Trump's national security adviser: 'I don't think there's any plans to invade Canada'

I don't expect that there's any intention on the behalf of the administration to do so.

That being said, I do think that it's entirely reasonable for Canada and similar countries to want Trump to stop his domestic politicking from spilling onto the international stage. Hell, speaking as an American, I'd like him to knock that off; if we can't get him to quit with the outrageous shit, at least he can be outrageous domestically.

Also, while I'm sure that it's not what Waltz is saying, I suspect that there probably are plans somewhere in the sense that someone in the military has probably generated and filed some at some point. War plans get generated regardless of whether there's any immediate belief that war could exist. Maybe not serious ones, done more as a theoretical exercise, but I imagine that at some point, probably someone's worked up plans for just about anywhere.

From back when things were tenser with the Brits and Canada was linked to the UK, we had more-serious invasion plans, and Canada had counter-invasion plans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red

War Plan Red, also known as the Atlantic Strategic War Plan, was one of the color-coded war plans created by the United States Department of War during the interwar period of 1919–1939, covering scenarios related to a hypothetical war with the British Empire (the "Red" forces, likely in reference to the Red Ensign). Many different war plans were prepared by mid-level officers primarily as training exercises in how to calculate the logistical and manpower requirements of fighting a war,[1] and War Plan Red outlined those steps necessary to defend against any attempted invasion of the United States by British forces. It further discussed fighting a two-front war with both Japan and Great Britain simultaneously (as envisioned in War Plan Red-Orange).
War Plan Red was developed by the War Department after the 1927 Geneva Naval Conference, and approved in May 1930 by Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley and Secretary of the Navy Charles Francis Adams III and updated in 1934–35. It was a routine hypothetical exercise that neither required nor received presidential or congressional approval.[2]
With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, it was decided that no further preparations would be made but the plans were to be retained.[3] War Plan Red was not declassified until 1974.
The war plan outlined actions that would be necessary if, for any reason, the US and UK went to war with each other. The plan assumed that the British would initially have the upper hand by virtue of the strength of the Royal Navy. The plan further assumed that Britain would probably use its base in Canada as a springboard from which to initiate an invasion of the United States. The assumption was taken that at first, the US would fight a defensive battle against invading British forces, but the US would eventually defeat the British by blockading Canada's ports and cutting off its food supplies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Scheme_No._1

Defence Scheme No. 1 was a war plan created by Canadian Director of Military Operations and Intelligence Lieutenant Colonel James "Buster" Sutherland Brown, for a Canadian pre-emptive attack against the United States in the (hypothetical) case of a conflict between the United States and the British Empire.
Defence Scheme No. 1 was created on April 12, 1921, and detailed a surprise invasion of the northern United States as soon as possible after evidence was received of a US invasion of Canada. It assumed that the US would first attempt to capture Montreal and Ottawa and then Hamilton, Toronto, the Prairie Provinces, and Vancouver and the rest of Southwestern British Columbia. Defence Scheme No. 1's US counterpart was War Plan Red, a plan to invade Canada as part of a war with Britain that was created in 1930.[1]
The purpose of invading the US was to allow time for Canada to prepare its war effort and to receive aid from Britain. According to the plan, Canadian flying columns stationed in Pacific Command in western Canada would immediately be sent to seize Seattle, Spokane, and Portland. Troops stationed in Prairie Command would attack Fargo and Great Falls, then advance towards Minneapolis. Troops from Quebec would be sent to seize Albany in a surprise counterattack while troops from the Maritime Provinces would invade Maine. When resistance grew, the Canadian soldiers would retreat to their own borders, destroying bridges and railways to delay US military pursuit.[1][2]

