Canada says the UAE is acting like a pompous thug says Colin Kenny
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Canada: The UAE is acting like a pompous thug says Colin Kenny
Drop the gloves with UAE
Canada doesn't need to stand for the abuse coming from this tiny Mideast bully
BY COLIN KENNY, CITIZEN SPECIAL JANUARY 8, 2011
(Colin Kenny is former chair of the (Canadian) Senate Committee on (Canadian) National Security and Defence.)
The United Arab Emirates is acting like a pompous thug that thinks Canada need it. We don't, Colin Kenny writes.
The United Arab Emirates has gone into a princely snit over our refusal to grant it more landing rights in Canada for its airline, and has decided it can bully us into changing our minds. I suggest that we push back, firmly, because the UAE has not realized that Canada has options, too.
(Colin has no idea what he is dealing with)
Why does the UAE so desperately want more landing rights? Because it has bought a lot of big fat aircraft as part of its decade-long, oil-fuelled spending spree, and needs to fill seats by moving North Americans through Dubai to the Middle East and Asia.
When the Canadian government refused, the UAE proceeded to: a) kick Canada out of our staging base for Afghanistan that was located on UAE soil; b) refuse our minister of national defence and our chief of the defence staff permission to fly through its airspace after they were in the air; and c) introduced the need for expensive visas for any Canadian wishing to visit their country.
Here's what I think we should consider in response: a) void the landing rights UAE airlines already have; b) forbid them to fly in Canadian air space; c) slow down the processing of visas for anyone from the UAE who wants to visit Canada; and d) tell them to convince us that nobody connected to any of the Emirates' royal families is supporting antiwestern terrorist activities.
Why would I want to drop the gloves in dealing with the UAE? Because I think they're essentially a bunch of pompous thugs behaving like Canadians need them. We don't, and somebody should show them they can't treat us like the second-class citizens they hire to do virtually all the work in their seven fiefdoms.
(Thanks for making the lives of 27,000 Canadians living in the UAE that much more complicated)
I am well aware that some critics argue that the Canadian government has been heavy handed in dealing with the UAE, as though we weren't properly versed in the delicate ways one must handle trumped up royals.
I say we should deal with them the same way we did when they got haughty about the Canadian Forces flight-training program for the UAE Air Force. That program was going fine until some member of a royal family flunked his flight test, and still wanted to be given qualifications to fly an aircraft. Our military wisely cancelled the training program when the UAE told us that members and friends of a royal family should not be allowed to fail.
Wait, you say. Weren't the seven families who so ruthlessly rule the UAE being jolly good chaps when they offered us a military base on their soil? Well it wasn't quite soil -- it was unoccupied sand. And let's keep in mind that our troops were using that stretch of sand to try to defuse terrorism in the region, with only the tiniest military contribution of about 200 "special forces" from the UAE.
Rich oil countries like the UAE should be doing a lot more to combat terrorism than they are. It isn't just democracies like Canada and the United States that need to fear al-Qaeda and the like. These outfits are also sworn enemies of the ruling classes in places like Saudi Arabia, and yes, the United Arab Emirates. The fact that the UAE was so quick to expel Canada from Camp Mirage for as small a matter as a disagreement over landing rights in Canada suggests a haughty and short-sighted indifference to whether the world succeeds in abating terrorism.
Maybe they're not indifferent. Maybe they like to play both sides of the street when it comes to terrorism. I have spoken to several intelligence sources who are adamant that leadership within the United Arab Emirates -- while posing as friends to NATO -- have been pouring money into terrorist movements throughout the Middle East. So we should reward that kind of duplicity with additional landing rights?
Canada is a civilized country trying to do two things on the international front: promote its own interests, (read: save Air Canada at all costs) and create a fairer, more civilized world. There is nothing fair or civilized about the UAE, nor are things improving. Foreign workers, mostly from Asia, outnumber privileged citizens by a ratio of about four to one, and are notoriously badly treated. This really is a country run by royal thugs, without democracy, free press, free assembly, or any semblance of human rights.
Even if we were just thinking selfishly about promoting the financial interests of Canadians, what does the UAE have to offer? We don't need their oil, and the economy of their show state of Dubai is a bubble just waiting to burst for the second time.
