Hakkola
04-14-2007, 12:52 AM
In an effort to stimulate debate.
The manufacturing industry in Canada and the United states is of utmost importance, the military arms industry is no different. The Military Industrial Complex refers to the arms industry run by the United States. However, the importance of military industry is not just an American phenomenon, as Canada also has a sizeable arms industry. The armaments industry not only creates the feeling of security for a countries citizens, but also jobs. Defence production can act as a stabilizer to a depressed economy, as it can correct a cyclical downturn in business activity or fix decline in industry.# In the documentary film, “Why We Fight” Chalmers Johnson states that “The American defence budget is three quarters of a trillion dollars, and that profits are up twenty five percent, with war being that profitable, it is likely we will see more of it.”# This statement points to the profitability of new opened markets, and the strength of the military industrial complex. For example, the year after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the U.S generated a record $22.5 billion in arms sales to the middle east alone.# The U.S direct commercial sales are sales in which the government is not an intermediary, these sales averaged $26.8 billion for the years between 1990-1994.# This is evidence of how instability and war is profitable to the united states. Nevertheless, Canada also has a large commercial business specializing in arms sales. In 1976 Canada purchased 128 Leopard 1 tanks worth about $236 million, the offer was conditional on Krauss-Maffei providing compensating industrial benefits to Canada, totalling 40% of the entire contract. This was an early attempt to make the Canadian arms industry stronger. The Canadian government also had similar ties with the United States in the 1960’s when the Canadian government made an effort to equalize the Canada-U.S military trade. In 1963 the U.S Department of Defence and the Canadian Department of Defence Production signed a memorandum, called the Defence Development Sharing Program. The agreement committed the United States to fund 25 percent of mutually agreed upon research and development projects.# During the Vietnam war, arms sales from Canada to the United States doubled, reaching $800 million in terms of 1986 dollars. The Canadian government did not fully support the war, yet the country benefited economically because of it.# In the late 1980’s, Canada was producing about 3 billion dollars worth in sales of military goods annually, 66 percent of which was exported, and at the time was considered the second most important high-technology industry after telecommunications.# Since 1980 international trade of military equipment has become more and more commercialized, the contrast between military and commercial arms industries becoming more difficult to discern.# The sales of armaments to reach economic objectives has increased in both the United States and Canada. It has been argued that there is no focus on developing a Canadian defence industrial base in support of Canadian defence requirements, but instead there has been focus on capturing a larger share of the international arms market to enhance economic growth.# This is evidence of Canada directly profiting from war and weapons trade in much the same fashion as the United States. The difference would seem to be that the Americans are taking part in the wars, while Canada takes part in peacemaking, giving the country a more respectable image while at the same time benefiting from conflicts and instability which the United States is a part of.
The unparalleled power of the American Military has allowed it to become an Imperialistic nation, with Canada playing a role, economically and militarily. Due to the immense power of the U.S military , the nation can exert influence world wide. For a century American foreign policy has allowed the United States to expand their domination over other countries to exploit their resources, this helped to create an empire which has been maintained through economic and military means.# This power allows the country to disregard international laws for their own benefit, such was the case when the United States military attacked Iraq without United Nations approval.# In the case of illegal war a country would normally face sanctions, however since the world economy thrives on the actions of the United States, this did not occur.# This indicates that the United States is truly a dominant power, an empire, able to shape the global economy through military action. The American Empire is informal, but as such is still very effective. The United States of America is an advanced industrial nation which attempts to control the development of weaker economies. In this sense the U.S. is an imperial nation. “The United States seeks control in order to preserve a system that benefits it and the other advanced capitalist countries.”# Canada is one of these advanced capitalist countries. As the U.S. benefits, so does Canada, by trading with countries which America has forcefully opened trade relations with through the means of war and regime change. This trade comes in the form of agricultural goods, natural resources and industrial products, made using old technology with low profit margins. What these countries buy in return are high profit goods from the industrialized nations. These economic exchanges are not equal, the poor countries export earnings are often not sufficient to cover all their import needs, and as a result they find the need to borrow from western nations, this creates debt, making the poor countries poorer, and the rich, richer.# When the exploited nations become unable to borrow more money from the rich and powerful countries or financial institutions, they have no other choice but to borrow from the International Monetary Fund run by the UN. When a nation borrows from this fund there are repercussions involved, including reduction in the governments role in the economy. This leads to the selling of government owned business, and rise in investment from western nations, and as such profits get funnelled back into countries such as the U.S. This is all made possible by the military prowess of the United States, benefiting the nation and it’s allies by creating new markets to exploit. The Canadian military in contrast, does not find itself fighting in illegal wars, but does take part in such practices by committing troops to other American causes, such as the war in Afghanistan. It can be argued that the American military is an economic war machine, contributing not just to the economy of the U.S. but also the economy of Canada. This evidence supports the idea of the United States as an Imperialist nation and the willingness of Canada and it’s military to support and take part in the U.S. conquest for economic strength.
