Ottawa

The minister who cried ‘Russian!’

According to some members of the military, Peter MacKay knows how to play “the media like a finely-tuned fiddle”

Peter MacKay, yesterdayDefence Minister Peter MacKay was outraged at the allegation that his government is using a crisis to further its political interests. “I find it astounding there could be any suggestion that we would manufacture Russians approaching our airspace. That’s bordering on ludicrous,” he said.

David Pugliese, 18 months agoThe military officers I was talking to yesterday were full of kudos for Defence Minister Peter MacKay for a move that one described as “playing the media like a finely-tuned fiddle.” The officer was referring to the breathless Canadian news media coverage of the flight of two Russian bombers that were “intercepted” by Canadian CF-18s … Yesterday’s incident prompted some amusement at NDHQ about how gullible some in  the news media can be and how easily some journalists swallowed the government’s bait hook, line and sinker.

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