The UAE argues that denying its airlines more landing rights in Canada amounts to unfair protectionism of our own airlines, most notably, Air Canada. But why not protect against unfair competition? The UAE has two state-subsidized airlines that have bought themselves a bevy of huge aircraft that are eating a hole in the national treasury. They staff the airlines with underpriced help that can be fired at whim, and offer discounts on their visas if you fly on those airlines. Why kill off some Canadian jobs to the benefit of the high-spending UAE treasury.
Finally, it should be noted that five years ago the U.S. Congress decided that it wouldn't allow the UAE to manage American ports through a state-owned company called Dubai Ports World. Well, you know what? Dubai Ports World owns the company that runs container and break bulk terminals at the Port of Vancouver.
Note to the princes: "You want to keep that Vancouver contract and your current landing rights? Well then write us a letter within 30 days pledging that nobody connected to the royal families running your totalitarian governments is funding antiwestern terrorists, and we'll check that out with our intelligence people. And meanwhile, start showing us some respect."
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Read more drivel at: Drop the gloves with UAE
Canada doesn't need to stand for the abuse coming from this tiny Mideast bully
BY COLIN KENNY, CITIZEN SPECIAL JANUARY 8, 2011
(Colin Kenny is former chair of the (Canadian) Senate Committee on (Canadian) National Security and Defence.)
The United Arab Emirates is acting like a pompous thug that thinks Canada need it. We don't, Colin Kenny writes.
The United Arab Emirates has gone into a princely snit over our refusal to grant it more landing rights in Canada for its airline, and has decided it can bully us into changing our minds. I suggest that we push back, firmly, because the UAE has not realized that Canada has options, too.
(Colin has no idea what he is dealing with)
Why does the UAE so desperately want more landing rights? Because it has bought a lot of big fat aircraft as part of its decade-long, oil-fuelled spending spree, and needs to fill seats by moving North Americans through Dubai to the Middle East and Asia.
When the Canadian government refused, the UAE proceeded to: a) kick Canada out of our staging base for Afghanistan that was located on UAE soil; b) refuse our minister of national defence and our chief of the defence staff permission to fly through its airspace after they were in the air; and c) introduced the need for expensive visas for any Canadian wishing to visit their country.
Here's what I think we should consider in response: a) void the landing rights UAE airlines already have; b) forbid them to fly in Canadian air space; c) slow down the processing of visas for anyone from the UAE who wants to visit Canada; and d) tell them to convince us that nobody connected to any of the Emirates' royal families is supporting antiwestern terrorist activities.
Why would I want to drop the gloves in dealing with the UAE? Because I think they're essentially a bunch of pompous thugs behaving like Canadians need them. We don't, and somebody should show them they can't treat us like the second-class citizens they hire to do virtually all the work in their seven fiefdoms.
(Thanks for making the lives of 27,000 Canadians living in the UAE that much more complicated)
I am well aware that some critics argue that the Canadian government has been heavy handed in dealing with the UAE, as though we weren't properly versed in the delicate ways one must handle trumped up royals.
I say we should deal with them the same way we did when they got haughty about the Canadian Forces flight-training program for the UAE Air Force. That program was going fine until some member of a royal family flunked his flight test, and still wanted to be given qualifications to fly an aircraft. Our military wisely cancelled the training program when the UAE told us that members and friends of a royal family should not be allowed to fail.
Wait, you say. Weren't the seven families who so ruthlessly rule the UAE being jolly good chaps when they offered us a military base on their soil? Well it wasn't quite soil -- it was unoccupied sand. And let's keep in mind that our troops were using that stretch of sand to try to defuse terrorism in the region, with only the tiniest military contribution of about 200 "special forces" from the UAE.
Rich oil countries like the UAE should be doing a lot more to combat terrorism than they are. It isn't just democracies like Canada and the United States that need to fear al-Qaeda and the like. These outfits are also sworn enemies of the ruling classes in places like Saudi Arabia, and yes, the United Arab Emirates. The fact that the UAE was so quick to expel Canada from Camp Mirage for as small a matter as a disagreement over landing rights in Canada suggests a haughty and short-sighted indifference to whether the world succeeds in abating terrorism.
