Canada's Role in NATO against al-Qaeda and Taliban Examined

The United States Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute has published a new professional paper titled, "Shaping Commitment: Resolving Canada's Strategy Gap in Afghanistan and Beyond." The paper, authored by Canadian Army Colonel D. Craig Hilton, is part of the Strategic Studies Institute's "Carlisle Papers in Security Strategy."

Colonel Hilton's paper examines Canada's National Security Policy and International (Foreign) Policy Statement and Defence Policy Review in light of Canada's current participation in NATO operations against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. According to Colonel Hilton, there is a significant gap between Canada's foreign policy documents, along with their stated goals in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, and Canada's military, diplomatic, and development efforts as part of the international coalition in Afghanistan.

The paper also lays out three emerging imperatives for Canada, imperatives that must be addressed seriously, including the growing acceptance of a foreign policy based on other than "soft power," the management of Canada's relationship with the United States, and a growing concern among Canadians that Canada had "lost its place" in the world.

Colonel Hilton argues in the paper that national interests and values are inadequate for addressing situations as complex as the continuing fight in Afghanistan. Instead, the paper says, only a clear strategy arrived at through a thorough analysis of strategic components (ends, ways, means, risk involved) will provide the information necessary for national and political discussions, as well as the information requirements necessary for Canada's various governmental departments. Further, the paper argues, such an analysis of ends, ways, means and risk will assist in the determination of Canada's interests globally and as a participant in the Global War on Terror.

Colonel Hilton also includes in the paper a set of recommendations for enabling Canada to solve its strategy gap for both the near and far terms.

Colonel Hilton, who has been a Canadian soldier for nearly thirty years, is currently serving as the Canadian Forces Military Attache (Army) in Washington, D.C.

The paper, which was published in early August, 2007, is available for download, free of charge, as an Adobe PDF file on the United States Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute web site. An abstract is also available on the site, as is a survey for providing reader feedback on the quality and relevance of Colonel Hilton's paper.

Source: United States Army War College Strategic Studies Institute