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The Lion, the Fox and the Eagle
In this riveting, original and explosive book, Carol Off explores the failure of peacekeeping missions in Sarajevo and Rwanda, and the international community's attempt to redeem itself by prosecuting the people responsible for the genocides. Events turned on the actions of two Canadian generals: the fox of the title, Lewis MacKenzie, who commanded the UN forces in Bosnia for the first crucial months of the conflict; and the lion, Romeo Dallaire, who developed an interventionary plan that he believed would have prevented the Rwandan genocide but was forced by the UN to stand by while 800,000 people were slaughtered. The eagle is Louise Arbour, a Canadian judge who became Chief Prosecutor for War Crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
This is a Greek drama in three acts: all three people made decisions that affected the lives of millions. All three were required, in the absence of proper guidelines, to rely on their own moral compasses. Not only is The Lion, the Fox and the Eagle a hard-hitting behind-the-scenes account of personal testing and horrifying events, it is also a call to arms to reinvent the peacekeepers' mission, to find the will and the means to prevent future genocides.
This is a Greek drama in three acts: all three people made decisions that affected the lives of millions. All three were required, in the absence of proper guidelines, to rely on their own moral compasses. Not only is The Lion, the Fox and the Eagle a hard-hitting behind-the-scenes account of personal testing and horrifying events, it is also a call to arms to reinvent the peacekeepers' mission, to find the will and the means to prevent future genocides.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published October 20, 2000
13 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
About the author
Carol Off
7 books66 followersCarol Off is a Canadian television and radio journalist, associated with CBC Television and CBC Radio. She has been a host of CBC Radio's As It Happens since 2006. Previously a documentary reporter for The National, Off also hosted the political debate series counterSpin on CBC Newsworld.
She is the vice-president of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. She was awarded ACTRA's John Drainie Award, for distinguished contributions to Canadian broadcasting, in 2008.
Off has also written several books on the Canadian military, including 'The Lion, the Fox, and the Eagle' (2000) and 'The Ghosts of Medak Pocket: the Story of Canada's Secret War' (2005, ISBN 0-679-31294-3). In 2006, she released a book, 'Bitter Chocolate,' about the corruption and human rights abuses associated with the cocoa industry. She claimed that French-Canadian journalist Guy-André Kieffer, who was kidnapped in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire in 2004, had been murdered for exposing Ivorian government corruption in connection with cocoa.
Off got her start in journalism as a staff writer for The Gazette, the student newspaper at The University of Western Ontario.
She lives in Toronto with her husband, broadcaster and novelist Linden MacIntyre.
She is the vice-president of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. She was awarded ACTRA's John Drainie Award, for distinguished contributions to Canadian broadcasting, in 2008.
Off has also written several books on the Canadian military, including 'The Lion, the Fox, and the Eagle' (2000) and 'The Ghosts of Medak Pocket: the Story of Canada's Secret War' (2005, ISBN 0-679-31294-3). In 2006, she released a book, 'Bitter Chocolate,' about the corruption and human rights abuses associated with the cocoa industry. She claimed that French-Canadian journalist Guy-André Kieffer, who was kidnapped in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire in 2004, had been murdered for exposing Ivorian government corruption in connection with cocoa.
Off got her start in journalism as a staff writer for The Gazette, the student newspaper at The University of Western Ontario.
She lives in Toronto with her husband, broadcaster and novelist Linden MacIntyre.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 9, 2021
I’ve heard time after time the notion that the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) embodies a small world, and that you are bound to meet people often at recurring periods throughout your career. As I continue my dive into CAF implications in missions abroad in the 1990s, perhaps as part of a self-reflection on a time synonymous to what the organization is experiencing today, I recently found myself reading Carol Off’s The Lion, The Fox & The Eagle, a self-proclaimed story of generals and justice in Rwanda and Yugoslavia. Accordingly, I can vaguely remember sitting amidst the sweltering heat of my convocation at the Royal Military College in 2016, listening to a certain Carol Off give a speech as an honorary degree recipient that year. A small world indeed.
Carol Off is indisputably a living legend among Canadian journalism, previously host of CBC Radio One’s As It Happens, and one of the leading journalists on CAF involvement in the Balkans during the decline of the Former Yugoslavia. Accordingly, The Lion, The Fox & The Eagle, provides background on the eruption of conflicts in both Bosnia and Rwanda in great detail prior to specifically diving into Canadian involvement through two generals and a judge.