Maybe they're not indifferent. Maybe they like to play both sides of the street when it comes to terrorism. I have spoken to several intelligence sources who are adamant that leadership within the United Arab Emirates -- while posing as friends to NATO -- have been pouring money into terrorist movements throughout the Middle East. So we should reward that kind of duplicity with additional landing rights?
Canada is a civilized country trying to do two things on the international front: promote its own interests, (read: save Air Canada at all costs) and create a fairer, more civilized world. There is nothing fair or civilized about the UAE, nor are things improving. Foreign workers, mostly from Asia, outnumber privileged citizens by a ratio of about four to one, and are notoriously badly treated. This really is a country run by royal thugs, without democracy, free press, free assembly, or any semblance of human rights.
Even if we were just thinking selfishly about promoting the financial interests of Canadians, what does the UAE have to offer? We don't need their oil, and the economy of their show state of Dubai is a bubble just waiting to burst for the second time.
The UAE argues that denying its airlines more landing rights in Canada amounts to unfair protectionism of our own airlines, most notably, Air Canada. But why not protect against unfair competition? The UAE has two state-subsidized airlines that have bought themselves a bevy of huge aircraft that are eating a hole in the national treasury. They staff the airlines with underpriced help that can be fired at whim, and offer discounts on their visas if you fly on those airlines. Why kill off some Canadian jobs to the benefit of the high-spending UAE treasury.
Finally, it should be noted that five years ago the U.S. Congress decided that it wouldn't allow the UAE to manage American ports through a state-owned company called Dubai Ports World. Well, you know what? Dubai Ports World owns the company that runs container and break bulk terminals at the Port of Vancouver.
Note to the princes: "You want to keep that Vancouver contract and your current landing rights? Well then write us a letter within 30 days pledging that nobody connected to the royal families running your totalitarian governments is funding antiwestern terrorists, and we'll check that out with our intelligence people. And meanwhile, start showing us some respect."
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Read more drivel at: Drop the gloves with UAE
Last edited by troff; 8th Jan 2011 at 18:13. Reason: spelling, eh?
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Hey , I am all for EK doing well , but this whole distasteful saga does nobody any good . Is this behaviour because Canada is so important to UAE , or , that UAE are not used to being told NO by anybody ?
I understand that the Canucks in UAE must be a tad uneasy , but there is no way that they can be thrown out .
How would EK and EY cope with Canadian airspace becoming ' difficult ' to access , or so expensive ( like $998 is expensive ) that nonstop flights to virtually all of the North American continent from UAE become unsustainable commercially ? And as we all know , Canada does not need Gulf oil - it has more than it can shake a stick at. But then , Canada is part of the Free World , and most likely cannot even contemplate childish retaliation that credits nobody.
This whole spat should be stopped immediately and all and sundry start behaving like adults .
I understand that the Canucks in UAE must be a tad uneasy , but there is no way that they can be thrown out .
How would EK and EY cope with Canadian airspace becoming ' difficult ' to access , or so expensive ( like $998 is expensive ) that nonstop flights to virtually all of the North American continent from UAE become unsustainable commercially ? And as we all know , Canada does not need Gulf oil - it has more than it can shake a stick at. But then , Canada is part of the Free World , and most likely cannot even contemplate childish retaliation that credits nobody.
This whole spat should be stopped immediately and all and sundry start behaving like adults .
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Emirates is playing a losing game, they just don't know it yet.
Canada signs airline agreement with Egypt
Canada signs airline agreement with Egypt
Plus:
Qatar Airways via Star Alliance hubs in Europe
Qatar Airways - Codeshare destinations
Plus there is always this if UAE keeps playing this foolish game:
Emirates North American Routes before Canadian airspace is closed. This would suck eh? (Google Earth Required)
Canada signs airline agreement with Egypt
Canada signs airline agreement with Egypt
Plus:
Qatar Airways via Star Alliance hubs in Europe
Qatar Airways - Codeshare destinations
Plus there is always this if UAE keeps playing this foolish game:
Emirates North American Routes before Canadian airspace is closed. This would suck eh? (Google Earth Required)
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That program was going fine until some member of a royal family flunked his flight test, and still wanted to be given qualifications to fly an aircraft. Our military wisely cancelled the training program when the UAE told us that members and friends of a royal family should not be allowed to fail.
