Quote:
Originally Posted by Redliner
That's the exact line of thinking that led us to have to borrow tanks from the Germans and then panic buy more to supplement and/or replace the borrowed ones after we sent our troops to Afghanistan without the proper equipment. Any well-equipped infantry force requires heavy machinery -including MBTs - to support it. Otherwise it's just people with guns.
If we are going to ask people to fight for our country, we have a responsibility to make sure they can do so effectively. As much as I agree with Canada giving support to Ukraine, (and I agree with it very strongly) it can not be to the detriment of our own armed forces.
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Then we can't help. It's not like we have a surplus of good equipment we're just sitting on that we can send over with no affect on our combat readiness.
So if you "very strongly" agree with Canada giving support to Ukraine, then you have to accept it will weaken Canada's military (at least temporarily until we replenish).
You can't want to give support to Ukraine, but not want it to affect our own military. Doesn't work that way.
Personally - ignoring the brutality and horror of this war on Ukrainians and their country (infrastructure, opportunities, economy, etc.) - I think this is best-case-scenario use of our military hardware. We're not risking Canadian lives and we're harming/weakening a threatening/adversarial country.
There is also the moral imperative I believe we have to help with this and I much prefer my tax dollars going toward helping Ukraine in spite of it leaving us a bit more exposed. This is when it is comforting to be a part of the NATO alliance. I don't think we're going to be so exposed that we'll have to worry about being bowled over by another country, but it is a risk I'm willing to take to help Ukraine.