Firstly, the author looks into the Lion of the story - Romeo Dallaire. A self-proclaimed “NATO man”, with experience in preparation for what was supposed to be the zenith of confrontation with the Russians, he was arguably unprepared for the powder keg that was Rwanda at the time leading into one of the worst ethnic cleansing campaigns now known to society. The author takes great care in outlining the story of a stellar military leader who would unfortunately yet inevitably become embroiled in politics of the affair, only realizing too late that the cavalry wasn’t coming and that the international community was ready to sit on their hands in anticipation of what was believed at the time to be a conflict between two parties, not an overall ethnic massacre that would become of the situation. Off provides incredible detail not only into the conflict itself, but the resulting effects it had on Dallaire, in what I found to be a prelude (as the book was written in 2000) to Shake Hands with the Devil then subsequently Waiting For First Light.
Changing gears to represent the Fox of the story, the author brings readers into the setting that saw a city sieged for three years in modern times, while a peacekeeping force once again debated moral equivalency between two seemingly armed forces in the area. In this instance, the Canadian at the helm of the task force was Lewis MacKenzie, a general who would become famous (and perhaps later infamous) in his use of the media to bring the eyes of the world onto the conflict between parties. Many things can be said on both sides of the metaphorical token about the former general, and Carol Off emphasizes many of them. In what I found to be an incredibly fair portrait of someone who could be considered the foil of Dallaire in many respects, the author demonstrated what can happen when the neutral force arguably becomes biased towards one side of the conflict, and how that consequently compromises the situation through its resulting effects on moral equivalency (if there even was such a thing) or simply the relations between the factions involved.
Finally, Off provides an overview of the Eagle of her narrative, depicting Justice Arbour’s appointment to the world stage for both the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). As Justice Arbour is currently conducting an independent review of the CAF amidst its ongoing culture issues today, I was heavily interested in this section to see what hints of future recommendations might exist. From within this portion of the text, it became evident that Justice Arbour was an incredibly fair leader of these two courts, making the best of a difficult situation when the United Nations was looking to lighten the burden of dismay following two arguably failed missions. Although inconsistencies exist within the scope of these tribunals (as with all bureaucratic organizations in my opinion), Arbour brought forward international law and successfully underlined the importance of such prosecutions, the first of their kind since Nuremberg. Regardless of the overall storyline, which is detailed in an exciting manner by the author despite its nature of international politics, criminal authorities, including a head of state, were brought to justice for crimes against humanity, which to an extent provided some reconciliation for the prior two portions of the book, having previously left me distraught with how two situations could have been fumbled in such a manner.
To my contrition, the topic and content of the aforementioned speech at my convocation half a decade ago are items I do not recall. Perhaps I was too excited for the prospect of graduation parade the following morning, or maybe I just wasn’t as interested in global politics at the time to pay attention. Nevertheless, I am paying attention now, and The Lion, The Fox & The Eagle remains a foundational review of CAF and Canadian interest in peacekeeping pre-Afghanistan, which is once again becoming relevant as the world enters a new era of near-peer confrontation and sabre-rattling amidst neighbouring countries in the hot spots of the globe. Two decades onward from its publication, Off’s account of two Canadian peacekeeping affairs remind us of our role in the world, and of times when Canada was at the forefront of foreign affairs in trying to make sense of fairness within declining empires and long-standing ethnic feuds. I highly recommend this book for my fellow CAF members, as well as for any Canadian looking to get a glimpse back at a past time when Canada played a pivotal role on the world stage.
Carol Off is indisputably a living legend among Canadian journalism, previously host of CBC Radio One’s As It Happens, and one of the leading journalists on CAF involvement in the Balkans during the decline of the Former Yugoslavia. Accordingly, The Lion, The Fox & The Eagle, provides background on the eruption of conflicts in both Bosnia and Rwanda in great detail prior to specifically diving into Canadian involvement through two generals and a judge.
Firstly, the author looks into the Lion of the story - Romeo Dallaire. A self-proclaimed “NATO man”, with experience in preparation for what was supposed to be the zenith of confrontation with the Russians, he was arguably unprepared for the powder keg that was Rwanda at the time leading into one of the worst ethnic cleansing campaigns now known to society. The author takes great care in outlining the story of a stellar military leader who would unfortunately yet inevitably become embroiled in politics of the affair, only realizing too late that the cavalry wasn’t coming and that the international community was ready to sit on their hands in anticipation of what was believed at the time to be a conflict between two parties, not an overall ethnic massacre that would become of the situation. Off provides incredible detail not only into the conflict itself, but the resulting effects it had on Dallaire, in what I found to be a prelude (as the book was written in 2000) to Shake Hands with the Devil then subsequently Waiting For First Light.
