussion about NATO

– Margaret Villamizar –

One of the most pernicious myths spread by the United States and Canada is that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a peaceful alliance, that it promotes peace and security internationally, and has no other intention. The facts however show that the purpose of NATO is not to defend peace or uphold international law. The more Canada promotes NATO as a force for peace, the more crucial it is to smash the silence on discussion about NATO.

The government is currently promoting a so-called rules-based international order with NATO as its guardian. In this construct, the U.S. gets to set the “rules” the rest of the world must follow, and decide as it sees fit who to punish, and how, when its rules are not followed. Punishments run the gamut from countries being targeted for a range of coercive measures such as economic sanctions and blockades through to the threat of invasion or actual invasion and occupation. All of it is in violation of the rule of law as established in the Charter of the United Nations and its conventions, drawn up and agreed upon by the nations of the world coming out of two terrible world wars in order to “eliminate the scourge of war.”

The danger of embroiling Canada in U.S. worldwide wars of aggression and occupation is so ominous that it is important that Canadians not be bound by the taboo that prevails in Parliament and the official media against any questioning or discussion of the role played by NATO, Canada’s membership in it, or why such an alliance should even exist. Nobody should be cowed by threats that if they speak out against NATO they are an enemy of the state or threaten the cause of peace or national security. Smashing the silence about what the facts overwhelmingly reveal — that NATO is not a force for peace or the security of Canadians and other peoples of the world — and what to do about that is vital.

In light of the Trudeau government’s support for establishing a NATO think tank in Canada, described as a “centre of excellence to study the security threats posed by climate change,” it is worth considering what NATO means when it talks about security threats. Speaking of its Climate Change and Security Action Plan, NATO calls climate change “a threat multiplier that impacts Allied security, both in the Euro-Atlantic area and in the Alliance’s broader neighbourhood.” Its stated concern is that “the effects of climate change can potentially exacerbate state fragility, fuel conflicts, and lead to displacement, migration, and human mobility, creating conditions that can be exploited by state and non-state actors that threaten or challenge the Alliance.”

In other words, it is the security of NATO, an aggressive alliance in the service of the U.S. aim to dominate the world, not the security of the world’s peoples, that is threatened by the resistance of the peoples of the world to the consequences of climate change. This is the same NATO that has had a hand in the wholesale destruction of countries at the behest of the U.S. and its self-serving “rules-based order” that has given rise to the massive and deadly displacement of millions of peoples from parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America that we are witnessing on a daily basis.

The pressure to maintain the taboo is such that today opposition to NATO and calling for it to be dismantled is enough to get one branded as an extremist, an agent of a foreign power and threat to national security, and to be treated accordingly. This cannot be allowed. Limitations on freedom of speech deemed to be reasonable beg the question of who deems them to be reasonable and who decides? Whereas the civil right to speech can be curtailed according to the constitution and self-serving laws passed without involving the people in discussion and decision-making, the human right to speech can never be taken away or forfeited because without communication by means of speech, humanity would not exist. It is a matter of affirming the right to be.

NATO is not a force for peace. Get Canada Out of NATO! Dismantle NATO!

Canada Hosting Cognitive Warfare Event for NATO

Throughout the month of November Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) through its Special Operations Command is hosting a NATO Innovation Challenge called “The Invisible Threat: Countering Cognitive Warfare.” It is described as a pitch-style event aimed at “non-traditional innovative thinkers from across all 30 NATO member nations to showcase ways of securing the cognitive domain against attacks,” with international visibility and money prizes going to the winners.

DND’s ad for the NATO event says that “Cognitive warfare seeks to change not only what people think, but also how they act. Attacks against the cognitive domain involve the integration of cyber, disinformation/misinformation, psychological, and social-engineering capabilities…. Cognitive warfare positions the mind as a battle space and contested domain. Its objective is to sow dissonance, instigate conflicting narratives, polarize opinion, and radicalize groups. Cognitive warfare can motivate people to act in ways that can disrupt or fragment an otherwise cohesive society. Ensuing disorder can influence decision-making, change ideologies, and generate distrust among Allies.”[1]

NATO’s claim that its interest in what it calls cognitive warfare is about defending against the evil things its enemies do to attack the minds of citizens of its member countries and allies should be viewed in the same vein as all the dishonest claims of the U.S. about its involvement with biological, chemical and other forms of warfare prohibited under international law being strictly defensive — to counter its enemies’ use of such weapons, not use them offensively itself.

The demand for Canada to get out of NATO and for NATO to be dismantled is just. This discussion cannot be banned from the political discourse in our country.

Note

1. See “NATO’s New Domain of Cognitive Warfare,” TML Monthly, November 7, 2021 

Week of Actions November 22-26

No to the Purchase of Fighter Jets!

The federal government is preparing to buy 88 new fighter jets for $19 billion in the near future, to meet the growing demands of NATO and the United States. Factor in the costs of maintenance, personnel, storage, etc., and the figure rises to $77 billion.

The military industry is by far the most polluting and destructive in the world. These planes are neither green nor clean and produce huge quantities of greenhouse gas emissions and toxic chemicals. They are often based on stolen Indigenous land, and are deployed to bomb foreign countries, devastating communities and infrastructure and populations, where women and girls face disproportionate displacement and violence. Canada must be a zone for peace. Canada must have an anti-war policy and we need an anti-war government.

Quebeckers and Canadians are opposed to wars of aggression and occupation and support a foreign policy of relations based on equality between peoples and nations, large and small. They oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries and support genuine peace. November 25 was chosen as the date for this action because it coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the launch of the 12 Days of Action Against Violence Against Women. Wars of aggression and occupation waged against the peoples of the world are the source of extreme violence against women and children.

For all these reasons, we say No! to the purchase of fighter jets for war!

Montrealers against fighter jets and the Canadian government’s pro-war policy. For info: montrealaiscontrelaguerre@gmail.com

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