Despite Berton's description of the plan and its creator as "quixotic", Berton notes the plan had its supporters, such as General George Pearkes, who remarked that Defence Scheme No. 1 was a "fantastic desperate plan [which] just might have worked."
Christopher M. Bell, however, criticized the plan as "suicidal". Since Brown did not coordinate with the British, he did not know that the British military had no plans to send a large army to Canada on the grounds of not being able to defend its territory against the much larger United States. His plan would thus have sacrificed the best Canadian troops for no reason. Brown also did not understand the importance of keeping Halifax, Nova Scotia, one of the main targets of a US invasion, and other Atlantic ports open. Bell states that Canada's best strategy would have been, as the Americans expected, to engage in a defensive war.[1]

Germany made plans to invade the US at one point:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_German_plans_for_the_invasion_of_the_United_States

Imperial German plans for the invasion of the United States were ordered by staff officers from 1897 to 1903 as training exercises in planning for war. The hypothetical operation was supposed to force the US to bargain from a weak position and to sever its growing economic and political connections in the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean, and South America so that German influence could increase there. Junior officers made various plans, but none were seriously considered and the project was dropped in 1906.

The general staffs of all major powers made hypothetical war plans. The main objective of them was to estimate the amount of resources necessary to carry them out so that if the crisis ever emerged, precious time would not be wasted in developing them. Since all nations did it routinely, there is no sense that the plans developed by junior officers had any impact on national decision-making. Most of the plans never left the War Department.[4]

