Stephen Harper Clings to Bush’s Tattered Coattails

[canada-man]

Stephen Harper Clings to Bush’s Tattered Coattails
by 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.

Haroon Siddiqui writes Thursday and Sunday.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/13/10323/

 

[canada-man]

Stephen Harper, Bush's Last Yes Man?

Canada, Guantanamo and Yankee Poodles
By ROBERT FANTINA

During the administration of Tony Blair as Prime Minister of Britain, he was sometimes referred to as the ‘Yankee Poodle,’ due to the constant and humiliating spectacle he made of himself with his obvious adoration of U.S. President George W. Bush.

Now, it seems, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has assumed Mr. Blair’s role. In no way is this more blatant than the shocking, tragic case of Omar Khadr.

Mr. Khadr is one of the inmates in the Cuban-based U.S. torture chamber known as Guantanamo. He arrived there from Afghanistan, where he was captured by U.S. soldiers in a house from which a hand grenade had been flung, killing a U.S. soldier. At the time of his capture and incarceration in that hell-hole, the American government evidently believed him to be an ‘enemy combatant.’ When captured, Mr. Khadr was fifteen years old.

It was apparently of no importance to Mr. Bush that Mr. Khadr was a minor at the time of his arrest, that at least one other ‘enemy’ soldier was alive in the building when Mr. Khadr was captured, thus making it at least ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ that Mr. Khadr was guilty of throwing the grenade. Nor did it seem to matter that most nations believe children cannot be guilty of military crimes because they are not sufficiently cognizant to understand what joining the military means. It was enough for Mr. Bush that Toronto-born Mr. Khadr was fighting the U.S. in Afghanistan, and that his father is alleged to have helped finance al-Qaeda.

This week Canada’s Foreign Affairs Department detailed the torture that Mr. Khadr, a Canadian citizen, has received at the hands of the U.S. government. While it is no longer news that the U.S. tortures its prisoners, the Harper government’s response to this horrific victimization of one of its own citizens is news. Mr. Harper, when asked about the situation, demonstrated nothing but loyalty to Mr. Bush.

“The previous government took a whole range, all of the information, into account when they made the decision on how to proceed with the Khadr case several years ago,” said Mr. Harper. Like Pontius Pilate washing his hands of the decision to crucify Jesus Christ, Mr. Harper said the decision to allow Mr. Khadr to be tortured was made by someone else. That may be the case, but Mr. Harper is now Prime Minister, and he can make a different decision.

What would it take, one might ask, to get Mr. Khadr released from Guantanamo and returned to Canada? What complex diplomatic channels would have to be navigated, what hoops jumped through, what concessions made by Canada? University of Ottawa law professor Amir Attaran has the answer: a single telephone call. Said Mr. Attaran:

“Without exception, every other leader of a Western country has got their citizens out of Guantanamo.”

So why does Mr. Harper not make that call? Why, when Mr. Bush ‘Yo Harper’d’ him at the G8 Summit this past week did he not request Mr. Khadr’s release? What is so frightening about a now-21-year-old young man who has experienced six years of unspeakable torture that Mr. Harper is willing to let him continue to suffer beyond comprehension at the hands of U.S. torturers? Why has every other Western nation rescued their citizens from Guantanamo, but Mr. Harper is content to let a citizen of his nation be tortured there?

Every Canadian citizen should be thankful that Mr. Harper was not Prime Minister when the U.S. and it’s so-called ‘Coalition of the Drilling’ (oops! we meant ‘willing’) embarked on Operation Iraq Liberation (O.I.L). Had that been the case, Canadian soldiers would not only be dying in Afghanistan, but in Iraq also. The Prime Minister at that time, Jean Chrétien, was not quite so willing to heel when Mr. Bush snapped his fingers and promised him a treat for being a good doggie. Mr. Harper, however, salivating over any positive association with Mr. Bush, apparently does not want to displease the master by acting as Canadian Prime Minister and working on behalf of Canadian citizens. So while he can be humiliated in Japan as Mr. Bush, an embarrassment to all thinking U.S. citizens, bellows ‘Yo Harper’ to him, he is not willing to alleviate the appalling physical and mental suffering that Mr. Khadr is now experiencing and has experienced for six years.

Mr. Harper is increasingly acting to please Mr. Bush. Last month the House of Commons passed a non-binding motion urging the Harper government to allow U.S. military deserters who have fled to Canada to remain there. By a 137 – 110 vote, the House supported having the Canadian government “immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors and their immediate family members . . . to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada.” This motion was supported by three of the four parties that have seats in the Canadian Parliament: the Liberals, New Democratic Party, and Bloc Quebecois. Only Mr. Harper’s Conservatives opposed it.

