HeiGou... if what Egypt does is worse (and i'm sure it is), that doesn't justify it.
I am with you on that. But I am interested in why this was posted here and now. It was 13 years ago. No one is posting on the Pakistani Army's raping of Pakistani doctors. And we all know the Pakistani government has few friends here. So this is somehow special. And notice how little context is provided. No mention of the origins of the soldiers - making it look more racist than it was in all probability. No mention of the punishments handed out to the soldiers. So what is the purpose and reason for the posting?
The Somalia Affair was a Canadian military scandal in the mid 1990s. It began with the brutal 1993 beating death of a Somali teenager, Shidane Arone, at the hands of two Canadian soldiers participating in the United Nations humanitarian efforts in Somalia. The crime, and especially the grisly trophy photos taken of it, shocked the Canadian public and was a blow to the reputation of the Canadian Forces.
It also quickly became apparent that there were problems in the unit that went beyond the two soldiers directly involved. Questions were asked about why the unit was chosen for that mission despite clear warning signs. Perhaps most damaging to the leadership of the Canadian military was how it reacted after the events became public. They were accused of trying to cover-up the event by misleading journalists and the public.
Eventually a public inquiry was called. Despite being controversially cut short by the government, the Somalia Inquiry found deep problems in the leadership of the Canadian Forces. The affair led to the disbanding of Canada's elite Airborne Regiment, greatly damaged the morale of the Canadian Forces, and damaged both the domestic and international reputation of Canadian soldiers.
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The affair had a number of long lasting effects. While it is difficult to separate the effects of the affair on Canadian Forces morale from those of the concurrent defence spending cut, it did exacerbate feelings of distrust towards the media and politicians among many CF members.
At the same time, public trust in the Canadian Forces suffered and recruitment became more difficult. Public revulsion provided support for the sharp cuts to military spending introduced by the Liberal government. Many of the report's comments, along with the sustained media criticism of the military, led to the hasty imposition of policies designed to ensure nothing similar to the Somalia Affair could happen again. It has been argued that many of these practices, such as the micro-management of training, operations and disciplinary processes from NDHQ and the resultant restrictions on commanding officers, hamper the flexibility of operational units. Since the events in Somalia, Canada has become far less ready to participate in United Nations Peacekeeping efforts. Once playing an important role in the majority of UN efforts, in subsequent years Canada has been more ready to simply provide indirect support.
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Other long term effects on the Forces included the adoption of sensitivity training, including SHARP (Sexual Harassment and Racism Prevention) training, which became mandatory for every single member of the Forces, and was accompanied by a declaration of "zero tolerance" on racism and harassment of any kind, including hazing. In the aftermath of the Somalia affair, video of brutal hazing rituals in the Airborne Regiment had been met with public outrage and disgust when they were made public.
The idea of public outrage in most of the world to such an incident is absurd. So on what basis is Canada being judged here?
