Latest news with #BrianCarter
Axios
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Axios
The U.S. military can't quit the Middle East
If you're in the defense business, you've seen this meme in one form or another. "Born too late to deploy to the Middle East," it reads. "Born too early to deploy to the Middle East," it continues. "Born just in time to deploy to the Middle East," it concludes. Why it matters: Flippant? Yes. Compelling? Also yes, as the image's virality today reflects just how entangled the U.S. is in the troubled region, even as it promises to pivot more fully to the Chinese and Russian threat. This is geopolitical tug of war, spiked with public cynicism. Driving the news: Surprise strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities using B-2 Spirit bombers and 100-plus other aircraft marked Washington's latest foray into the Middle East, where for decades it's expended taxpayer dollars and lives. (Think Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.) Meanwhile, the Pentagon frets over Beijing and Moscow and their global ambitions. But the resources needed for that competition — including heavy-duty, traditional military hardware like aircraft carriers — are in high demand elsewhere. Friction point: "There is a disconnect between what we, the United States, say in our national defense strategies and those sorts of products and what actually happens on the ground," Brian Carter, a Middle East expert at the American Enterprise Institute, told Axios. "The problem is: We episodically prioritize the Middle East over China," he said. "Wehaven't been good about ensuring that we put enough effort into the Middle East to make sure that things don't spiral out of control." "When we have to surge all this stuff in, we're always reactive." Between the lines: Pentagon officials and military leaders have been hinting at this dynamic. Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of defense for policy, has long lobbied for prioritizing China over Europe and the Middle East. During his March confirmation hearing, Colby told senators the U.S. lacks "a multi-war military." Indo-Pacific Command boss Adm. Samuel Paparo in November said support provided to Israel and Ukraine was "eating into" some of the most precious U.S. weapons stockpiles. In April, he revealed it took at least 73 flights to move a Patriot air-defense battalion out of China's backyard and into Central Command. And most recently — just days ago — Acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby told lawmakers the Navy is chewing through Standard Missile-3s at "an alarming rate." The service has used more than $1 billion in munitions fighting Houthi rebels near the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and the USS Harry S. Truman has lost three Super Hornet aircraft, including one to friendly fire. Zoom out: "The Middle East is the space where four things come together," Daryl Press, the faculty director at the Davidson Institute for Global Security, said in an interview. "It's terrorism and terrorist groups." "It's nuclear weapons and potential for proliferation." "It's the world's most important exportable energy supplies." "And then it's a bunch of countries which have, I would say, somewhat weak control over their borders and airspace."
CBC
30-05-2025
- General
- CBC
'A devastating blow': Yellowknife man out of options after accessible housing project fails
Social Sharing Brian Carter is packing up 26 years of memories at his Yellowknife home. Carter, who is chair of the N.W.T. Disabilities Council, hoped to move into a long-awaited accessible housing project, until it was put on hold. "It's just very emotional, very tough," Carter said. Carter, his wife and another family member they live with are all disabled. Because of his deteriorating health issues and also a lack of accessible housing for his family, he has to leave the N.W.T., he said. "We had discussed about the possibility of moving into that home. And now I'm forced to make a major move on our own, disabled, with three of us disabled," Carter said. Since 2020, the disabilities council and Housing N.W.T had been working on a 45 to 50-unit apartment housing project in downtown Yellowknife. The goal was to create affordable housing tailored to the diverse needs of people with disabilities. The council had secured funding and a sub-lease on a plot from the territorial government. In February, the territory informed the council they wanted to use the land for another project and proposed other sites. But due to disagreements, the partnership fell apart. 'There's nothing available for them up here' Carter said they had worked on architectural designs and fundraising for the past five years. For him, the project would have meant greater security and stability. "My health is going down. I've got heart problems. I've gotten diabetes. My legs need to be amputated. I had cancer surgery last year that after a long delay, I was running my business while hooked up to a catheter ... yeah, it became very personal to me," Carter said. With the project in limbo, Carter said people with disabilities will continue to struggle with the lack of a housing solution. "People will continue to be transferred to institutions down south because there's nothing available for them up here." Carter said. "It's going to mean they're losing their contact with their communities, people lose their sense of dignity, and you know as disabled people that's a big thing is to be able to live in dignity." In an emailed statement, Housing N.W.T said the council didn't meet the deadlines under their lease agreement. "As milestones in the original lease agreement were not met ... Housing N.W.T. met with the NWTDC and expressed our interest in moving ahead on a more imminent housing project," the statement read. Carter disagrees with this. "We met every milestone ... I asked them to provide the proof of that, provide their letters to us requesting certain milestones." CBC News reached out to Housing N.W.T again, but didn't get a response by deadline. Significant need Charles Dent, the N.W.T. human rights commissioner, calls the situation a setback for people with disabilities, as there's a significant need that is not being met. "It certainly affects people's human rights in the broader scheme of things. If you take a look at the UN Declaration, it's certainly an issue that would show up there." With the project on hold, Dent said this means conditions for people with disabilities in the North won't improve any time soon. Marie-Josée Houle, Canada's federal housing advocate said there is a huge lack of accessible housing for people with disabilities which is "quite amplified for people in Canada's North." "People with disabilities face financial hardship, unsafe housing and the lack of supports and services at a far higher rate," Houle said. "Basically this is unacceptable," she added. Houle said policies should be made around people living with disabilities by keeping them central in discussions. Carter said the collapse of this project is more than just bureaucratic. "It's a devastating blow to people living with disabilities in the Northwest Territories who remain chronically underserved across housing," Carter said. Carter said he feels sad for the people of the North, and that another project like this could take another 10 years.
