Doubled by the Dutch
First, it was the indignity of flying us around Kandahar province in Chinooks with Canadian roundels just under the Dutch paint job. Now, they're building our ship:
In fact, they may even be...*gasp*...improving upon it! The nerve!
Those warmongering Dutch, and their puppet-master military-industrial complex, giving us Canadians the metaphorical finger yet again.
Good on them.
Update: Oh, and by the way, Mark was talking about this move here at The Torch at the beginning of November 2009, more than two months ago. Still, it's nice to see someone with a bit wider reach than we have picking up the story.
The Dutch have set in motion plans to build a multi-purpose supply ship for their navy, becoming the first country to capitalize on Canadian ideas and innovations in maritime architecture.
The Netherlands' Defence Materiel Organisation, and Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, have signed a contract to build a 28,000-tonne joint support ship, similar in size and capability to one Ottawa has been wanting to construct for six years but can't seem to get going.
The Conservative government shelved the Canadian navy's own $2.9-billion supply ship replacement program in 2008 when the bids came in far above the project's approved budget envelope.
In fact, they may even be...*gasp*...improving upon it! The nerve!
The Dutch, who've followed the Canadian program closely, want a ship that can resupply other warships, transport vast stores of army equipment and vehicles, but also act as a floating headquarters and hospital if necessary.
Having a ship that can do all of those things is not only a necessity in a small navy, but also more expensive than single-purpose vessels.
...
The Dutch, on the other hand, intend to construct their ship along the lines of the original plan envisioned by the Canadians. It may even have the enhanced ability to carry up to six helicopters, and army vehicles will have the ability to drive on and off from the cargo area.
Those warmongering Dutch, and their puppet-master military-industrial complex, giving us Canadians the metaphorical finger yet again.
Good on them.
Update: Oh, and by the way, Mark was talking about this move here at The Torch at the beginning of November 2009, more than two months ago. Still, it's nice to see someone with a bit wider reach than we have picking up the story.
posted by Babbling Brooks at 9:55 a.m.
5 Comments:
Babbling: Murray Brewster CP is actually just catching up to "The Torch" from last November and then a certain Ottawa Citizen reporter. The story was clearly done now (rather late) because of the Haiti hook.
Of course even if the Conservative gov't had signed a contract for the JSS (or some other sort of BHS) in say, 2007, it would not have been in service now. The way things are in fact going I doubt we'll see any such vessel before 2015 at an almost impossible earliest.
Mark
Ottawa
The Dutch have an incentive. Hugo Chavez, the nutter running and ruining Venezuala has been rattling swords about re-claiming the Netherland Antilles as property of Venezuela.
As the domestic situation gets ever more desperate, the fear is he'll use an external military adventure as the means to save his domestic political butt.
The Dutch JSS will be a key player in their ability to dissuade Chavez from going postal.
If he does attack, those islands, being part of the Netherlands, would trigger a NATO response as an attack on sovereign territory of a NATO member state.
Our troops can only hope that if Chavez attacks he'll do it in winter so our guys can enjoy a vacation on the beach in Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, Saint Maarten, Saba or St. Eustatius.
Good point, Mark. Update done, and thanks for the reminder.
And Fred: I'd like to say the Venezuelans couldn't possibly be that stupid, but then I remembered we're talking about Chavez. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, as I'd hate to see a single NATO life spent spanking that pissant.
Chavez is spending big time on Russian weapons.
The more he kills the domestic economy, the more he needs to change the channel with a foreign enemy to rally the faithful.
He is a complete nutter, so rules don't apply.
"If he does attack, those islands, being part of the Netherlands, would trigger a NATO response as an attack on sovereign territory of a NATO member state."
Don't think so. Cf the NATO treaty:
Article 6 (1)
For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack:
- on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America, on the Algerian Departments of France (2), on the territory of or on the Islands under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer;
- on the forces, vessels, or aircraft of any of the Parties, when in or over these territories or any other area in Europe in which occupation forces of any of the Parties were stationed on the date when the Treaty entered into force or the Mediterranean Sea or the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer.
As the ABC - islands are south of the tropic of cancer, this will be more of a Falklands situation - NATO countries can help, but don't have to.
The difference is that the US will be happy to help the Dutch against Chavez, while the Argentine regime back then was considered allies against communism ...
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