One of those family members didn't by any chance go on to become CPB at Emirates did he?! Sounds about the right speed.
Maybe they're not indifferent. Maybe they like to play both sides of the street when it comes to terrorism. I have spoken to several intelligence sources who are adamant that leadership within the United Arab Emirates -- while posing as friends to NATO -- have been pouring money into terrorist movements throughout the Middle East.Maybe they like to play both sides of the street when it comes to terrorism. I have spoken to several intelligence sources who are adamant that leadership within the United Arab Emirates -- while posing as friends to NATO -- have been pouring money into terrorist movements throughout the Middle East.
Hey troff, let me guess. Ex-AC, perhaps former CDN and hard-done by in the merger so now you just want to see those AY-rabs stick it to to Big Red? Protecting AC interests? That's what this is all about? I don't think so. I think it started out as refusing to trade EK profits for a few McJobs in Canada with Servisair loading airplanes. But the UAE chose to make it more with the military base pettiness. So be it. As one of the "27,000" I wanted to stand and applaud at the article. But then I hate bullies.
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I don't think the lads in UAE who dreamed up this fiasco of a diplomatic strategy realize how happy Harper and the Conservatives are to have an external enemy like the emirates to heap a pile of crap on and make themselves look good to Canadians. Turning emirates into the enemy has no downside, and may win them some votes in the next election. That's how politics is done everywhere in the world including Canada.
Harper to UAE: “Give me a break”
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper hopes Canada never does to any of its allies what the United Arab Emirates is doing to Canada. In an exclusive interview Friday with QMI Agency,
Harper said he couldn’t believe that the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would try to use Canada’s offer to help the global fight against terrorism in order to gain a commercial advantage for the state-owned Emirates airline.
In 2001, the UAE allowed the Canadian Forces to set up Camp Mirage near Dubai. It became an important logistical and supply base between Canada and Afghanistan.
But when Emirates airlines was unable to get landing rights fast enough for flights at Calgary and Vancouver airports, the UAE government late last year told Canada’s soldiers and air force personnel to pack up and get out.
“That’s just not how you treat allies, and I think tells us you better pick your friends pretty carefully in the future,” Harper told QMI Agency during a visit Friday to Welland, Ont. “I could never see [Canada] treating an ally like that. Could you imagine after 9/11 if the Americans had come to the Canadian government and said, ‘We need help on something to do with security’ [and we said] ‘Well, only if you do something on Buy America.’ I mean, give me a break.”
Canada has allowed foreign airlines access to Canada’s market when those airlines are ready to play by the same rules as Air Canada, WestJet and other Canadian airlines. Emirates airline, though, is heavily subsidized by UAE’s oil wealth through the state-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai.
“When we, as a country, offer to be part of a international mission to help protect global security then somebody comes along and uses that to try and leverage demands on our domestic airline industry, I don’t think that’s a situation we as a country want to be in,” Harper said. “What this teaches us in future and when we’re looking at other options is: Don’t get in a place where somebody’s going to try and use it to leverage some unrelated issue.”
Harper’s comments are the latest in a war of words between the two countries and come as Canadian diplomats are active in the region to secure an alternative location to Camp Mirage.
QMI Agency has learned that some Canadian government officials worry that the UAE is trying to put pressure on its neighbours, including Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman, to block any attempts by Canada to set up a base in their countries.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay heads to the Middle East next week for meetings in Palestine and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon will visit Qatar and Algeria at the end of the week.
Harper to UAE: “Give me a break”
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper hopes Canada never does to any of its allies what the United Arab Emirates is doing to Canada. In an exclusive interview Friday with QMI Agency,
Harper said he couldn’t believe that the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would try to use Canada’s offer to help the global fight against terrorism in order to gain a commercial advantage for the state-owned Emirates airline.
In 2001, the UAE allowed the Canadian Forces to set up Camp Mirage near Dubai. It became an important logistical and supply base between Canada and Afghanistan.
