Re: [OT]Wither Canada?

>Funnily enough, we're replacing our rather similar Oz Leopard1 A4s with

>Abrams. These are not so much to fight other tanks as to provide Direct

>Fire Support in a high-RPG environment.

And you can jump into pre-positioned US equipment...

Canada was going to buy 300 new MBT's in a late-80's defense plan (that
was
the same White Paper that talked about buying a dozen nuke-powered
attack
subs), and they were going to be Leopard II's.	There was no mention
that I
remember about buying any means of getting the tanks TO a fight
anywhere...

I heard a story that the US offered us a brigade worth of equipment
lock-stock-and-barrel for action in Iraq/Kuwait during Gulf War I;  they
didn't want to ship in the Canadian Mech Brigade in Germany with their
equipment, since 80 or so Leopard I's would have just been a pain in the
ass logistically (only ones in theatre) and not add very much
militarily.

Buying the Abrams makes a lot of sense if you're planning on operating
with
the US.