A N A L Y S I S

Canada in Search of a New Image
Gobind Thukral in Vancouver

Canadians are apparently concerned about the Post-9/11 World. The big picture is that Canada is engaged in a war against terror that will affect them even as Canadians hope in vain that it will not. Within this contentious frame, they debate issues bedeviling the country's foreign and defense policies. Canada has not sent troops to Iraq, but is participating in the NATO driven forces in Afghanistan.

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants to be kinder and gentler in his approach towards Afghanistan. While announcing a 200 million dollar grant, he talked of reconstruction, a multilateral approach, community involvement and economic growth. Gone was talk of the war on terror, the grim realities of 9/11 or the need for Canadians not to cut and run. Instead was the new public relations exercise to change the tacks. A series of studies on the government's communications strategy paved the way for the new ruling Conservative Party spin, advising that a winning vocabulary should include words "rebuilding," "restoring," "reconstruction" and "hope.” The report, commissioned by the foreign affairs department, counselled the Tories to "avoid developing a line of argumentation too strongly based on values." It recommended the government make no mention of freedom, democracy and liberty, "the War on Terror," 9/11 or military actions of U.S. soldiers in the country. Afghanistan is on the front-line of the international security challenge of the modern post-war world," he said. "We must build a successful alternative there in order to defeat extremism and terrorism everywhere." Perhaps nothing wrong.

The focus on reconstruction is meant to placate critics, such as federal New Democrats, who say Canada's Afghan mission is too skewed toward the military. But the infusion of cash is also meant to win the "hearts and minds" of residents and prevent Taliban support from once again taking root. The funding, which comes on top of $1 billion already promised to Afghanistan to 2011.

 So Harper noted Canada would, “Accelerate the reconstruction and development process" and support "proven" projects that encourage "community involvement." The money will also help aid workers, police and diplomats to rebuild the economic, physical and governmental infrastructure of Afghanistan, Harper said. Where Afghanistan was once an "incubator" of terrorism, Harper now referred to it as "the front line of the international security challenge of the modern post-war world."

It is okay to design such public relations exercise. But how would this aid be delivered and who would do the reconstruction. The NATO lead forces are confined to restricted areas and except Kabul and Kandahar, they have little access anywhere else.  Currently there are some 62,700 members of the regular force and 22,000 primary reservists. With planned expansion, the regular force is expected to climb to 75,000. Both Liberal and New Democratic Party see little optimism.

As former Liberal foreign and defense minister Bill Graham puts it: "Our military, to some level, lost faith in the UN to command those missions." Canadian soldiers are fighting something in Afghanistan beyond the Taliban, opium warlords and entrenched corruption: They are struggling with an image of themselves the military loathes. Liberal Party’s shadow minister for foreign affairs, Ujjal Dosanjh who along with defense minister went as part of the Canada’s delegation to Afghanistan was confined to Canadian military base near Kandahar. Dosanjh, Canada’s former health minister and now Liberal party’s critic on foreign policy who recently returned from a tour of Afghanistan and Latin America was straight on basic approach. During a wide ranging interview, he said, “The present policy of toeing American line in crisis situations like in Middle East and particularly in Iraq is damaging the process of peace and justice. We are only helping the world become a more dangerous place.”

Liberal Party, Canada’s, main opposition has urged the Conservative government to stop being a crony of the present American government and chalk out an independent course in foreign policy matters.  “It is no good being in the backwaters of America, mimic the Bush lines all over and make only enemies.  It is stupid for a developed vast country with rich resources, tradition of tolerance and multiculturalism to be just an appendage to the America’s empire building game. Canada wins no friends and loses its position among the comity of nations.”  This is how not only Liberals, but the second main opposition, New Democrat Party [NDP] feels. In fact, the NDP goes a step ahead and compares Canada’s foreign policy as close to American satellite states.

Dosanjh asserts, “Policy of President Bush and, American attack on Iraq was doomed to fail from the beginning.  It has miserably failed now. The American President does not know how to get out of the messy situation. His approach is only worsening the situation. Hundreds and thousands of people have been killed and instead of any peace or democracy, Iraqis are suffering unspeakable horrifying conditions with blood and gore all around.  And, at top of it America wants to aggravate their condition by pushing more troops and attacking neighboring Iran.  It would further exacerbate the situation.”

If Canada does not chalk out an independent political course on Middle East and other trouble spots like Afghanistan, it would suffer harm and lose its reputation of a peacemaker. This seems to be a consensus among all the main opposition parties and interestingly together these command majority in Canada’s House of Commons. Invented peacekeeping and always formed its vanguard, Canada fell from its United Nations pedestal in the '90s after bad experiences in Bosnia, Zaire and, most of all, Somalia.

The Harper government has refused to learn from its predecessor's miscalculations. Instead of managing risks by limiting the Kandahar commitment to two years, as the Liberals planned, Conservatives muscled through Parliament a two-year extension without negotiating preconditions necessary either for success of the mission or troop safety. Canada has lost 37 soldiers and one diplomat besides spending four billion dollars.  At top their pleas are consistently overlooked by NATO. Liberals are promising to relocate Canadians troops if they are voted to power. They apparently an not take the political risk to withdraw troops and leave all NATO.

Dosanjh echoed his leader Stephane Dion’s assertion that Canada must urge the United Nations and the international community to play a bigger role and bring back Iraq from the present chaotic situation. “America has not solution. Its war is for oil and not for any peace or democracy. We hope the United Nations new Secretary General Ban Ki-moon picks up courage to involve the international community to save the loss of human beings and stop the destruction of infra structure in that hapless country,” he said.

Canadian political leaders were skeptic over US and UK claims that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction with intended to use them. “We ought to take a more principled stand and mobilize world opinion to bring peace and stability to Iraq and the Middle East. We owe it to the people of Iraq.  Look around and you shall find not many supporting the American attack on Iraq and not even in America itself.  We should lead this public anger and assert our position as a peacekeeper,” Dosanjh asserted.

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