But when Emirates airlines was unable to get landing rights fast enough for flights at Calgary and Vancouver airports, the UAE government late last year told Canada’s soldiers and air force personnel to pack up and get out.
“That’s just not how you treat allies, and I think tells us you better pick your friends pretty carefully in the future,” Harper told QMI Agency during a visit Friday to Welland, Ont. “I could never see [Canada] treating an ally like that. Could you imagine after 9/11 if the Americans had come to the Canadian government and said, ‘We need help on something to do with security’ [and we said] ‘Well, only if you do something on Buy America.’ I mean, give me a break.”
Canada has allowed foreign airlines access to Canada’s market when those airlines are ready to play by the same rules as Air Canada, WestJet and other Canadian airlines. Emirates airline, though, is heavily subsidized by UAE’s oil wealth through the state-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai.
“When we, as a country, offer to be part of a international mission to help protect global security then somebody comes along and uses that to try and leverage demands on our domestic airline industry, I don’t think that’s a situation we as a country want to be in,” Harper said. “What this teaches us in future and when we’re looking at other options is: Don’t get in a place where somebody’s going to try and use it to leverage some unrelated issue.”
Harper’s comments are the latest in a war of words between the two countries and come as Canadian diplomats are active in the region to secure an alternative location to Camp Mirage.
QMI Agency has learned that some Canadian government officials worry that the UAE is trying to put pressure on its neighbours, including Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman, to block any attempts by Canada to set up a base in their countries.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay heads to the Middle East next week for meetings in Palestine and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon will visit Qatar and Algeria at the end of the week.
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"Collin has no idea who he is playing with"
That is one more reason to be carefull. The more the EK expands in the world, the more they will learn that the rules of the game are different than they are used too. Money talks but there are limits.
If you want to control the traffic flow from the West to the East via a hub situated in a dictatorship you will have to accept that people will look for alternatives. Read cooperation based on mutual respect. EK is getting nervous, they have overstretched themselves and it starts to show. The world does not turn around their ass.
If the UAE uses their position in various international bodies to defend the intrest of some family business then they will have to accept that there are limits to what other States will accept as being reasonable.
If EK has bought too many A 380 then it's to be expected that the competition will prevent them from using them. The EK expansion in Europe was a piece of cake. Europe is a lion without teeth. The politicians just want to sell Airbus. But now the European airlines start to feel what that means. As long as EK took some passengers to the ME they did not worry too much but it is getting a different dimension.
EK is fighting an ecconomical war. The only problem is that there are too many mercenaries in their army and they are expensive to keep if it gets too hot. Mercenaries are not loyal at all.
That is one more reason to be carefull. The more the EK expands in the world, the more they will learn that the rules of the game are different than they are used too. Money talks but there are limits.
If you want to control the traffic flow from the West to the East via a hub situated in a dictatorship you will have to accept that people will look for alternatives. Read cooperation based on mutual respect. EK is getting nervous, they have overstretched themselves and it starts to show. The world does not turn around their ass.
If the UAE uses their position in various international bodies to defend the intrest of some family business then they will have to accept that there are limits to what other States will accept as being reasonable.
If EK has bought too many A 380 then it's to be expected that the competition will prevent them from using them. The EK expansion in Europe was a piece of cake. Europe is a lion without teeth. The politicians just want to sell Airbus. But now the European airlines start to feel what that means. As long as EK took some passengers to the ME they did not worry too much but it is getting a different dimension.
EK is fighting an ecconomical war. The only problem is that there are too many mercenaries in their army and they are expensive to keep if it gets too hot. Mercenaries are not loyal at all.
Last edited by Pitch Up Authority; 9th Jan 2011 at 03:02.
The one thing you need to be careful of is so seamlessly equating "UAE" with "EK"
Etihad have the same number of flights to Toronto, and would no dobt have an A380 on it if they had one. the UAE Government is in Abu Dhabi, not Dubai, and I get it is much more keen to see Etihad prosper than support the continued growth of Emirates.
Much as TC and MF have been vocal about dis-agreeing with Canadas policies, I think they are probably cringing at the actions and rhetoric of the UAE government- THEY know something about diplomacy, even if the UAE does not.
