I was struck back in 2003 after doing a briefing with some people in the Administration. It had been a rough year. We were getting ready to go to Iraq. Canada-US relations were somewhat strained by that. At the end of the briefing -- which had been a little bit grim -- about how Canada and the US could work together better in this war on terror that we were facing, the person I was was briefing paused and said to me, 'Chris, where are all the good Canadians?' When he said that it broke a little bit of my heart, because I'm an American but I love the Canadians. I think what he meant by that was 'Where are the Canadians of World War I and World War II, that people understood to be... even when Europeans didn't, those allies we had come to count on.' Well, I have good news. Our speaker today is one of the good Canadians..."
Reminds me of the distinction some Americans used to make between "good" blacks and the uppity kind. Reminds me of what first turned me off to Canadian Conservatism. Stockwell is happy to take the pat on the bum and be a "good" Canadian for his U.S. audience.
H/t to Savage Washington.
12 comments:
Well that's hardly a politically advantageous report for the CPC. I wonder if the issue (Harper support for Iraq) will be brought up again in the election campaign - Wells has been bringing it up periodically as something that he's shocked has been all but forgotten. I'd be quite surprised if Dion didn't use it during the next election
"What if the US attacks Iran or Syria? Will Stephen Harper take us there, as he wanted to with Iraq?"
I think Harper would have to be monumentally stupid to make such a decision (even in the unlikely case that it came to pass), and I presume that if Harper was PM at the time he wouldn't have taken us into Iraq (but was rather grandstanding as a member of the opposition, as the opposition often does). However, I have a feeling it would resonate with voters, to the advantage of the Liberals/NDP.
Indeed, as it happens, I find out just now that Wells is writing his next column on the very subject.
yeah, I found this through Wells, but h/td the blog with the origonal story.
As for my part, damn right Iraq'll be raised again. As I say, there was a time when I considered voting for some form of Canadian Conservative party (and did once, a long long time ago). Iraq was the big turnoff.
I'm just glad that Stockwell Day believes that dinosaurs and humans live side by side, and that he thinks lawyers who defend pedophiles are pedophiles too.
That is to say, lived side by side.
But, under Martin, and the Liberals, wasn't Canada assisting the effort in Iraq, on the side?
This from a special debate on Iraq:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?pub=Hansard&doc=71&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=37&Ses=2#T2000
"Canada is involved in Operation Apollo and has been for the last couple of years. Operation Apollo is an extremely important mission in the war against terrorism. Canada is involved in interdiction of ships which may be carrying illegal goods into Iraq or may be carrying illegal goods, such as weapons of mass destruction, out of Iraq....They have become known as some of the best in the world at boarding ships and carrying out this interdiction work....
Canada is involved and Operation Apollo very interestingly has been moving across the Persian Gulf closer and closer to Iraq every week. So, can we argue that Canada's involvement in Operation Apollo is not an involvement in the war in Iraq? I think it may be a difficult issue to argue.
Let us go a little farther than that. Let us look at the Canadian contingent in Qatar. Some time back, more than a year ago, Canada had agreed to put a contingent of Canadian military personnel in Qatar. Now Qatar, as we know, is the American main base of operations for Iraq. Are these military personnel involved in war with Iraq? It is unclear when they are operating from the same country that houses the main American base in amassing military might on the border of Iraq and we have Canadian troops there.
We have Canadian troops working with our allies in joint missions. They are on exchange programs. I do not know exactly how many. It could be somewhere over a hundred."
"
bigcitylib, i don't mean to be all cloak and dagger but i wonder if you could shoot me an email. i may have an interesting proposition for you.
falgarwood@hotmail.com
Jeff/BCL,
I'm intrigued as to what the pair of you might be planning... a violent coup, perhaps?
They're going to give you a wedgy during second recess Olaf. You might want to hide in your locker.
I think Chris Sands entered some sort of fugue state when he remembered Stockwell in his manly wetsuit sea-doo'ing up to the shore and was thinking "Bad Canadians...naughty ones...need a spanking on their botties, they do." Then he started talking when he should have kept his mouth shut.
Too lazy to link, but the BBC reported Cheney's office rejected an offer by Iran in 2003 to cut off aid to extremists and help stabilise Iraq, among other things.
Canada should have nothing more to do with the criminal Bush regime. Since the Harpies are in bed with the Repugs (the Harpies are on the bottom. naturally), we really need to turf out this government as soon as possible.
Olaf,
Until you figured that out, we were going to let you live.
"I think Harper would have to be monumentally stupid to make such a decision (even in the unlikely case that it came to pass), and I presume that if Harper was PM at the time he wouldn't have taken us into Iraq (but was rather grandstanding as a member of the opposition, as the opposition often does)." Olaf 1:41PM
You presume an awful lot with zero basis to do so aside from your wishful thinking though. Every contemporaneous action and word from Harper makes it painfully clear that if he had been PM he would have lobbied for us to go if he had a minority and if he had a majority he simply would have joined the COW period. You might have been able to sell political posturing within Canada but when he went to the Wall Street Journal, apologized to Americans on the behalf of Canadians and told them that the majority Canadians supported America and the Iraq invasion he made clear his intentions. This was politically damaging in this country and only someone that truly believed in this position would have acted in such an egregious, offensive, and political disadvantageous manner.
Yeah scotian. Spank Olaf! Spank him good!
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