#1Where its at for External Affairs

Recently there has been a lot of discussion regarding the condition of the Canadian Armed Forces. In order to try and understand and present some intelligent suggestions for their rejuvenation it is neccessary to understand why we even have Armed Forces. There is a famous dictum that has been going the rounds for nearly two hundred years. It is that war is an extension of diplomacy. If that is true, and it has been accepted as such for a long time, then it would seem that the armed forces of a country should be prepared to enforce the foreign policies of that country as well as providing it with its national security against external forces.
So what about Canada's foreign policies. We must pluralise that word policy because we have different policies for all different situations, circumstances and occasions. The Department of External affairs from which our foreign policies emanate used to be the pre-eminent department in the Canadian government. Over the years as it has, along with all the other beaucratic endeavours of our government, gradually lost it's focus, its direction and its effectiveness. This aimlessness has had a debilitating effect on Canada's Armed Services.