You Have To Follow The Links

If you really want to make an objective assessment of a posting. The following is a good example. Rafe Mair seems to be making a case for Canada to stand up for itself and get brownie points from world's power brokers. At least that is what it seems in the capsule posted but if you follow the link to the full article it would appear it has more to do with bashing Harper's strong postion regarding Isreal.

Sunday, February 04 2007 @ 03:29 PM MST
Contributed by: jensonj
Canada must be an honest broker

By Rafe Mair
Feb 03 2007

Looked at from a distance, Canada is a strange land; large in size, small in population, bilingual and multicultural, old ties to Great Britain dwindling, next door to the United States as it deals with increasing regionalism and gropes for a foreign policy.

The 1931 Statute of Westminster granted us independence and Canada symbolically declared war a week after Britain, yet when the UN was formed the U.S.S.R. was given seats for the Ukraine and Belarus, to offset Britain’s Commonwealth seats. Thus as recently as 1945 after a brilliant war record as a nation, we were still seen as sort of an international step-child—part of the family but different. One is reminded of former U.S. Secretary Dean Acheson’s cruel jibe “Great Britain has lost an empire and has not yet found a role.”

Try as we have, Canada still seeks a role with which we are comfortable.

During the Cold War our policy was to snipe at America for hometown political brownie points while always remembering that we were on “their side” if trouble came.

When the Cold War ended, Canada became less willing to accept the lead of the United States. Sadly, the U.S. being the only superpower, it doesn’t much matter to the White House what anyone, let alone Canada, thinks. George W. Bush has made it clear that the U.S. will do whatever it thinks is best for its interests, with that determined by the most recent polls. Canadians don’t like being in thrall to America yet are uncertain as to how to break free.
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This is what was posted but if you click on the link.....

The Harper government uncritically supports Israeli policy. This is clearly wrongheaded. We should stand back, survey the scene, learn the history and make a principled stand for a solution where both Palestinians and Israelis recognize some realities, such as the fact that the Palestine/Israel populations are half and half Jews and Arabs while within Israel itself, the Palestinian population is about 20 per cent and growing.

Israel, as the relative numbers of Jews in the region diminish, sees itself besieged from without, with ever-increasing hostile Palestinian Arabs within. Its consequent stubbornness brings more violence from surrounding Arab groups that seek Israel’s destruction. Thus stumbling blocks of land and the claims of Palestinian refugees seem unmovable. By firmly taking sides, the Harper government has disqualified itself as a possible arbitrator.

Israel has had, by far, the best of the public relations war.

Most Canadians believe, quite erroneously, that Palestinian Arabs willingly abandoned their homes in the 1948 War—so tough luck on them. Many look at the West Bank as “disputed lands” rather than “occupied lands” which they are.

Most Canadians, evidently including Harper, believe that Israel’s “land for peace” policy was fair, not understanding such a solution would leave Palestinians having to go through Israeli roadblocks to get to other parts of their country. We shrug off the Jewish settlements in occupied lands seen by Palestinians as an ongoing “up yours.”

Canada must develop a policy of “honest broker” which it can’t do if it’s on Israel’s side whate’er betide. As Iran develops nuclear weapons and comes nose to nose with a nuclear-armed Israel, settling land and refugee claims become the only issues that matter.

The refugees have gone from about 700,000 in 1948 to well over four million—obviously a settlement based on land alone won’t happen. But put yourself in the position of a refugee—any Jew from anywhere in the world has a “right to return” to a country he’s never seen, while Palestinians are denied what was once theirs.

The stakes are mortal. Canada, if it’s to help, must unshackle itself from its present policy of blindly supporting Israel and seek policies aimed at achieving justice for Palestinians and Israelis.

Otherwise, the price to be paid could well be Armageddon.

Rafe Mair is a former radio talk show host and cabinet minister