Saturday, July 19, 2014

Depraved Policy



                                                                                  http://www.ctpost.com/

Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza this week -- a move that is loudly supported by the Harper government. And it illustrates, Linda McQuaig writes, the moral disconnect at the heart of Harper's policy towards Israel:

Certain minimal standards are expected of a national leader in what is known as the ‘civilized world’.

One of those standards would seem to be that, when massive numbers of defenceless civilians are being killed, a national leader should call for the killing to stop.

Questions about responsibility, blame, punishment, repercussions, etc., can always follow. But surely the first order of business — the one with moral urgency — is to halt the killing of innocent people.

Harper's simple answer -- there's always a simple answer for him -- is that Hamas is using civilians as human shields. So don't blame the Israelis:

But Paul Heinbecker, a former Canadian ambassador, noted on CBC TV’s Power and Politics on Tuesday that international law prohibits Israel from, for instance, attacking a military target if it is located in a densely populated building.

Anyone who knows anything thing about the Israeli-Palestinian relationship knows that it's fraught with complications:

What is striking about Harper’s intensely one-sided approach is the way he resolutely avoids dealing with the central fact of this decades-old conflict: that millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have been living under Israeli military occupation for more than forty-five years, and that Israel has effectively annexed what used to be their land, building settlements on it that now accommodate more than 600,000 Israelis.

Harper’s refusal to take any of this into consideration flies in the face of Canada’s long-standing position on the Mideast conflict — a position that still appears on the Canadian government’s website.

Harper has always been comfortable in his ignorance. Moreover, he has the arrogance to think he's the smartest guy in the room. The result is depraved policy.



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Harper has the same "disease" as the warmongers in the U.S. (mostly Republicans like Chaney, Bush, McCain, etc.) who had advocated the Vietnam, Iraq and other mid East debacles and who are now harshly criticizing Obama for being soft on the terrorists and not starting WWIII with Putin.

To quote Ford, it seems that it is a "disease" they are born with, that they will die with, and most important of all, they want us to know it is not their fault. It is just their "disease" makes them do all these things.

Of course, if it is their own children or grandchildren who are being blown to pieces while they are playing hockey or baseball, it is an entirely different story. In that case, they will of course point out that they are innocent victims. But Palestinian children: their parents voted for Hamas, didn't they? Point out to them that these children's parents had voted for Bush and Chaney, and they will remind you that it is their right as American citizens to vote for whomever they please. See their logic?

Sad, but it seems many of the Cons supporters in Canada are afflicted with this "disease" as well.

Owen Gray said...

I find it interesting that many who advocate strongly for war haven't been in one, Anon.

McCain has been there. But Bush and Cheney worked very hard to make sure that they never got there.

the salamander said...

.. your small, shining, Canadian 'voice' & perspective rains down upon a vacant, delirious, desert ..
ie The greedy, consuming Harper Environment

Owen Gray said...

Thanks for the compliment, salamander. I always look forward to your comments.

You understand who these people are and your assessment of them is withering.

If only more Canadians saw them as you do.

Anonymous said...

Seems to me? It is the citizens of Palestine, that are doing all the dying. The deaths of those children, has angered citizens around the globe. To Harper, the dead children of Palestine are only collateral damage.

I feel there is something else going on behind our backs? Why did Harper take a planeload of people, with him to Israel?

Harper and Obama are up to no good. When Putin said we were of the fascist west? I am beginning to wonder? Harper certainly fits the profile of a fascist dictator.

To me, Harper is pure unadulterated evil....a dictator and a control freak. Seems The U.K. is mostly Harper's dumping ground, for his criminals and degenerates. The witness for Harper's robo-call cheat was not sent to London.

Owen Gray said...

Harper has not expressed any regret over the deaths of Palestinian civilians, Anon.