Stop Ottawa's Arms Shows!

by COAT

Here are some links to new materials added to the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) website.

 

Please join us in exposing and opposing "Secure Canada 2008" (Sept.30-Oct.1) and "CANSEC 2009" — two blatant manifestations of the international arms trade that are now scheduled to take place at a City of Ottawa facility despite a 1989 municipal ban on such events.

 

 

Cloak and Dagger: A Spy in COAT, and former U.S. Embassy Personnel

Spying on COAT:  Anne Healey is the former general manager of the Canadian Defence Industries Association, the organization that launched the "CANSEC" military trade shows. In 2005 she left that war-industry lobby group and became executive director of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Canada which is now the driving force behind one of the three main arms of "Secure Canada 2008."

Anne and COAT go way back. In the early 1990s, Anne was recruited by her father to attend COAT meetings and to relay information back to him about widespread public opposition to Ottawa's arms trade events. Her dad, Ed J.Healey, was a retired Rear-Admiral. In early 1990, after having working as the Assistant Deputy Minister of Defence (Materiel) responsible for buying military equipment, Ed went through the revolving door between government and industry to become the head lobbyist for CFN Consultants. CFN represents companies trying to sell military hardware to the government and now fronts for more than 50 major military industries. Read more about Anne, her dad, COAT and "Secure Canada 2008" in the section on Unmanned Systems Canada Expo 2008.

Working for the US Embassy: Rick Tachuk, the key organizer of "Secure Canada 2008" is a former employee of the US embassy (2000-2001). And, in 2007, when the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada opened a chapter in the National Capital Region, Rick Tachuk, was its head man. There was a celebration of this "initiative at an inaugural reception hosted by U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David H. Wilkins." The announcement of this US Embassy event said that Tachuk brought "over 20 years direct experience in U.S.-Canada cross-border trade and investment." His speciality, not surprisingly, is the military-industrial complex. Read more here.

"Secure Canada 2008," which is sponsored by the U.S. embassy and the U.S. government's Commerce Department, is "CERTIFIED under the U.S. Department of Commerce Trade Show Certification Program."

 

This arms exhibition's other major sponsors include the Canadian branch of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "Secure Canada's" only corporate sponsors are three large U.S. war-related industries: Boeing, General Atomics and Sun Microsystems. "Secure Canada" is also sponsored by the U.S. National Defense Industry Association, which -- with more than 47,000 individual members and 1400 corporate members -- is by far the most powerful U.S. business association representing the profit-motivated interests of the U.S. Military-Industrial-Academic Complex.

 

"Secure Canada 2008" has three main arms. One prong is being dominated and organized by the U.S. Embassy, while the other two are coordinated by Canadian chapters of two international military-industry associations that are based in the U.S., were formed in the U.S., are led by largely U.S. boards and are dominated by U.S. industries and U.S. political interests. And, to top it all off, the key "on-the-ground" organizer of this whole "Secure Canada 2008" event is a former employee of the U.S. embassy. Notice a pattern here? Do you feel more "Secure, Canada"?

This article examines the central importance of language in shaping the way we think about the world and our place in it. In particular, when it comes to the politics of war, language is as often used to manipulate public perceptions of reality as it is to clarify it. One tool in this struggle to confuse and obfuscate the truth about war is the military's use of euphemisms. "Collateral damage" and "pacification" are examples of deceptive military terms that have now become laughable. Nowadays, in their efforts to mollify public perceptions, the words "defense," "security" and "public safety" are frequently bandied about by war profiteers as well as by other proponents and apologists for war. Because we are all subject to the barrage of such linguistic weapons and the doublethink they engender, even some peace activists have fallen into the trap of employing the military elite's misleading terminology. Doing so suits the corporate mainstream agenda but undermines gains made by the antiwar movement. We must be on guard against such words which have invaded our culture and are used to sell such things as arms bazaars.

This illustrated article breaks down the concept of weapons and examines their basic constituent parts. It also takes apart the tendency to think of weapons in out-dated terms as being limited to personal weapons, like small firearms. Unfortunately, the tools of war have evolved into complex, multi-billion dollar "major weapons systems" whose high-tech electronic parts are often separated by thousands of miles. As a result, many people do not even realize that these various components are in fact even remotely connected to weapons. With such misunderstandings about what weapons are, it becomes easier to rationalize and justify the international arms trade and the promotion of military trade bazaars like "Secure Canada 2008."  Although this event focuses on showcasing huge corporations that make a wide variety of hardware that is part and parcel of the world's deadliest and most advanced weapons systems, its organizers can get away with the absurd claim that there won't be any "weapons" exhibited. City Staff then parrots these bogus assurances and the public is supposed to believe the deception that "Secure Canada 2008" is not an arms exhibition.

The organizers of "Secure Canada 2008" have posted a "Partial Exhibitor List" to their web site. The 55 corporations, government agencies and lobby groups for the military-industrial complex that are named as exhibitors probably represent about one-third of the total list that will being flogging their products and services at this year's event. In an effort to facilitate research and understanding of these who these exhibitors are, COAT has produced an annotated list of the known exhibitors' websites. Besides providing links to the exhibitor's web sites, COAT's list includes some basic notes about each exhibitor. COAT has also created separate web files detailing some of the major exhibitors. Particular attention is paid to the various weapons systems that "Secure Canada 2008" exhibitors manufacture, control and/or promote. So far, "weapons files" on 15 "Secure Canada 2008" exhibitors have been created and posted to the COAT site. Most of these files contain graphic photos of the weapons systems manufactured in whole or in part by these "Secure Canada 2008" exhibitors.
 

Of particular interest in the Pentagon’s 2009 Budget Request Summary Justification is a 65-page section detailing the $184 billion that it now wants for "Major Weapons Systems."  The "highest profile" of these current programs, i.e., the 25 most expensive "Major Weapons Systems" (between $12 and $300 billion each), are "designated as Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP)." 

 

Among the 42 known corporate exhibitors planning to show their stuff at "Secure Canada 2008" there are at least nine companies involved in one or more of these top 25 US MDAPs:  Boeing, CAE, Elbit Systems, General Atomics, General Dynamics Canada, Green Hill Systems, M/A-COM Tyco, Meggitt, and Sun Microsystems.

 

Boeing alone is heavily engaged in 16 of the Top 25 major weapons programs. Only five of these Top 25 programs do not seem to have the participation of corporations known to be exhibiting at "Secure Canada 2008." (Because less than one third of the potential final number of "Secure Canada 2008" exhibitors have been disclosed by organizers, the actual number of these exhibitors engaged in MDAPs is likely much higher.)

This 800-word summary of "Secure Canada 2008" and the COAT effort to thwart it was written for the September issue of the Peace and Environment News (PEN). The PEN is published by the Ottawa Peace and Environment Resource Centre, which is just down the road from Lansdowne Park, where this arms show is scheduled to occur.

Tell them what you think!  Click above to go to the COAT web page where you can send messages to the above. Call, email, write or fax!

 

We could use the assistance of a lawyer or some law students to help us stop these arms exhibitions that are ignoring Ottawa Council's 1989 motion.

The final details in the software for COAT's online petition are almost worked out. When it is running smoothly and securely, we'll let you know.

If we can't stop "Secure Canada 2008" (Sept.30-Oct.1) from coming to Ottawa, we will rally peacefully to protest it. Join us!

Donations to COAT would be much appreciated. Also, please subscribe to our magazine and order extra copies and/or back issues:

 

http://coat.ncf.ca/support_us/support_us.htm

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For more information, on "Secure Canada 2008" see the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade website.