This essay examined the roles of the militaries of both the United States and Canada, showing the vast differences between the two organizations, while also illustrating the symbiosis the Canadian economy has with the American military. While it’s true that the Canadian military is small in terms of personnel, and miniscule in terms of funding, it can be argued that it has a large impact world wide as it takes part in UN and NATO operations, alleviating stress on the American military by taking part in operations in Afghanistan, freeing up American soldiers for action elsewhere. It was also argued that instability and war benefited both the American and Canadian armaments industries, and furthermore the entire economies of both countries through lending, new markets for the sales of highly profitable goods, procurement of natural resources, and investment opportunities. The American imperialistic practices have been exercised for the better part of a century. From a military point of view this is in contrast to the apparent nature of the Canadian military, however, as outlined in this paper Canada and it’s economy have benefited from these actions in an economic sense. As such it was argued that although the Canadian military is distinct and different from it’s American counterpart, the actions of the Canadian government and economy are evidence that the American Military, by taking care of American interests, also satisfies Canadian interests.
The manufacturing industry in Canada and the United states is of utmost importance, the military arms industry is no different. The Military Industrial Complex refers to the arms industry run by the United States. However, the importance of military industry is not just an American phenomenon, as Canada also has a sizeable arms industry. The armaments industry not only creates the feeling of security for a countries citizens, but also jobs. Defence production can act as a stabilizer to a depressed economy, as it can correct a cyclical downturn in business activity or fix decline in industry.# In the documentary film, “Why We Fight” Chalmers Johnson states that “The American defence budget is three quarters of a trillion dollars, and that profits are up twenty five percent, with war being that profitable, it is likely we will see more of it.”# This statement points to the profitability of new opened markets, and the strength of the military industrial complex. For example, the year after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the U.S generated a record $22.5 billion in arms sales to the middle east alone.# The U.S direct commercial sales are sales in which the government is not an intermediary, these sales averaged $26.8 billion for the years between 1990-1994.# This is evidence of how instability and war is profitable to the united states. Nevertheless, Canada also has a large commercial business specializing in arms sales. In 1976 Canada purchased 128 Leopard 1 tanks worth about $236 million, the offer was conditional on Krauss-Maffei providing compensating industrial benefits to Canada, totalling 40% of the entire contract. This was an early attempt to make the Canadian arms industry stronger. The Canadian government also had similar ties with the United States in the 1960’s when the Canadian government made an effort to equalize the Canada-U.S military trade. In 1963 the U.S Department of Defence and the Canadian Department of Defence Production signed a memorandum, called the Defence Development Sharing Program. The agreement committed the United States to fund 25 percent of mutually agreed upon research and development projects.# During the Vietnam war, arms sales from Canada to the United States doubled, reaching $800 million in terms of 1986 dollars. The Canadian government did not fully support the war, yet the country benefited economically because of it.# In the late 1980’s, Canada was producing about 3 billion dollars worth in sales of military goods annually, 66 percent of which was exported, and at the time was considered the second most important high-technology industry after telecommunications.# Since 1980 international trade of military equipment has become more and more commercialized, the contrast between military and commercial arms industries becoming more difficult to discern.# The sales of armaments to reach economic objectives has increased in both the United States and Canada. It has been argued that there is no focus on developing a Canadian defence industrial base in support of Canadian defence requirements, but instead there has been focus on capturing a larger share of the international arms market to enhance economic growth.# This is evidence of Canada directly profiting from war and weapons trade in much the same fashion as the United States. The difference would seem to be that the Americans are taking part in the wars, while Canada takes part in peacemaking, giving the country a more respectable image while at the same time benefiting from conflicts and instability which the United States is a part of.
