National defence: More poisoned pens

Please note: At the request of David Pugliese, the contents of this post were altered on December 5th, 2007, by Babbling Brooks as site administrator.

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The Hill Times is the inside the Queensway rag for Ottawa politicos and journalists. With its current issue it joins a media chorus against the government's defence policy and against the Canadian Forces--especially Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Hillier.

This post has its origin with a Hill Times story that I noticed via Norman's Spectator. Which led to this post here:

The strange world of Canadian reporters

Then my wife came home from work and gave me a print copy of the issue. While I perused it I discovered these further efforts:

Disabled CF veterans proceed with class action suit against government

Canadian military training aid incorporates a Cold War enemy force scenario

Where's the public accountability in Canada's military contracting?

Don't worry about not getting the full text of the last piece. It's Steve Staples recycling what has already been referenced by Mr Pugliese based on a "study" by Mr Staples himself.

To cap it all off, there's this letter:

Canadian Forces' new slogan is a little scary [must be Steve, Harper that is, behind it - MC], says one reader

"Fight With The Canadian Armed Forces [video at preceding link]." This is the slogan now used to recruit new soldiers here in Canada. What's wrong with this slogan? What does it say about Canada's role as being the world's peacekeepers and is there possibly a deeper, hidden message?

Sometimes bad guys need to be killed.

The Hill Times issue is not a rolling barrage; it's carpet bombing. Well, at least we know what we're supposed to think. A pity, as Babbling examines at length (read his post, if no other links here), that those who decide what the papers print and the networks show, have the priorities they do; and that the government is so poor at doing its work properly in informing the public.

I doubt that any one of the couple of thousand of Ottawa insiders that read the Hill Times reads any of the following (correct me if I'm wrong, folks):

Aviation Week and Space Technology

Defense Industry Daily (a Canadian lead story June 19!)

Jane's Defence Weekly

Flight International

I confess that I only regularly read AW&ST since I subscribe to it. But I am one and they are a very lazy and ignorant many. Including quite a few in the Public Service of Canada.

Update: As for the Globe's agenda, compare the headline and first few paras of its story on the House defence committee's report on Afghanistan with those of the Ottawa Citizen's story.

Upperdate: Compare both stories with this post at The Phantom Observer for more, er, context.