John Manley thinks an armored vehicle with a 105 mm gun is just a “fancy truck”

DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN It appears that John Manley, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada and the Liberal’s Minister of Foreign Trade from 2000 to 2002, is channeling both Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau. Manley has written an opinion piece for iPolitics in which he argues there is nothing wrong with the deal which will see Canada sell Saudi Arabia billions of dollars worth of light armoured vehicles. One of the main reasons, he points out, is that the light armored vehicles the Saudis will receive from General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada, are not the type of “equipment that can be used in torture or persecution of women. We are selling military vehicles — basically fancy trucks.” General Dynamics Land Systems- Canada is not providing specific details about the breakdown of the LAV order, which has financial backing of the government of Canada. But defence industry sources say Saudi Arabia will acquire different versions of the upgraded LAV-III, outfitted with a variety of weapon systems. One of the subcontracts already made public for the Saudi deal is for a 105mm gun system. The decision to go for a variety of weapon systems follows the pattern of previous Saudi purchases of Canadian LAVs. Jane’s, the defense publication in the United Kingdom, noted Saudi Arabia already has a fleet of more than 1,400 light armoured vehicles purchased from General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada. They were produced in a variety of versions: some are designed as armoured ambulances while others are outfitted with 25mm cannons or a 90mm gun. Other versions carry 120mm mortars. It appears from videos and photos that the versions of the Canadian LAVs that Saudi Arabia used when it helped Bahrain crush pro-democracy protests in 2011 were largely equipped with 90mm guns. The Saudis stationed their vehicles and troops at key locations throughout the country, protecting government buildings for instance. That in turn freed up Bahrain’s security forces to crack down on the protesters and conduct mass arrests. The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry determined that many detainees arrested by security forces were subjected to torture. Manley’s reasoning on the light armoured vehicles is similar to both Harper and Trudeau. In October, Harper, under fire for the deal with Saudi Arabia, a high profile abuser of human rights, tried to position the deal in a more benign way. “Let’s be clear what this contract is – it’s not an arms contract,” Harper told a radio station in London, Ont. “It’s actually for military transport vehicles.”