One may recall that Mr. Bush was appointed president in 2000 after losing the majority vote. Mr. Harper’s minority government can be seen as a similar situation. Mr. Bush now contends with a spineless Democratic Congress. Mr. Harper apparently contends with the spineless Liberal, New Democratic and Bloc Quebecois parties. Mr. Bush appeared to care little for the will of the U.S. voter during his entire presidency. Mr. Harper seems to be emulating him by ignoring this motion from the House of Commons. Why bother to do what the people want when you can hobnob with the U.S. president?

That the U.S. can torture its prisoners should not surprise anyone; the nation has long hidden behind a façade of morality that only masked injustice and inequality since the its founding. What is shocking is that the Canadian government could sink to the same level; why it wants to emulate an imperial nation with elections as legitimate as any banana republic; that tortures its political prisoners (that it even has political prisoners is shocking enough); that sends its soldiers to die in wars waged only to control the world’s oil supply, that listens in on the private conversations of its citizens; that erodes what precious few rights its citizens have in the false name of ‘fighting terrorism’ is a question that simply defies any answer.

There is little evidence that anything will ever change significantly in the U.S.; the current candidate of ‘change,’ Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, basically represents business as usual, although the last eight years were extreme. But Canada does not have the same bloody history as its neighbor to the south. The current blemish, horrifying as it is, could be an anomaly. For U.S. soldiers who recognize the crimes the U.S. commits daily in Iraq, and for Canadians who may find themselves on the wrong side of U.S. reactionary politics, a return to reason in Canada would be a great benefit. It cannot happen soon enough.

Robert Fantina is author of 'Desertion and the American Soldier: 1776--2006.

http://www.counterpunch.org/fantina07122008.html

 

[alphauniform]

"Canada, Guantanamo and Yankee Poodles
By ROBERT FANTINA

During the administration of Tony Blair as Prime Minister of Britain, he was sometimes referred to as the ‘Yankee Poodle,’ due to the constant and humiliating spectacle he made of himself with his obvious adoration of U.S. President George W. Bush."

Hmmmmmmm..........Chihuahua I think, He's much more Chihuahua!!!!

"The Chihuahua is a good companion dog. Courageous, extremely lively, proud and enterprising, it gives and demands affection. Bold and saucy, it moves swiftly to avoid being stepped on. Chihuahua's are strong-willed, intensely loyal and become very attached to their owners, even to the point of jealousy. They like to lick their owner's faces. It is undeniably suspicious of people except for its owner. When strangers are present, it follows its owner's every move, keeping as close as possible. For some, they may be slightly difficult to train, but they are intelligent, learn quickly, and respond well to proper, gentle (positive reinforcement) training. This breed may snap at teasing children, after all it is too tiny to get away. The Chihuahua must resort to his sharp teeth in self defense. It is not recommended for children. He can be noisy and may require patience to housebreak. Many owners simply paper train this breed. Be sure to socialize your Chihuahua as a pup to avoid excessive aggressiveness with other dogs as well as reserve with strangers. They tend to be fairly dog-aggressive. Chihuahuas generally recognize their own breed, but sometimes disapprove of other breeds. However, a "very" well-socialized Chihuahua can be friendly with strangers and other dogs."

 

[WoodPeckr]

Perhaps this is why the righties were so hard on Jean Chrétien. Jean Chrétien at least had the stones to stand up to Dubya and not become his fawning lapdog like Blair and Harper. You know how big the righties are on loyalty and such. So it is little wonder they pick those Poodle, Chihuahua and Lapdog types for their leaders....;

 

[The Crunge]

Quote from the recent G8 summit in Japan -

President Bush: "Yo Harper. The president of Nigeria."

Harper: Looks to Bush, tongue wagging like a Pavlovian dog.

 

[LancsLad]

have your little rants all you want boyyos.

that muslame isn't Canadian so whats your point.


.

 

[The Crunge]

have your little rants all you want boyyos.

that muslame isn't Canadian so whats your point.


.

What are you talking about?

 

[LancsLad]

What are you talking about?

That terrorist POS that apparently lives here and just got millions from our soppy bleeding heart gov't. He's the one. Tag him and bag and send him back to wakistanabia. on the next carpet out of town.


And i say that in the nicest possible way.



.

 

[y2kmark]

Bush has ...

190 days left (provided the pretzels don't get the upper hand next time or something!) How many more days does Harper have?

 

[WoodPeckr]

Harper could go at any time. They do things a bit differently up there.