Changing gears to represent the Fox of the story, the author brings readers into the setting that saw a city sieged for three years in modern times, while a peacekeeping force once again debated moral equivalency between two seemingly armed forces in the area. In this instance, the Canadian at the helm of the task force was Lewis MacKenzie, a general who would become famous (and perhaps later infamous) in his use of the media to bring the eyes of the world onto the conflict between parties. Many things can be said on both sides of the metaphorical token about the former general, and Carol Off emphasizes many of them. In what I found to be an incredibly fair portrait of someone who could be considered the foil of Dallaire in many respects, the author demonstrated what can happen when the neutral force arguably becomes biased towards one side of the conflict, and how that consequently compromises the situation through its resulting effects on moral equivalency (if there even was such a thing) or simply the relations between the factions involved.
Finally, Off provides an overview of the Eagle of her narrative, depicting Justice Arbour’s appointment to the world stage for both the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). As Justice Arbour is currently conducting an independent review of the CAF amidst its ongoing culture issues today, I was heavily interested in this section to see what hints of future recommendations might exist. From within this portion of the text, it became evident that Justice Arbour was an incredibly fair leader of these two courts, making the best of a difficult situation when the United Nations was looking to lighten the burden of dismay following two arguably failed missions. Although inconsistencies exist within the scope of these tribunals (as with all bureaucratic organizations in my opinion), Arbour brought forward international law and successfully underlined the importance of such prosecutions, the first of their kind since Nuremberg. Regardless of the overall storyline, which is detailed in an exciting manner by the author despite its nature of international politics, criminal authorities, including a head of state, were brought to justice for crimes against humanity, which to an extent provided some reconciliation for the prior two portions of the book, having previously left me distraught with how two situations could have been fumbled in such a manner.
To my contrition, the topic and content of the aforementioned speech at my convocation half a decade ago are items I do not recall. Perhaps I was too excited for the prospect of graduation parade the following morning, or maybe I just wasn’t as interested in global politics at the time to pay attention. Nevertheless, I am paying attention now, and The Lion, The Fox & The Eagle remains a foundational review of CAF and Canadian interest in peacekeeping pre-Afghanistan, which is once again becoming relevant as the world enters a new era of near-peer confrontation and sabre-rattling amidst neighbouring countries in the hot spots of the globe. Two decades onward from its publication, Off’s account of two Canadian peacekeeping affairs remind us of our role in the world, and of times when Canada was at the forefront of foreign affairs in trying to make sense of fairness within declining empires and long-standing ethnic feuds. I highly recommend this book for my fellow CAF members, as well as for any Canadian looking to get a glimpse back at a past time when Canada played a pivotal role on the world stage.
September 25, 2010
Very good book. Easy to sit and read, despite the subject matter. As a journalist Off knows how to write in a very accessible manner and the book is very enjoyable. One of the most enjoyable reads for class I've ever had.
September 7, 2019
It was ok...
February 4, 2021
This is very interesting book especially for Canadians. It is about two terrible and one redemptive activity that happened in recent (1990s) history that Canadians were closely associated with. These were the genocides conducted in Bosnia (Sarajevo) and Rwanda, and the establishment of an international tribunal to prosecute the perpetrators for war crimes.
In Rwanda, everybody in the world wanted to stop the killing but few countries had the financial ability and fewer the military ability. The UN was already in Rwanda but only to ensure that the existing agreements were being honoured. They had no jurisdiction, mandate, or capacity to stop the killing once it started. The book describes how Canadian General Romeo Dallaire handled the situation.
In the former Yugoslavia, the situation was nominally different from a legal perspective. The European Community argued this was simply a war since many had already accepted the break-up of Yugoslavia and had recognized the splintered countries. Europe was looking to protect its southern borders but was also predisposed to support the Serbs simply because of their history of resisting Hitler. The book describes how Canadian General Lewis MacKenzie handled this situation. This ‘war’ went on for four years until finally NATO got involved and the UN had to approve its termination.
The final portion of the book tells how the UN ultimately became involved by establishing a tribunal to prosecute the key people who organised and led the killings. Canadian judge Louise Arbour was selected as the chief prosecutor for the tribunal for both genocides and established many firsts with her indictments and prosecutions.
