A week ago, I traveled to Kingston Ontario, Canada for a conference on Latin America titled “At Home in the Americas: Canada, the US and Hemispheric Security.” This was the fourth annual conference co-sponsored by the Queen’s Centre for International Relations, Royal Canadian Military, and the US Army War College. Skipping the conference presentations, which were fascinating yet a bit long for this post, I want to share with you some insights that I gained while enjoying the beautiful sights of Lake Ontario.
My overall impression of the conference was that it developed a theme for a new beginning in security cooperation within the hemisphere. For years the Canadian military has been very reluctant to engage as a partner when dealing with the challenges that insurgencies and 4th generation warfare bring to this side of the world. However, now that there is a new administration in Canada, their military seems genuinely interested in working with the US and Latin America to create a more comprehensive Canadian national security strategy.
What this means for our SFS program is that they are finally starting to get it! When talking with the various military professionals in attendance I could sense that they understood that the challenges we face in Latin America, are one’s not typically associated with military forces. Poverty, weak institutions and transnational crime are all threats of a different nature and are perhaps best answered by an independent voice in civil society. This was the challenge that was raised, and this is what we try to emphasize with our SFS program.
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[...] as a multi-lateral force around the world, at least in security terms. A little over a month ago, I attended a conference in Kingston-Ontario that was hosted by Queen’s University, which focused on Canada’s military role in the [...]