Sometimes I am beside myself when I read more and more about the Gaza offensive. The Liberal Party of Canada has a leader that was the former director of the Carr Center for Human Rights. HUMAN RIGHTS for Godsake!!
So what the hell is he thinking? If Qana was a war crime in his brain, what the hell is Gaza with 1,025 dead and 5,000 wounded? Is it simply that the quest for power has made the deaths of so many innocents so trivial for the Liberal leader? Where are the other 76Liberal MPs who have yet to say a word? What the are they doing?
This is a full-blown human tragedy, complete with all the ugliness of war one can think of. It's time the Liberal Party got off its ass and called for an IMMEDIATE ceasefire!!!
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Don't hold your breath. He is being advised by this guy.
http://www.warrenkinsella.com/index.php?entry=entry081228-223826
I don't really see what good it would do James. Canada has zero influence in the region anyway.
I think saying as little as necessary and trying to remain neutral is the most useful thing we can do. That way we could perhaps play a peacemaker role (like the Norwegians did during the Oslo Accord) at some point in the future.
Needless to say the Harper govt's unambiguous backing of Israel is not in the national interest.
We can always dream ...
Without a Net, I guess that means we are "cowards." See, Cheney On Whether Iraq War Was Worth The 4,500 Americans Killed: ‘I Think So’:
However, The harsh reality is that this was not a noble undertaking done for good reasons. It was a criminal enterprise launched by madmen cheered on by a chorus of fools and cowards. And it’s seen as such by virtually everyone all around the world....
Just a different front of the same dirty war using the popular preemptive warfare strategy propped up by Western propaganda, to cover for empire.
When we say "nothing" we are not innocent by-standers but condoning the "bully." Doing nothing is a choice and is not a neutral position. To me and many others, it is a coward's position.
Iggy backtracked on Qana have it raised a stink with a certain demographic.
As I've said, with Warren K in your coterie, don't expect any statement that will be direct and "right-thinking".
The Liberal, it seems, does not care about the grass roots or what it thinks.
janfromthebruce,
There might be some satisfaction in the Liberal party condeming Israel's disproprtionate use of force but it wouldn't actually change anything on the ground or help anyone. We are an opposition party in a country that has very little clout in the region.
I am not making a moral arguement here, I am making a pragmatic one. If the position of the LPC actually carried weight than perhaps we could be accused of "cowardice" by chooisng silence, but it does not.
I would save our moral outrage for when it might actually matter.
Even when Ignatieff was at the Carr Institute he supported the Iraq invasion and harsh interrogation. Now he is a politician in a country where any criticism of Israel is likely to brand him as anti-semitic. Ignatieff learned his lesson after criticizing Israel before. Even Jewish rabbis cannot get their message heard in the US.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-belden/why-isnt-this-news-us-rab_b_158019.html
I disagree with those who claim that nothing Ignatieff or the Canadian government say on this matter will make any difference. A lot of people believe that Canada needs to re-establish itself as an honest and impartial broker on the world stage, and we cannot do that if we are seen as parroting U.S./Israeli foreign policy.
Thanks Jan and Jennifer and Judy and the other women who "sat in "this week.
Jennifer Smith,
Just to be clear I am not advocating that we parrot the US/Israeli talking points (that's what Harper is doing). I am arguing for a nuanced, balanced and careful stance.
Reasonable people can disagree on this issue. What is needed is more people who can see both sides, and less people demanding that you take one side or the other.
I share your hope that Canada might play an honest broker role at some point in the future - that would be a wonderful thing for this country to do - but I disagree with you that condemning Israel at this time would help us play that honest broker role. We should restrict our statements to expressions of concern for the innocent victims and a call for both sides to cease using violence to try advancing their political goals.
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