Carol Off is familiar to me as a stand-up radio host for many years. With this book she takes some challenging subject matter and turns it into a well written, interesting book. She keeps the material interesting without making it gory or sensational. The workings of the UN are particularly interesting as they are so often opaque. She describes some of the UN red tape that both the generals and the judge faced but does not drown us in the minutia. All this material is provided in clear and straight forward text. I have read a lot of military history written by historians that is dry as dust, well documented; but even then, often with errors. I have also read a lot of history written by journalists that is sensational, anecdotal, out of context and even then wrong. With this book, Off hits the balance just right.
A good book, interesting and readable. Four stars.
In Rwanda, everybody in the world wanted to stop the killing but few countries had the financial ability and fewer the military ability. The UN was already in Rwanda but only to ensure that the existing agreements were being honoured. They had no jurisdiction, mandate, or capacity to stop the killing once it started. The book describes how Canadian General Romeo Dallaire handled the situation.
In the former Yugoslavia, the situation was nominally different from a legal perspective. The European Community argued this was simply a war since many had already accepted the break-up of Yugoslavia and had recognized the splintered countries. Europe was looking to protect its southern borders but was also predisposed to support the Serbs simply because of their history of resisting Hitler. The book describes how Canadian General Lewis MacKenzie handled this situation. This ‘war’ went on for four years until finally NATO got involved and the UN had to approve its termination.
The final portion of the book tells how the UN ultimately became involved by establishing a tribunal to prosecute the key people who organised and led the killings. Canadian judge Louise Arbour was selected as the chief prosecutor for the tribunal for both genocides and established many firsts with her indictments and prosecutions.
Carol Off is familiar to me as a stand-up radio host for many years. With this book she takes some challenging subject matter and turns it into a well written, interesting book. She keeps the material interesting without making it gory or sensational. The workings of the UN are particularly interesting as they are so often opaque. She describes some of the UN red tape that both the generals and the judge faced but does not drown us in the minutia. All this material is provided in clear and straight forward text. I have read a lot of military history written by historians that is dry as dust, well documented; but even then, often with errors. I have also read a lot of history written by journalists that is sensational, anecdotal, out of context and even then wrong. With this book, Off hits the balance just right.
A good book, interesting and readable. Four stars.
July 24, 2018
A friend recently gave me this book to read. He told me I would enjoy it. I am a retired member of the Canadian Armed Forces who served in different deployed Ops over the years. In particular, I deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina (VK) in 2004. At the time the conflict in Ex-Yougoslavia depicted in this book was long finished but I could still relate to some of the details provided by the author about the region as a whole. I never did go to Rwanda however, which ultimately is probably a good thing.
This book kept me interested from beginning to end. The three main parts were highly interested to read, especially for a Canadian who, like me, served in the military and deployed. The difficulties and the obstacles encountered were easy to understand and well explained. Once I started reading the book, it became a very quick read. The author does an excellent job at describing the different actions and dilemmas encountered during the period and the situations she writes about.
If you like this type of books, do not hesitate to read this. It is a tremendous read, one that I loved reading.
Thanks.
This book kept me interested from beginning to end. The three main parts were highly interested to read, especially for a Canadian who, like me, served in the military and deployed. The difficulties and the obstacles encountered were easy to understand and well explained. Once I started reading the book, it became a very quick read. The author does an excellent job at describing the different actions and dilemmas encountered during the period and the situations she writes about.
If you like this type of books, do not hesitate to read this. It is a tremendous read, one that I loved reading.
Thanks.
December 19, 2023
An absolute essential for any Canadian working in human rights, international affairs, and security studies!!
Off expertly weaves these three stories together, managing to authentically portray the gravity of the mass human rights violations in Rwanda and former Yugoslavia and factually dissect the factors leading to the international community’s failures. She also manages to report on deeply complex situations in a straightforward manner, without diluting history or oversimplifying it.
While I knew of Dallaire and of Canada’s participation in Sarajevo, I learned so much more about the on the ground operations and the leaders behind them. The Eagle’s exploration of Louise Arbour was incredibly impactful and is a critical contribution to anyone’s understanding of Canadian history.
Off expertly weaves these three stories together, managing to authentically portray the gravity of the mass human rights violations in Rwanda and former Yugoslavia and factually dissect the factors leading to the international community’s failures. She also manages to report on deeply complex situations in a straightforward manner, without diluting history or oversimplifying it.
While I knew of Dallaire and of Canada’s participation in Sarajevo, I learned so much more about the on the ground operations and the leaders behind them. The Eagle’s exploration of Louise Arbour was incredibly impactful and is a critical contribution to anyone’s understanding of Canadian history.
