American Republican-style Stephen Harper still clinging to the coattails of his boss, idol, mentor, puppet master, and blood thirsty war criminal George W. Bush. Given a choice between standing up for a Canadian citizen and standing by the United States of America or Israel, Alberta-centric Redneck Stephen Harper always chooses the latter without fail
fraeauldb...@gmail.com
Jul 13, 2008 04:30 AM
Haroon Siddiqui
Stephen Harper's stance on Omar Khadr is not surprising.
Given a choice between standing up for a Canadian citizen and standing
by the United States or Israel, the Prime Minister chooses the
latter.
His government has maligned Louise Arbour, the distinguished jurist.
Her crime? As head of the United Nations Commission for Human Rights,
she criticized the U.S. (for Guantanamo Bay) and Israel (for civilian
casualties during its 2006 invasion of Lebanon).
In that war, Canadian Forces Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener was killed
by an Israeli bomb, along with three others at a UN monitoring
mission. Harper wouldn't criticize Israel or help Hess-von Kruedener's
wife, Cynthia.
Harper is similarly refusing to budge on the Khadr case, despite
disturbing new revelations that the youth was subjected to the torture
of sleep deprivation, a tactic since prohibited by the U.S. military.
In fact, our Prime Minister has let it be known that he prefers
Gitmo's discredited military trials to the Canadian justice system:
"Mr. Khadr is accused of very serious things. There is a legal process
in the United States ... Frankly, we do not have a real alternative to
that process to get to the truth about those accusations."
Even Khadr's American military lawyer, Lt.-Cmdr. William Kuebler,
found that "preposterous."
Harper, he said, should "stand up as the Prime Minister of Canada and
protect the rights of a Canadian citizen, and stop taking his orders
from the Bush administration and stop being the last leader of a
Western country to support a failed process in Guantanamo Bay."
A similar sentiment was expressed on the same day by New Democrat
Alexa McDonough: "We have a Prime Minister who alone in the world
still considers George Bush his political hero."
I had asked her about the sustainability of Harper's position
boycotting Hamas and Hezbollah, when Israel itself is dealing with
both, and also Syria:
Using Egypt as a mediator, Israel worked out a ceasefire that has more
or less held in the Gaza Strip since June 19. Israel is also
negotiating the swap of a soldier captured by Hamas two years ago for
the release of jailed Palestinians.
Using the United Nations as mediator, Israel is close to a deal with
Hezbollah for the return of two soldiers whose capture triggered the
war in Lebanon. Israel is also ready to talk with Lebanon about a tiny
piece of Israeli-occupied land, known as Shabaa Farms.
Using Turkey as a mediator, Israel has held two rounds of talks with
Syria about a peace treaty.
If Israel is talking to all the relevant parties, why can't Canada?
McDonough: "Whether it's the Israeli-Palestinian dispute or Iran, we
can't seem to get our government to understand that a policy of
belligerence doesn't do anything to advance peace."
On the Iran nuclear issue, Harper sides with the hard-line American-
Israeli approach, which is inching toward a military confrontation.
Israel sent 100 warplanes 1,400 kilometres on what was said to be a
trial run for attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran fired off
missiles said to be capable of reaching Israel. It also threatened to
hit neighbours hosting American bases (that would be Iraq,
Afghanistan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, etc.) Condoleezza Rice said the
U.S. would protect its allies.
So it goes – and so goes the price of oil skyward.
Taking out Iranian nuclear facilities won't be as easy as the 1981
Israeli attack on Osirak, the Iraqi reactor. Iranian facilities are
dispersed and deep underground. The Iranian capacity to muck up the
Strait of Hormuz, from whence flows oil, should not be underestimated,
nor its readiness to use its proxies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon,
the Gaza Strip and elsewhere.
This is a time for Canada to diffuse tensions, not add to them by
aping the disastrous policies of Bush
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/459021
Frae Auld Bob Peffers
Free Scotland from British imperialism!!!
Scottish National Party
http://www.snp.org
Scottish Socialist Party
http://www.scottishsocialistparty.org
Solidarity (Scotland's Socialist Movement)
http://www.solidarityscotland.org
Loaf of Bread
[snip]
My roving socialist fruitcake, how long have you been collecting
wefare checks?