Stephen Harper government muzzles top general on eve of reti

[Oscar]

Stephen Harper government muzzles top general on eve of retirement

[ http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Fish ... story.html ]

Stu Beare prevented from talking to journalists

By Matthew Fisher, Postmedia News September 8, 2014 5:35 PM

Lt.-Gen. Jon Vance becomes responsible for all Canadian troops deployed at home and abroad during a handover ceremony to take place Tuesday afternoon in Ottawa.

The outgoing leader of Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) is Lt.-Gen. Stu Beare. Both he and Vance served with distinction in Afghanistan — Vance during two combat tours in Kandahar and Beare with NATO in Kabul.

Beare was muzzled by the Harper government a couple of weeks ago, preventing him from talking to journalists about the challenges that CJOC and Canada face during this period of global tumult. The general deserved better than this parting order after 36 years of service. During his Afghan and CJOC years he has been responsible for the lives of thousands of Canadians in dangerous places, as well as for spending billions of dollars.

Forbidding Beare to speak was an example of the mindless messaging micro-management that has become one of the Harper government’s least appealing hallmarks. Such orders — and this was hardly the first — have long left the brass scratching their heads. After all, the government is constantly braying about Canada’s glorious military heritage and famously fond of talking as if nobody in the West is tougher on Russian President Vladimir Putin and terrorism.

Canadians need to hear from their top generals and admirals. No Canadians are better informed than they are about the new world disorders and the capabilities of enemies and potential enemies. Nobody knows better than they do how to manage and explain the complex matrix of relationships and our capabilities and those of our closest allies.

The job that Vance inherits is arguably the most powerful in the Canadian Forces. It may also be the toughest. Vance comes to CJOC from Canada’s most senior post with NATO in Europe at a time when new missions are looming in Iraq and near Ukraine.

Beare’s task has become trickier during his three years at CJOC. His command — and the generals and admirals who generate troops and provide matériel for it — has been flying, sailing and driving on fumes for some time because of the steep cuts that the Harper government imposed on the military in order to produce a hefty budget surplus to crow about during next year’s federal election.

MORE:

[ http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Fish ... story.html ]