August 22, 2025
Was a great read. I quite liked her writing style, a good mix of humour and information. The content itself was very engaging with the dichotomy between the two generals ethos and how that affected their respective missions.
In high school I learnt about the UNs failure in Rwanda but I didn't know much about Yugoslavia so learning more was rather fun.
I was a bit shocked France and Israel were just allowed to give arms to Rwanda while actively committing genocide. Good thing the world and the UN learnt it's lesson
In high school I learnt about the UNs failure in Rwanda but I didn't know much about Yugoslavia so learning more was rather fun.
I was a bit shocked France and Israel were just allowed to give arms to Rwanda while actively committing genocide. Good thing the world and the UN learnt it's lesson
November 29, 2018
Although written awhile ago, this is still as important a read as it is depressing. Although the military events described in the book are horrific, perhaps even more horrific was the world's response, in particular the U.N. and its Security Council. A cautionary tale and one that suggests that any country with skin in a game should not be allowed to vote on resolutions. Also, it confirms the U.N.'s reputation as a gutless, wasteful bureaucracy in serious need of overhaul.
October 16, 2019
This was an excellent, albeit hard to keep all the characters straight, read. Three Canadians – Lewis MacKenzie, Romeo Dallaire and Louise Arbour – were at the centre of the two greatest tragedies of the 1990s. Two genocides and the mess the world and the United Nations made of it.
November 29, 2020
Curious about how UN, and specifically, its Department of Peace Operations works? Read this well-researched book.
I'm so impressed by her writing that I shall seek out Carol Off's other published work.
I'm so impressed by her writing that I shall seek out Carol Off's other published work.
June 3, 2025
utterly terrifying and horrifying and frustrating.
August 8, 2010
The focus of this book are three Canadian citizens who played a primary role in the UN peacekeeping missions and resulting international tribunals of the Bosnia and Rwanda genocides.
The Lion in the story is Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian general who led the UN's peacekeeping effort in Rwanda in 1993-1994. I have already read his autobiography about what he witnessed while in Rwanda, and was once again impressed with what he did, and saddened to read more about the post-traumatic stress he experienced upon returning home. Lewis McKenzie, the Fox, is another general led the UN's efforts in Bosnia in the early 90's. The fact that he is labeled a fox gives you a pretty good idea of how inept and misinformed he was about the whole situation in Bosnia. He was there for his own personal aggrandizement and only aggravated the peace effort by sharing with the international community his highly misinformed reading of the crisis between Serbs and Bosnian Muslims. The Eagle is Louise Arbour, the Quebecoise who played an instrumental role in indicted and arresting many of the government and military officials responsible for the genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia. She worked tirelessly to get the tribunals off the ground amidst the inertia of the UN, who wanted to look like they were doing something, without having to really do something. She deserves praise for being the first individual to charge a sitting leader with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Once I picked the book up, I couldn't put it down. Again, this may be because of my on going interest in genocide and the reason why individuals engage in such action. As with all the other books on I have read about the genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia, this book highlighted the weaknesses of the UN in all these situations. I continue to find myself annoyed and frustrated by what the UN did in these places, even more so in Rwanda, where there was even less international interest in the events that took place.
The Lion in the story is Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian general who led the UN's peacekeeping effort in Rwanda in 1993-1994. I have already read his autobiography about what he witnessed while in Rwanda, and was once again impressed with what he did, and saddened to read more about the post-traumatic stress he experienced upon returning home. Lewis McKenzie, the Fox, is another general led the UN's efforts in Bosnia in the early 90's. The fact that he is labeled a fox gives you a pretty good idea of how inept and misinformed he was about the whole situation in Bosnia. He was there for his own personal aggrandizement and only aggravated the peace effort by sharing with the international community his highly misinformed reading of the crisis between Serbs and Bosnian Muslims. The Eagle is Louise Arbour, the Quebecoise who played an instrumental role in indicted and arresting many of the government and military officials responsible for the genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia. She worked tirelessly to get the tribunals off the ground amidst the inertia of the UN, who wanted to look like they were doing something, without having to really do something. She deserves praise for being the first individual to charge a sitting leader with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Once I picked the book up, I couldn't put it down. Again, this may be because of my on going interest in genocide and the reason why individuals engage in such action. As with all the other books on I have read about the genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia, this book highlighted the weaknesses of the UN in all these situations. I continue to find myself annoyed and frustrated by what the UN did in these places, even more so in Rwanda, where there was even less international interest in the events that took place.
May 26, 2012
Great Canadian book - looks at Canada's participation in UN fiascos
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews