The Path To Isolation

Hamas won the election in Palestine? We want democracy, but not if it means that a government we, or the hawks in the Bush White House, do not agree with might win. Therefore Hamas cannot be a legitimate political force. The Harper government cut them off. So what if they won the election? So what if our actions heighten tensions and make the situation worse? It’s the Republican thing to do.

The situation in Afghanistan is spinning out of control? No problem, we’ll send Canadian soldiers to die trying to whip the extremists, drug lords, and insurgents into doing things our way. Just to make sure that any dissent, within Canada or without, is minimized, we’ll label anybody who dares to oppose us as “terrorists”. It doesn’t matter that tactic has failed throughout history or that we’re losing the support of the Afghan population or that most Canadians do not support the war. We’ll tell those Afghans how things are going to be and if they don’t like it, tough. We have guns and if that isn’t enough, we’ll call in an American air strike. When the situation deteriorates, we’ll claim that just proves that we need to kill a few more Afghan people.

Israel is committing what, if one is to pay attention to international law, are war crimes and crimes against humanity. Stephen Harper claims that Israel bombing Lebanese civilians and civilian infrastructure is a “measured response” because Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation and provoked Israel by kidnapping Israeli soldiers.

The fact is that this conflict stretches back decades and who provoked who depends where the historical line is drawn. Both sides have a long history of ignoring international law. Canadians have been killed and others placed in peril. Israel is not above the law. Stephen Harper, in his rush to please George Bush, is ignoring that the law must be applied equally if it is to be applied at all. The Bush doctrine of might making right does not work, and Harper’s endorsement of that failed doctrine will not make it more effective.

It isn’t just our foreign policy where Stephen Harper’s propensity for ingratiating himself to the Bush White House is apparent. The softwood lumber debacle, the attack on the Canadian Wheat Board, the rhetoric against same-sex marriage, the talk of activist judges, attempts to destroy the Kyoto Protocol and a dozen other issues illustrate this Prime Minister’s preference for adopting current Republican policy instead of forming his own. Harper’s catch-all explanation for his position on such issues is that he’s acting in the interests of Canada.

Harper never explains what those interests are, why he thinks his actions or lack of independent policy are in our interests, or even what he considers his version of Canada to be. Harper has been careful not to express his opinion on these things since his last run for Prime Minister. Instead he offers platitudes and slogans borrowed from his neo-conservative mentors in the United States and denies the harm he is doing to this country. The mainstream press sweeps Harper’s past statements under the carpet and does not push him for explanations.

It is the area of foreign policy where Harper is doing the most harm to Canada. By tying us to the unilateral and unpopular policies of the Bush White House while parroting the rhetoric of what is perhaps the most corrupt and incompetent government the United States has endured since the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, Stephen Harper...or Steve, as his friend George likes to call him...is isolating Canada from the rest of the world.

Any influence we may have still wielded due to our past reputation as a middle power capable of punching above its weight is being more quickly eroded under Harper than under past governments. The international community long ago lost patience with, and respect for, the unilateral sabre-rattling of George Bush. That same international community will certainly not tolerate such ill-considered bellicosity from a Canadian prime minister with a minority government, a cabinet completely inexperienced in foreign affairs, and a reputation for considering only the wishes of the Bush administration.

That erosion will accelerate further if, as seems probable at this point, the Republicans lose one or both houses to the Democrats in the mid-term US elections this fall. While Democratic and Republican foreign policy are almost identical, especially when it comes to issues involving Israel, the Democrats at least try to couch their actions in diplomatic language.

Should the Harper government survive until after the next presidential election in the United States, Harper will have left Canada even more isolated. It is highly unlikely that the next president, Democrat or Republican, will want to be associated with the failed policies of George Bush. The big name neo-conservatives, many of whom cut their teeth during Gerald Ford’s freakish time in office, are getting a little long in the tooth and will be retiring to the board positions they’ve bought and paid for with their influence in the Bush White House.

Whoever replaces them is unlikely to have much patience with George Bush’s best friend from Calgary. At best, Harper will be ignored. At worst, Harper’s policies and past words will be a reminder of the mess that George Bush has made and Harper will be made into a whipping boy to accentuate the differences, real or imagined, between the new president and George Bush.

The real danger is not our reputation in the US, however. They need us as badly as we need them and, while there may be some votes in Canada-bashing, trade and the disingenuous statements about what good friends we are will continue.

The real danger is to our reputation outside of the United States. Canada’s future does not lay in tying itself more closely to the United States. We have already placed far too many eggs in that particular basket. If we become known as the nation that simply backs the United States or, worse yet, one of the few remaining nations that adheres to the failed policies of George Bush, it will have a negative influence when it comes to our relations with other countries.

That will carry over into trade talks, our influence in international forums, our ability to act as a broker in even minor international disputes, and our ability to operate as an independent state. If Harper’s belligerent rhetoric and short-sighted policies are allowed to alienate us from the international community, we will be alone when the political guard changes in the US. That sort of damage will take years to repair and will have long-ranging implications for virtually every aspect of life in Canada.

There is an old maxim that people do not consider foreign policy during elections. That maxim is true to an extent, part of the human habit of voting for personal short-term interests, but in a world where foreign policy is intertwined with domestic policy and the economic health of the nation, it is time to change that maxim.

Our former reputation as an honest broker who dealt fairly with other nations through multilateral organisations is now on the line. That is in the interest of no Canadian. It is a doctrine based in neo-conservative mythology and the attitude, so clear in so many of Harper’s past statements, that Canada is a third-rate nation incapable of making a difference in the world.

We deserve a leader who thinks more highly of Canada than that.