The Houthis are a non-state Shia Islamist politically and military movement, and they have controlled key parts of western Yemen since the Yemenis Civil War broke out in 2014. In response to the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza the Houthis began launching missile and drone strikes at cargo ships entering the Red Sea (shipping destined for the Suez Canal). The Houthis claim to be aiming their strikes at Israeli shipping as a show of support for the Palestinians, but as it’s turned out they seem to be targeting a variety of shipping actors. This threat to global shipping prompted a significant response form the international community, including Canada. Yet, Canada’s contribution (or lack thereof) has highlighted some serious flaws in our current naval capabilities, and frankly in our general military capabilities. Today on the show, we have brought on Christopher Roberts from the University of Calgary to talk about the history of Canada’s involvement in Africa, with a particular focus on our naval contributions in the post 9-11 era. This is a fantastic discussion where we spend quite a bit of time talking about the current state of Canada’ s military in an increasingly volatile world and exploring some of the lesser known Canadian military operations in and around the African continent.
Christopher Roberts is a Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and an instructor in Political Science at the University of Calgary. For over thirty years he's worked on African-related security, business, and development issues. He's currently the administrator of the global African Navies Research Network and has an article coming out, with Rob Huebert, on Canada and African maritime security in the next issue of Canadian Naval Review.
You can follow him on Twitter/X at @cwjroberts.
The CGAI is Canada’s most credible source of expertise on global affairs. Established in August 2001 and based in Calgary and Ottawa the CGAI is a registered charity which comments repeatedly in the media and publishes extensively on defence, diplomacy, trade, resources, and development. You can check out CGAI at their website CGAI.caYou can also listen to their podcasts by subscribing to the show The CGAI Podcast Network.
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S5E6 Optical Aleutians – The Liberation of Kiska Island
S5E5 A Murder in the Desert – The Canadian Airborne Regiment and the Somalia Scandal
S5E4 Amherst’s VIP Prisoner: Trotsky in the Maritimes
S5E3 The Buffalo Alliance – Poundmaker and Crowfoot
S5E2 The Pirate Queen of Canada – Maria Lindsay Cobham
S5E1 Canada’s Forgotten Battle – The Battle of the Medak Pocket
*Special Bonus Episode* The Voices of D-Day
*Special Episode* D-Day 75
S4E17 Subordinate No More! Canada’s Inter-War Move to Independence
S4E16 The Chatham Coloured All-Stars
S4E15 Separate Spheres Turned Upside Down – French Women and the Survival of New France
S4E14 A Search for Asylum – Sitting Bull in Canada
S4E12 “The Riot Heard ‘Round the World” – Vancouver’s 1907 Anti-Asian Riot
S4E11 Thérèse Casgrain
S4E10 Eugenics in Alberta
S4E9 ‘Kill the Indian, Save the Child’ – Residential Schools in Canada
S4E8 Montreal’s Poet Laureate: The Life and Music of Leonard Cohen
S4E7 The Assassination of D’Arcy McGee
S4E6 Canadians on the Bridge Part Two: James Doohan
S4E5 The First World War Remembered
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