Or fight floods in my hometown of Winnipeg, or find lost kids, or fight forest fires; they could serve the national interest in all sorts of ways. You can hire civil servants to do all of those things--to fill sandbags--but when push comes to shove, you need an armed forces whose duty is, whose only purpose is, to apply force, deadly force if necessary, to enforce the policies of the government of the day--lawfully, of course.
On May 6th, 2010. See this statement in context.