Etihad have the same number of flights to Toronto, and would no dobt have an A380 on it if they had one. the UAE Government is in Abu Dhabi, not Dubai, and I get it is much more keen to see Etihad prosper than support the continued growth of Emirates.
Much as TC and MF have been vocal about dis-agreeing with Canadas policies, I think they are probably cringing at the actions and rhetoric of the UAE government- THEY know something about diplomacy, even if the UAE does not.
Any particular reason for the personal attack JW? Can't express an opinion without resorting to that?
You are dead right about the No.2 being the Dubai Ruler- one who has had his power substantially clipped by the economic situation and his needing to have the begging bowl out to Abu Dhabi.
I never said this didn't involve EK or Dubai, I said this was the action of the UAE government, not EK management, who no doubt realize how counter productive the whole saga is.
So, in the spirit of friendship you bring to the discussion, get your head out of your @r5E and learn to read!!
You are dead right about the No.2 being the Dubai Ruler- one who has had his power substantially clipped by the economic situation and his needing to have the begging bowl out to Abu Dhabi.
I never said this didn't involve EK or Dubai, I said this was the action of the UAE government, not EK management, who no doubt realize how counter productive the whole saga is.
So, in the spirit of friendship you bring to the discussion, get your head out of your @r5E and learn to read!!
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Emirates airline, though, is heavily subsidized by UAE’s oil wealth through the state-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai.
I'm not going into the debate, but please:
Dubai has no more oil wealth, it's the envious neighbor.
The "Investment Corporation of Dubai" is not "state owned" (until now at least ...) but owned by the Emirate of Dubai.
Truly pathetic
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It now appears that the 1st world 'adult' mentality originally displayed by Canada has fallen by the wayside, and the Canadian Government has lowered itself to childlike behaviour and comments. Hardly the sort of thing you would expect a 'mature' government to do!
Can you imagine David Cameron or Margaret Thatcher spouting the vitriolic (and inaccurate) crap Harper and his cronies just have towards another country?? I think not! Winning cheap votes from the uneducated is one thing, but throwing tantrums on a world stage is quite another.
Now don't get me wrong, clearly the UAE has also acted in a foolish way, but had the Harper government done some research on cultural behaviour and peculiarities of the Arab World, then he would have been fully aware of the Arab's need to 'save face'. Agree with that mentality or not, it is a cultural fact that should have been observed.
What I want to know is, the UAE allowed Canada to use its country as a staging post for its military. This was not Canada's 'right' to be based here, it was an agreement between the two countries. Clearly Canada was the main beneficiary of this deal as the UAE stood to gain very little from it (aside from a few dollars in rent I guess)......... So, why shouldn't the UAE ask for a favour in return at some point? Why shouldn't they request a few more landing slots in Canada? What if anything was Canada EVER going to do to repay the 'kindness' offered by the UAE?? I personally think the UAE asked for very little in return, and was palmed off every time.
At some point then the UAE eventually thought "well f@ck you Canada", if this is just gonna be a one way relationship then you can get the hell off our sand!
Now when you look at it from that perspective, you can hardly blame the UAE for acting up like it has surely?
Can you imagine David Cameron or Margaret Thatcher spouting the vitriolic (and inaccurate) crap Harper and his cronies just have towards another country?? I think not! Winning cheap votes from the uneducated is one thing, but throwing tantrums on a world stage is quite another.
Now don't get me wrong, clearly the UAE has also acted in a foolish way, but had the Harper government done some research on cultural behaviour and peculiarities of the Arab World, then he would have been fully aware of the Arab's need to 'save face'. Agree with that mentality or not, it is a cultural fact that should have been observed.
What I want to know is, the UAE allowed Canada to use its country as a staging post for its military. This was not Canada's 'right' to be based here, it was an agreement between the two countries. Clearly Canada was the main beneficiary of this deal as the UAE stood to gain very little from it (aside from a few dollars in rent I guess)......... So, why shouldn't the UAE ask for a favour in return at some point? Why shouldn't they request a few more landing slots in Canada? What if anything was Canada EVER going to do to repay the 'kindness' offered by the UAE?? I personally think the UAE asked for very little in return, and was palmed off every time.
