First Nations groups off insurgent list
The Canadian military's counterinsurgency manual, which previously listed "radical Native American organizations" together with Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad as possible insurgents, will be revised to delete the reference to first nations:
"Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine said yesterday the inclusion of natives in the manual could threaten the ability of Canadian natives to travel internationally.
But in a written statement, Mr. O'Connor explained that the document was simply making reference to past examples of insurgencies and was not meant to suggest that natives in Canada are a potential military target."
Really. I don't know, it seems pretty obvious that if they were lumped in with groups like islamic jihad, first nations groups must have been considered an enemy at some point in the drafting of this document. Thanks to the "insurgent group" Assembly of First Nations, that won't be the case in the final version of the manual. But does the government take responsibility for this grave insult to first nations? No:
"The draft counterinsurgency manual was produced in September, 2005, under the previous government. The draft manual is not a final document, and continues to evolve and be updated, the statement from the [defense] minister said."
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