Esprit de Corps

Written by Scott Taylor

Since the Conservative government decided two weeks ago to publish the identities of suspected war criminals harbouring in Canada, there have already been six of the 30 fugitives turned in to authorities.

While the names and photos of these individuals were made public through the media, for the sake of protecting their privacy, no further details were provided about the alleged crimes. The nationalities of the suspects indicate that many of the war crimes for which they are wanted happened during the Balkan civil war and African conflicts of the early 1990s.

When one subtracts the fact that these incidents occurred nearly 20 years ago, from the relative youth of those identified as the fugitives, it becomes clear that these individuals were not the masterminds of wholesale genocide. At best, they would have been the brutal foot soldiers engaged in the low-level perpetration of ethnic cleansing, torture and murder.

Written by Scott Taylor

Following the devastating terror attack on 9/11, airline security was immediately increased to include a complete ban on any sharp metal objects. As a result, when commercial flights resumed across North America, mountains of nail clippers, scissors, and corkscrews—to name but a few items—were confiscated and destroyed.

Then came the Dec. 22, 2001 attempt by Richard Reid to light the inert plastic explosives in the heel of his shoe aboard American Airlines flight number 63. Achieving no more damage than a match burn to his thumb, the so-called shoe bomber henceforth ensured that all passengers transiting US airports would have to doff their footwear while passing through security.

Written by Scott Taylor

The first signs of unrest in Libya erupted in the form of violent protests in mid-February. After seizing weapons and military equipment from Libyan soldiers, the protesters quickly became full-fledged rebels.

In a series of quick victories, the rebels raced towards the Libyan capital from their stronghold in the eastern city of Benghazi. It seemed that the four-decade rule of President Moammar Gaddafi was fast coming to a violent end at the hands of his own oppressed civilians. Wild rumors circulated in the media, and the British Foreign Ministry erroneously reported, that Gaddafi had fled Libya and was seeking refuge in Venezuela.