The unparalleled power of the American Military has allowed it to become an Imperialistic nation, with Canada playing a role, economically and militarily. Due to the immense power of the U.S military , the nation can exert influence world wide. For a century American foreign policy has allowed the United States to expand their domination over other countries to exploit their resources, this helped to create an empire which has been maintained through economic and military means.# This power allows the country to disregard international laws for their own benefit, such was the case when the United States military attacked Iraq without United Nations approval.# In the case of illegal war a country would normally face sanctions, however since the world economy thrives on the actions of the United States, this did not occur.# This indicates that the United States is truly a dominant power, an empire, able to shape the global economy through military action. The American Empire is informal, but as such is still very effective. The United States of America is an advanced industrial nation which attempts to control the development of weaker economies. In this sense the U.S. is an imperial nation. “The United States seeks control in order to preserve a system that benefits it and the other advanced capitalist countries.”# Canada is one of these advanced capitalist countries. As the U.S. benefits, so does Canada, by trading with countries which America has forcefully opened trade relations with through the means of war and regime change. This trade comes in the form of agricultural goods, natural resources and industrial products, made using old technology with low profit margins. What these countries buy in return are high profit goods from the industrialized nations. These economic exchanges are not equal, the poor countries export earnings are often not sufficient to cover all their import needs, and as a result they find the need to borrow from western nations, this creates debt, making the poor countries poorer, and the rich, richer.# When the exploited nations become unable to borrow more money from the rich and powerful countries or financial institutions, they have no other choice but to borrow from the International Monetary Fund run by the UN. When a nation borrows from this fund there are repercussions involved, including reduction in the governments role in the economy. This leads to the selling of government owned business, and rise in investment from western nations, and as such profits get funnelled back into countries such as the U.S. This is all made possible by the military prowess of the United States, benefiting the nation and it’s allies by creating new markets to exploit. The Canadian military in contrast, does not find itself fighting in illegal wars, but does take part in such practices by committing troops to other American causes, such as the war in Afghanistan. It can be argued that the American military is an economic war machine, contributing not just to the economy of the U.S. but also the economy of Canada. This evidence supports the idea of the United States as an Imperialist nation and the willingness of Canada and it’s military to support and take part in the U.S. conquest for economic strength.
This essay examined the roles of the militaries of both the United States and Canada, showing the vast differences between the two organizations, while also illustrating the symbiosis the Canadian economy has with the American military. While it’s true that the Canadian military is small in terms of personnel, and miniscule in terms of funding, it can be argued that it has a large impact world wide as it takes part in UN and NATO operations, alleviating stress on the American military by taking part in operations in Afghanistan, freeing up American soldiers for action elsewhere. It was also argued that instability and war benefited both the American and Canadian armaments industries, and furthermore the entire economies of both countries through lending, new markets for the sales of highly profitable goods, procurement of natural resources, and investment opportunities. The American imperialistic practices have been exercised for the better part of a century. From a military point of view this is in contrast to the apparent nature of the Canadian military, however, as outlined in this paper Canada and it’s economy have benefited from these actions in an economic sense. As such it was argued that although the Canadian military is distinct and different from it’s American counterpart, the actions of the Canadian government and economy are evidence that the American Military, by taking care of American interests, also satisfies Canadian interests.