The most comprehensive history of Canadian military intelligence and its influence on key military operations
Canadian intelligence has become increasingly central to the operations of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Canadian Military Intelligence: Operations and Evolution from the October Crisis to the War in Afghanistan is the first comprehensive history that examines the impact of tactical, operational, and strategic intelligence on the Canadian military.
Drawing upon a wide range of original documents and interviews with participants in specific operations, author David A. Charters provides an inside perspective on the development of military intelligence since the Second World War. He shows how intelligence influenced key military operations, from domestic internal security to peacekeeping efforts to high-intensity air campaigns—including the October Crisis of 1970, the Oka Crisis, the Gulf War, peacekeeping and enforcement operations in the Balkans, and the war in Afghanistan. He describes how decades of experience, innovation, and increasingly close cooperation with its Five Eyes and NATO allies allowed Canada’s military intelligence to punch above its weight. Its tactical effectiveness and ability to overcome challenges reshaped the outlook of military commanders, and intelligence emerged from the margins to become a central feature of military and defense operations.
Canadian Military Intelligence offers lessons from the past and critical implications for future intelligence support with the creation of the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command. This book will be essential to both intelligence history and military history readers and collections.
Table of Contents
List of Photographs
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I. The Evolution of Canadian Defence and Military Intelligence, 1945–2005
1. Policies, Budgets, Resources, and Commitments: Canadian Defence in Context
2. Uncertain Foundations: Canadian Defence and Military Intelligence, 1945–1970
3. When in Debt, Reorganize: Canadian Defence Intelligence, 1975–2005
4. From Adaptation to Transformation: Canadian Military Intelligence, 1975–2005
Part II. Intelligence Support to Canadian Military Operations, 1970–2010
5. The October Crisis: Countering Terrorism in Quebec, 1970
6. Operation SALON: Internal Security Operations in the Oka Crisis, 1990
7. Operation FRICTION: Naval and Air Operations in the Gulf War, 1990–1991
8. Peacekeeping in the Balkans: The UN Years, 1992–1995
9. Peace Enforcement in Bosnia: The NATO Years, 1996–2004
10. Peace Enforcement in Kosovo: Air and Ground Operations, 1999-2000
11. Kandahar and Kabul: Stabilizing Afghanistan, 2001–2005
12. Return to Kandahar: Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, 2005–2010
Conclusion
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
Select Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Reviews
"Providing important insights into recent Canadian military history and to how military intelligence is gathered and utilized, Canadian Military Intelligence is all the more remarkable given the covert nature of the operations it examines. A valuable book for scholars and practitioners alike."—Asa McKercher, assistant professor of history, Royal Military College of Canada
"Charters has produced an excellent book which will remain useful for many years."—Intelligence and National Security
About the Author
David A. Charters is a senior fellow of the Milton F.Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society and a retired professor of military history, both at the University of New Brunswick. He coauthored Kandahar Tour: The Turning Point in Canada’s Afghan Mission.
