Potential Contributions by the Canadian Armed Forces to the Defence of North America against Terrorism
| Date | 01 September 2003 |
| Published date | 01 September 2003 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200305800305 |
| Author | George Lindsey |
| Subject Matter | Article |
GEORGE LINDSEY
Potential
contributions
by
the
Canadian
Armed
Forces
to
the
defence
of
North
America
against
terrorism
The
importance
of
overhead
surveillance
THE
OBJECTIVE
OF
THIS
PAPER
is
to
investigate
how
modern
technolo-
gy
and
the
geography
of
North
America
can
determine
the
most suit-
able
roles
for
the
Canadian
Armed
Forces
(CAF)
in
protecting
the
con-
tinent
against
terrorism
in the
21st
century.
A
useful
background,
however,
can
be
assembled
by
considering
how
the geography
and
technology
of
the
20th
century
influenced
the
roles
played
by
the
CAF
in
the
defence
of
North
America
against
the
threats
presented
during
the
Cold
War,
and
how
some
of
the
experience,
organizations,
and
equipment
provided
for
the
Cold
War
can
be
exploited
for
the
defence
against
terrorism.
The
contents
of
this
paper
are
the
product
of
discussions
held
by
a
study
group
on
North
American
Security,
organized
by
the
National
Capital
Branch
of
the
Canadian
Institute
of
International
Affairs.
Most
of
the
15
group
members
are
retired,
after
long
service
in
the
Department
of
International
Affairs
and
International
Trade,
or
in
the
Department
of
National
Defence.
Members
include
(BGen) Clay
Beattie,
Bob
Cameron,
(Col)
Ron
Cleminson,
Bob
Edmonds,
Ross
Francis,
Dwight
Fulford,
George
Grande,
(BGen)
Keith
Greenaway,
John
Hadwen, Hugh
Henry,
David
Kirkwood,
George
Lindsey,
Blair
Seaborn,
Ken
Williamson
and
Gerry
Wright.
George
Lindsey
was
employed
in
the
Department
of
National
Defence
for
over
40years,
includ-
ing20
as
Chief
of
the
Operational
Research
andAnalysis
Establishment.
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL Summer
2003
George
Lindsey
DEFENCE
OF
NORTH
AMERICA
DURING THE
COLD
WAR
Background
For
more
than
a
century
before
the
Cold
War,
neither Canada
nor
the
United
States faced
a
serious
threat
of
attack on
their
territory
from
outside the
North
American
continent.
This
came
to an
end,
however,
with
the
Soviet
Union's
acquisition
of
long-range
bomber
aircraft,
Intercontinental
Ballistic
Missiles
(ICBMs)
and Submarine-Launched
Ballistic Missiles
(SLBMs).
All
were
armed
with
nuclear
payloads.
The
shortest
and most
direct
routes for
the
Soviet
bombers
and
ICBMs
to
reach
the
Us's
central
48
states
would
be
to
travel
across
the
Northeast
Pacific,
the
Arctic
or the
Northwest
Atlantic
Oceans.
These
routes
were
all
either
close
to,
or
directly
over,
Canadian
territory.'
Most
of
the
SLBMs
likely
would
have
been
launched
from
Soviet
sub-
marines
patrolling
in
zones
off
the
East
Coast
of
the
United
States.
To
counter
these
three
threats,
a
reliable
early
warning
system was
required.
Its
primary
purpose
was
to
enable
the bombers
of
the
us
Strategic
Air
Command
(SAC)
to
become
airborne
before
their
bases
were
destroyed,
and,
later,
to
allow
American
ICBMs
to
be
launched
before
they
were
destroyed
on the
ground.
If
the
SAC
bombers
of
the
1950s
and
1960s
were
to
be
launched
from
bases
in
the
central
us,
and
ordered
to
deliver
retaliatory
strikes,
they
would
need
to
refuel
before
beginning
the
long
flight
to
the
Soviet
Union.
There
were
two
refuel-
ing
options:
one
was
to
land at one
of
the
six
Canadian
bases
manned
partially or wholly
by
USAF
personnel;
2
the
other
was
to
receive
fuel
in
the
air
from
us
tanker
aircraft
deployed
in
Canada.
Countermeasures
against
the
air
threat:
the
creation
ofNORADI
In
addition
to
its
role
in
preservation
of
the
American
offensive forces
needed
for deterrence,
early
warning
was
providing
information
that
i A
figure
outlining
the
tracks
of
ICBMS
launched
from
North
Korea
and
Iran
against
the
United
States
is
available at
www.ciia.org/Lindsey.htm.
2
Some
of
the
data
presented
here
in
regards
to the
air
defence
activity
carried
out
by
the
us
Air
Force
in
Canada
during
the
Cold War
has been
extracted
from
the
book
by
John
Clearwater,
us
Nuclear
Weapons
in
Canada
(Toronto: Dundurn
1999).
3
See
Joseph
T.
Jockel,
No
Boundaries
Upstairs:
Canada,
the United
States
and
the
Origins
of
North
American
Air
Defence,
1945-1958 (Vancouver:
University
of
British
Columbia
Press
1987);
Melvin
Conant,
The
Long
Polar
Watch:
Canada
and
the
Defense
of
North
America
(New
York:
Harper 1962); and
Joel[.
Sokolsky
Defending
Canada: us-Canadian
Defense
Policies
(New
York:
Twentieth
Century
Fund
1989).
310
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Summer2003
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