Military values devalued on the other hand THE shame accruing to Canadian Armed Forces is a question that bothers many. But the answer is that this country has fallen apart, militarily and morally. The fault fies not in our stars but in ourselves. We have allowed ourselves tu be corrupted by government. We have demanded a nanny state. “Gimme,” has been our watchword. “Canadians prefer social services to tax cuts” was a recent headline that epito- tized the disease. The result has been that Ottawa in both its Liberal and Tory forms has been able to suck money from us, while government in all its manifes- tations has been on a binge. That’s not news, I know. But it’s stil! going on in spiie of all that stuff about deficit reduction. One of the worst offend- ers has been the department of defence, which is now to get even more moncy. As you may have seen from the previous piece I wrote on this subject, spend- ing has meant nothing to the bureaucrats and their military accomplices whn have been -living it up, banana republic style. . The whole horrifying story is in the well-researched book Tarnished Brass , which deals with “crime and cor- ruption in the Canadian mili- tary.” For nearly nwo vears the news media have featured the inquiry into the Somalia atrocities and the attempted cover-up of scandalous behavior. Atrocities occur in every war and on all sides. So do coverups. But they can be dealt with immediately — if the brass has the will to do so. When the My Lai mas- sacre in Vietnam became known, no commission of inquiry was needed. There was a court martial and Lieut. Calley was sent to jail. That could have been the case here if the brass and the bureaucrats had been less concerned with politics and self-protection. he story is in the book. They offered up a couple of simple-minded “other ranks” as scapegoats. More than one officer had encour- aged disgraceful behavior, but only one was has been jailed. And that by a civilian court. So far no one in real authority has been touched. And commission or no com- mission I doubt that anyone will be. By the way, a lor of people believe that the Airborne were in Somalia on a peace- keeping mission. They weren't. They were there to help an American expedition whose mandate was to sort out Somatian rebels. Canadians should not have been there at all. But Brian Mulroney and the defence department couldn’t wait to join in. They thought it would be good public rela- tions. The result was that the Airborne were sent to a bar- barous country in which dead Americans had been dragged through the streets, an event that must have contnbuted to the Canadians’ attitude, Master Corporal Clayton Matchee was one of the lower rank scapegoats. A native Indian, he ran around after a Somatian kid had been tortured to death and anoth- er Somali shot, shouting, “Niggers evo, red men nil.” ‘The authors claim thar a captain of the Airborne did in fact offer a case of cham- Pagne to the first man who killed a Somali. (At the inquiry he denied saying any such thing.) The Airborne were dis- banded not so much because of the filthy “hazings” at their base in Canada or because of what happened in Somalia, but because our politically correct and gutless politicians had to look as if they were in charge. They sacrificed a whole regiment when disciplinary measures could have taken care of the situation. No other country has done such a thing. In all fighting forces, what counts is morale. If the troops tose faith in the offi- cers and if the officers lose faith in the brass, the jig is up. Discipline and decency ge down the tube. What you get in their place is decay. People who object to the inquiry on the grounds that the military are the targets of unwarranted spleen have a point. But anyone who reads Tarnished Brass will surely agree with Taylor and Scott’s conclusion that the martial values of loyalty, integrity, courage and duty have been replaced by greed, careerism and cowardice. Starting at the top. — The North Shore News MERCEDES BENZ OWNERS If you wish to sell your vehicle directly to Mercedes Benz or if you would like a current evaluation of your vehicle, please contact the Sales Manager at your convenience. DRAPERIES & BLINDS BY S.LAURSEN & SON Another one af our designs. For Free Estimates call 987-2966 Free Enotallatioan. Serving the North Shore for 25 years believes strongly in freedom of speech and the right of all sides ina debate to be beard. The columnists published in the News present differing points of view, but those views are not necessarily those of the newspa- per itself. INJURED IN: AY CAR: "ACCIDENT? : Call DEREK A. 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