Ottawa reluctant to point fingers at Russians
May 22, 2012 – 4:10am By MURRAY BREWSTER The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The Harper government had a host of military and possibly commercial reasons for not blaming and shaming Russia in the aftermath of an embarrassing spy scandal involving a junior intelligence officer, a series of internal briefings suggest.
The case of Sub-Lt. Jeffery Delisle, which exploded across the front pages in January, has largely disappeared into a black hole of secrecy and court-ordered silence that even a Wall Street Journal story failed to dislodge last spring.
The New York-based publication recently quoted U.S. intelligence sources saying Delisle’s breach in communications secrets was roughly as big in volume as the notorious U.S. data loss to WikiLeaks.
Yet, the Harper government has remained mute, even in the face of suggestions the case caused a major rift with Washington.
Several sources within the government and the military say there was a vigorous debate within the halls of power about whether to call out the former Cold War adversary over Delisle, whose case has been adjourned until June 13 while his lawyer awaits security-washed documents.
A small cadre of cabinet ministers, notably Defence Minister Peter MacKay, argued for a nuanced response to the crisis, which continues to have the potential to cause serious strains among allies, said the sources.
The Conservatives have previously shown no hesitation to paint Moscow as a bogey man, especially when it comes to justifying their military build-up in the Arctic.
But to alienate Russia over the alleged betrayal by a navy sub-lieutenant, potentially setting off tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions, had more downsides than upsides, sources and briefing documents suggest.
The rivalry over Arctic boundaries, which is expected to come to a head next year with a United Nations submission, is being driven by the suggestion of mineral wealth under the melting polar sea.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and National Defence have repeatedly pointed out, in internal briefing reports, that Russian interest in the Arctic is weighted toward oil and gas exploration — something that Canada can appreciate and possibly exploit.
“Indeed, these commonalities could yield political and commercial opportunities for co-operation between Moscow and Ottawa,” said a 2011 briefing note prepared for MacKay.
continue reading: http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/98831-spy-case-remains-shrouded-in-secrecy
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