The price of alliance : the politics and procurement of Leopard tanks for Canada's NATO brigade

The first major reappraisal of Pierre Trudeau's controversial defence policy,__The Price of Alliance__uses the 1976 procurement of Leopard tanks for Canada's troops in Europe to shed light on Canada's relationship with NATO. After six years of pressure from Canada's allies, Trudeau was convinced that Canadian tanks in Europe were necessary to support foreign policy objectives, and the tanks symbolized an increased Canadian commitment to NATO. Drawing on interviews and records from Canada, NATO, the US, and Germany, Frank Maas addresses the problems of defence policymaking within a multi-country alliance, and the opportunities and difficulties of Canadian defence procurement. "The first major reappraisal of Pierre Trudeau's controversial defence policy, The Price of Alliance uses the 1976 procurement of Leopard tanks for Canada's troops in Europe to shed light on Canada's relationship with NATO. After six years of pressure from Canada's allies, Trudeau was convinced that Canadian tanks in Europe were necessary to support foreign policy objectives, and the tanks symbolized an increased Canadian commitment to NATO. Drawing on interviews and records from Canada, NATO, the US, and Germany, Frank Maas addresses the problems of defence policymaking within a multi-country alliance, and the opportunities and difficulties of Canadian defence procurement."-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 9 Acknowledgments 10 Abbreviations 11 Introduction 14 1 The 1964 White Paper on Defence: Responding to a New Strategic Context 22 2 The Traditionalists at Work: Renegotiating NATO Commitments in 1967 34 3 Trudeau Takes the Reins: The Triumph of the Revisionists 47 4 The Summer of 1969: Consultations with Allies 59 5 The Revisionists Assert Control: Defence in the 70s 70 6 The Scorpion and the Centurion: The Nadir of the Civil Military Crisis 87 7 Tanks, Trade, and Strategy: Trudeau Relents 99 8 “From a Beetle to a Porsche”: The Purchase of the Leopard 123 Conclusion 140 Notes 146 Bibliography 172 Index 178 The Price of Alliance balances high politics with military requirements in the first major reappraisal of Pierre Trudeau's controversial defence policy.