COIN in Canada

Interesting events in the Great White North today. It’s like a mini-lesson in COIN.

How a few activists are holding B.C. hostage
Militant poverty activists target the homes and offices of officials in protest of the 2010 Olympics. Reaction: “…there are suggestions that the city is being held as a virtual hostage.”

Stop trains or natives will: chiefs
Native chiefs pressure national railways to close down, or be shut down. Reaction: “They see innocent people being harmed and I am certain that it is leading to an erosion of support for aboriginal programs and services,” said the minister of Indian Affairs.

The government response so far is targetting hearts and minds, spinning the hostage angle to destroy public support for activists. This helps to lay the ground for kinetic action if the groups escalate. Seems to be by the book, but I am surprised that the groups haven’t studied it. At least the native groups should have, they were listed in the latest COIN manual released earlier this year.