Article content

“Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat the enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds, it is a fallacy that must be exposed: War is such a dangerous business that mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst.” – Carl Von Clausewitz, On War (1832)

Usually the technical briefing appended to a press conference is perceived as B-list material by journalists. It’s handy, but generally lacks the money quote that will get you on the front page or to the top of the news line-up. And anyway, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is sitting down to finally announce this country’s much anticipated, CF-18-free contribution to the war on ISIS, everything else is quite literally and figuratively details, useful to convey via a graphic or chart, perhaps, but nothing compared to the heart and soul of whatever military policy shift that would be enunciated by this nation’s leader.