At some point then the UAE eventually thought "well f@ck you Canada", if this is just gonna be a one way relationship then you can get the hell off our sand!
Now when you look at it from that perspective, you can hardly blame the UAE for acting up like it has surely?
Last edited by Oblaaspop; 10th Jan 2011 at 14:55.
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Mmm....much like the US banned 'french fries' and insisted they be called freedom fries as the frogs didn't want to join their war games.
I guess every Country has its childish moment.
Harry
I guess every Country has its childish moment.
Harry
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What did the UAE get from allowing a staging base for Canadian troops?
Obs me old mate, you must be kidding.
The moderate Middle Eastern Governments, UAE included, get Western troops stopping a bunch of crazies who would like nothing better than to impose their extreme version of Islam and Sharia across the region.
Or so Wikileaks would have us believe
Obs me old mate, you must be kidding.
The moderate Middle Eastern Governments, UAE included, get Western troops stopping a bunch of crazies who would like nothing better than to impose their extreme version of Islam and Sharia across the region.
Or so Wikileaks would have us believe
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This is very true Mr init my old mukka.
It is also true that 'the west' was probably far less interested in the stability of the Middle East than it was in protecting its own interests such as global oil prices and national/homeland security.
So as I said before, in this specific example, Canada benefited more from the arrangement than the UAE....simple!
It is also true that 'the west' was probably far less interested in the stability of the Middle East than it was in protecting its own interests such as global oil prices and national/homeland security.
So as I said before, in this specific example, Canada benefited more from the arrangement than the UAE....simple!
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Obla----why should they be sensitive to the concept of saving face?? The UAE was certainly not sensitive to the way in which the rest of the world talks/negotiates!
Lets be clear. The Cdn troops are in Afgan. as part of a US/UN coalition. If things were not winding down there and if the US/UN needed them still there would have been pressure applied to leave the Cdn troops where they were.
Lets be clear. The Cdn troops are in Afgan. as part of a US/UN coalition. If things were not winding down there and if the US/UN needed them still there would have been pressure applied to leave the Cdn troops where they were.
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Obs
Judging by your remarks in post #14 you're clearly trying to wind a number of us folks up and nothing more. Good game.
If not, surely you can come up with something a lot more intelligent to say about this immature hissy fit the UAE are on about with Canada.
"the UAE stood to gain very little from it (aside from a few dollars in rent I guess)......... "
Are you kidding? Try running that notion through your brain one more time to see if that statement makes sense.
How does Canada have more to gain from basing its Military in the UAE?
I have to say, you're right about the culture and face saving though.
The UAE really have painted themselves into a corner on this issue and it's highly unlikely those immature wallies in Ottawa will respond with any more "childlike behaviour and comments".
Personally, I'd like to see our childish parliamentarians respond with random and arbitrary removal of overflight clearances and landing authorizations. Kind of a reciprocal "face saving" gesture from the Cdn Gov't the Khaleejis would be used to. (However unlikely that childish gesture would be.)
Willie
Judging by your remarks in post #14 you're clearly trying to wind a number of us folks up and nothing more. Good game.
If not, surely you can come up with something a lot more intelligent to say about this immature hissy fit the UAE are on about with Canada.
"the UAE stood to gain very little from it (aside from a few dollars in rent I guess)......... "
Are you kidding? Try running that notion through your brain one more time to see if that statement makes sense.
How does Canada have more to gain from basing its Military in the UAE?
I have to say, you're right about the culture and face saving though.
The UAE really have painted themselves into a corner on this issue and it's highly unlikely those immature wallies in Ottawa will respond with any more "childlike behaviour and comments".
Personally, I'd like to see our childish parliamentarians respond with random and arbitrary removal of overflight clearances and landing authorizations. Kind of a reciprocal "face saving" gesture from the Cdn Gov't the Khaleejis would be used to. (However unlikely that childish gesture would be.)
Willie
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Personally, I'd like to see our childish parliamentarians respond with random and arbitrary removal of overflight clearances and landing authorizations.
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However, if Ottawa perceives the UAE as being involved in terrorism sponsorship (it clearly does) an ADC system could easily be arranged, with random "loss" of clearances and denial of overflight?
"Eh?"
"Eh?"