CBC
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Accessible housing project falls apart after disagreement between Housing N.W.T. and disability council
Social Sharing The chair of the N.W.T. Disabilities Council says a failed housing project with the territorial government is a blow to the equality and dignity of people with disabilities. Since 2020, the disabilities council has been working with Housing N.W.T. on a housing development in downtown Yellowknife that would provide accessible and affordable living for people with disabilities. The council secured funding from the federal government, a $1-million investment from De Beers and a sub-lease on a plot of land from the territorial government. Council chair Brian Carter said the project began to unravel in February, when Housing N.W.T. and the territorial government informed the council they wanted to use the land for another project. He said they've now lost trust in Housing N.W.T. as a result. "It's a devastating blow to the people living with disabilities, including myself, in the Northwest Territories, who remain chronically underserved across housing, health care and social services," he said. Housing N.W.T. proposed five other sites — four of which the council said were out of the question because they didn't have proper access to transit or parking. The council accepted the fifth site, across from the Yellowknife Catholic School Board at the corner of 49 Street and 52 Avenue. They entered into a similar lease agreement, with the requirement that the disabilities council complete the building within five years — but the council's funding couldn't be applied to the new property. "We lost $1,000,000 in corporate funding from De Beers, [who has] permanently withdrawn, hundreds of thousands in CMHC [the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation] investments were forfeited, all pending funding applications were frozen or withdrawn, future [public-private] partnerships are now jeopardized, and years of design, architecture and feasibility planning were wasted," Carter said. He said they hope to eventually revisit the project, but without their funding, it wouldn't be possible to build on a five-year timeline. Carter called the project's failure a betrayal. "This project was never just about construction. It was about dignity, equality and justice," Carter said. "Accessible housing is not a luxury, it's a human right." Housing N.W.T. declined an interview but said in an email that the N.W.T. Disabilities Council wasn't meeting milestones in the original lease agreement, though it did not specify which milestones it was referring to. It said due to that, and to the council's timeline being "longer term", it met with the council to express interest in "moving ahead on a more imminent housing project" and finding a new site for the council's project. "We regret that the N.W.T. Disabilities Council is opting not to proceed with their project," spokesperson Jeanne Gard said in the email. "Since 2020, Housing N.W.T. has worked closely with the N.W.T. Disabilities Council to ensure the Council had the necessary land available through a structured lease agreement to support their efforts in working with their funding partners." The statement added that Housing N.W.T. didn't want the plot of land to stay empty "for a protracted period of time during the well-documented housing crisis in Yellowknife and the rest of the N.W.T." Housing N.W.T. wrote that it's demonstrating its support of people with disabilities by investments in duplexes designed for seniors and by making 25 units in a Yellowknife building currently under construction"barrier-free". "While a mutual agreement was not reached, we remain open to future collaboration with the N.W.T. Disabilities Council and we will continue to advance inclusive housing projects across the territory." It added that aside from land, Housing N.W.T. had also reimbursed the council for any out-of-pocket costs tied to the original location. In its own response to that, the disabilities council called Housing N.W.T.'s response "an inaccurate narrative." Council CEO Denise McKee described Housing N.W.T.'s statement as an attempt to "justify their failure to honour [the] commitment to the project and the spirit of the sub-lease".