11 comments

That’s just what someone who was planning to invade Canada would say.
You don't think there are plans? Man, it's your fucking job to know these things.
On Sunday, Waltz added that many Canadians “do not like the last 10 years of liberal, progressive governance in Trudeau.”
Part of me welcomes this assclown's idiocy because every dumbass statement like this drops our Conservatives' polling results by 1 point (our election has to be before Oct 20). Conservatives had a massive lead but have been tanking hard since the inauguration as people realize how much of a disaster a MAGA-adjacent government would be for us.
Now, that’s what I call steadfast assurance!
Well as long as he doesn't think so...
- A concept of a plan
There's definitely a concept of a plan though. Don't let your guard down, Canada!
Of COURSE there are plans to invade Canada. There are probably plans for invading every major nation on earth, and several strategic minor ones.
I suspect the Canadian plans have been recently edited. And maps updated to include the locations of all the giant water valves.
I don't expect that there's any intention on the behalf of the administration to do so.
That being said, I do think that it's entirely reasonable for Canada and similar countries to want Trump to stop his domestic politicking from spilling onto the international stage. Hell, speaking as an American, I'd like him to knock that off; if we can't get him to quit with the outrageous shit, at least he can be outrageous domestically.
Also, while I'm sure that it's not what Waltz is saying, I suspect that there probably are plans somewhere in the sense that someone in the military has probably generated and filed some at some point. War plans get generated regardless of whether there's any immediate belief that war could exist. Maybe not serious ones, done more as a theoretical exercise, but I imagine that at some point, probably someone's worked up plans for just about anywhere.
From back when things were tenser with the Brits and Canada was linked to the UK, we had more-serious invasion plans, and Canada had counter-invasion plans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Plan_Red
War Plan Red, also known as the Atlantic Strategic War Plan, was one of the color-coded war plans created by the United States Department of War during the interwar period of 1919–1939, covering scenarios related to a hypothetical war with the British Empire (the "Red" forces, likely in reference to the Red Ensign). Many different war plans were prepared by mid-level officers primarily as training exercises in how to calculate the logistical and manpower requirements of fighting a war,[1] and War Plan Red outlined those steps necessary to defend against any attempted invasion of the United States by British forces. It further discussed fighting a two-front war with both Japan and Great Britain simultaneously (as envisioned in War Plan Red-Orange).
War Plan Red was developed by the War Department after the 1927 Geneva Naval Conference, and approved in May 1930 by Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley and Secretary of the Navy Charles Francis Adams III and updated in 1934–35. It was a routine hypothetical exercise that neither required nor received presidential or congressional approval.[2]
With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, it was decided that no further preparations would be made but the plans were to be retained.[3] War Plan Red was not declassified until 1974.
The war plan outlined actions that would be necessary if, for any reason, the US and UK went to war with each other. The plan assumed that the British would initially have the upper hand by virtue of the strength of the Royal Navy. The plan further assumed that Britain would probably use its base in Canada as a springboard from which to initiate an invasion of the United States. The assumption was taken that at first, the US would fight a defensive battle against invading British forces, but the US would eventually defeat the British by blockading Canada's ports and cutting off its food supplies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Scheme_No._1
Defence Scheme No. 1 was a war plan created by Canadian Director of Military Operations and Intelligence Lieutenant Colonel James "Buster" Sutherland Brown, for a Canadian pre-emptive attack against the United States in the (hypothetical) case of a conflict between the United States and the British Empire.
Defence Scheme No. 1 was created on April 12, 1921, and detailed a surprise invasion of the northern United States as soon as possible after evidence was received of a US invasion of Canada. It assumed that the US would first attempt to capture Montreal and Ottawa and then Hamilton, Toronto, the Prairie Provinces, and Vancouver and the rest of Southwestern British Columbia. Defence Scheme No. 1's US counterpart was War Plan Red, a plan to invade Canada as part of a war with Britain that was created in 1930.[1]
The purpose of invading the US was to allow time for Canada to prepare its war effort and to receive aid from Britain. According to the plan, Canadian flying columns stationed in Pacific Command in western Canada would immediately be sent to seize Seattle, Spokane, and Portland. Troops stationed in Prairie Command would attack Fargo and Great Falls, then advance towards Minneapolis. Troops from Quebec would be sent to seize Albany in a surprise counterattack while troops from the Maritime Provinces would invade Maine. When resistance grew, the Canadian soldiers would retreat to their own borders, destroying bridges and railways to delay US military pursuit.[1][2]
Despite Berton's description of the plan and its creator as "quixotic", Berton notes the plan had its supporters, such as General George Pearkes, who remarked that Defence Scheme No. 1 was a "fantastic desperate plan [which] just might have worked."
Christopher M. Bell, however, criticized the plan as "suicidal". Since Brown did not coordinate with the British, he did not know that the British military had no plans to send a large army to Canada on the grounds of not being able to defend its territory against the much larger United States. His plan would thus have sacrificed the best Canadian troops for no reason. Brown also did not understand the importance of keeping Halifax, Nova Scotia, one of the main targets of a US invasion, and other Atlantic ports open. Bell states that Canada's best strategy would have been, as the Americans expected, to engage in a defensive war.[1]
Germany made plans to invade the US at one point:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_German_plans_for_the_invasion_of_the_United_States
Imperial German plans for the invasion of the United States were ordered by staff officers from 1897 to 1903 as training exercises in planning for war. The hypothetical operation was supposed to force the US to bargain from a weak position and to sever its growing economic and political connections in the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean, and South America so that German influence could increase there. Junior officers made various plans, but none were seriously considered and the project was dropped in 1906.
The general staffs of all major powers made hypothetical war plans. The main objective of them was to estimate the amount of resources necessary to carry them out so that if the crisis ever emerged, precious time would not be wasted in developing them. Since all nations did it routinely, there is no sense that the plans developed by junior officers had any impact on national decision-making. Most of the plans never left the War Department.[4]
Why would Trump need a plan for this? As much as he knows about war, he just signs a decree, and Canada is part of the US.
Anything beyond that is left to the losers AKA the military.
You know, when FBI officials testified before the Church Committee they said, “At one point we had fifteen thousand people on the Security Index.” Expressing it like that you get the feeling that at one point we had as many as fifteen thousand. But that’s like saying that when you’re filling up Soldier Field for a football game, at some point you have fifteen thousand in the stadium. But wait a few minutes and you’ve got several thousand more. This is the way the FBI gives the information to Congress, and Congress doesn’t know what the hell they’re saying. They think: “Well, at some point that’s the maximum that we had,” which is not true. At some point we had fifteen thousand—leading up to a hundred thousand.
Red Scare (Griffin Fariello)