It’s to be on June 28. I’m really not sure how much interest there is in this among you, my dear blogreaders. The nature of the election means that the implications for the world are rather small.
Still, part of the point of blogging is to provide a daily antidote to hypocrisy, and Canada’s elite is especially adept at that activity (hypocrisy), especially at election time. Indeed, the nastiest of Canada’s politicians have come to power on a platform of being less hypocritical than Canada’s traditional liberal elite — people like Mike Harris of Ontario or Ralph Klein of Alberta say: “I am going to destroy public services, be servile to the US and corporate interests, be openly racist to indigenous and immigrants — and no hypocrite!” Somehow a part of the Canadian electorate likes this. They say: “Well, at least he does what he said.”
Thanks a lot.
Well, no one can accuse Paul Martin, Canada’s current liberal PM who is running for re-election, of doing what he says. Although he is probably less hypocritical and more openly servile than Canada’s previous Prime Minister Chretien, he has earned the wrath of Reuters, who has called him ‘un-American’ for saying he wants to preserve public health care (in case anyone’s wondering, he doesn’t really want to preserve public health care, as his actions as Finance Minister show).
But as I said in a previous blog entry, Martin is several lies behind even the US administration — he’s saying at parties that Saddam had WMD and gave them to terrorists. See the letter and article below for details.
The Rt. Hon. Paul Martin
Prime Minister of Canada
Dear Mr. Martin,
I was stunned to read a news report ascribing to you the view that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and that those weapons had now fallen into the hands of terrorists. I called your office to try to get a transcript since I found it incredible with all the evidence which is now available, that anyone not blinded by ideology or driven by a political need to justify a war of aggression should maintain such a position. It flies in the face of the findings of Hans Blix and of the USA’s own WMD hunters. I am told, however, that the journalist, Stephanie Rubec, whose account I had read, is usually reliable. That is why I am seeking clarification from you on this matter.
Apparently quoting you last week, she wrote:
“The fact is that there is now, we know well, a proliferation of nuclear Weapons, and that many weapons that Saddam Hussein had, we don’t know where they are,” Martin told a crowd of about 700 university researchers and business leaders in Montreal. “That means terrorists have access to all of that.”
If you have been accurately quoted and have independent and reliable evidence that the world lacks – including Mssrs. Rumsfeld, Bush, Wolfowitz, Cheney, and their neo-con loyalists, it would be important to share it, especially since those gentlemen appear to have a less than impressive record for truthfulness about Saddam’s WMDs and are in dire need of evidence to restore a semblance of credibility. If, on the other hand, you are relying on advisors who themselves depend on Cheney, Rumsfeld, and company, your own credibility will have been undermined.
In promoting the ideas of further military action in the Middle East – against Syria and Iran, for example, by the US, Israel, or some new “coalition” — Washington has pushed exactly the story you are alleged to have presented in Montreal. That coincidence should be very worrisome to most Canadians who would not welcome such adventures and most certainly would not welcome Canadian political, let alone military support for them. If indeed you did say what Ms. Rubec reported, can you reassure your fellow Canadians that you are not laying the propaganda basis for Canadian involvement in or support for further “pre-emptive” attacks in violation of the UN Charter and therefore, of international law?
Could you reassure us that your evidence for such claims is solid and not drawn from tainted sources by citing the sources from which it is taken and outlining its character? Or could you reassure us that no significant foreign policy decision depended on your claim by letting us know that you were engaged in speculation which may well have gone beyond the evidence for your claim that terrorists now have access to Saddam’s (non-existent?) WMDs, and that you meant only to stress the importance of vigilance lest such a scenario develop?
Respectfully,
James A. Graff
—————
Terrorists have Iraq’s WMD: PM
Martin’s views run counter to those of French, German leaders
By STEPHANIE RUBEC, Ottawa Bureau
Prime Minister Paul Martin says he believes Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and they’ve fallen into the hands of terrorists. Martin said the threat of terrorism is even greater now than it was following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against the U.S. because terrorists have acquired nuclear, chemical and biological weapons from the toppled Iraqi leader.
“The fact is that there is now, we know well, a proliferation of nuclear weapons, and that many weapons that Saddam Hussein had, we don’t know where they are,” Martin told a crowd of about 700 university researchers and business leaders in Montreal.
“That means terrorists have access to all of that.”
The PM’s comments run counter to leaders in countries such as France and Germany who have accused the U.S. and Britain of fudging evidence of WMDs in Iraq to justify the war.
When asked to assess the threat level since Hussein was captured by U.S. troops, Martin said he believes it has increased.
“I believe that terrorism will be, for our generation, what the Cold War was to generations that preceded us,” the PM said. “I don’t think we’re out of it yet.”
Martin disagreed with former Prime Minister Jean Chretien who publicly blamed poverty for terrorism and the Sept. 11 attacks.
“The cause of terrorism is not poverty, it is hatred,” Martin said, adding he’ll lead the charge to convince countries to work together to combat terrorism and make sure the Third World has the tools to stamp it out.
Martin said he’s lobbying the international community to set up an informal organization comprised of a maximum of 20 heads of state to tackle world issues such as terrorism.
Martin said he got the nod from U.S. President George W. Bush during his visit to Washington D.C. last month, and will take his idea to the European Union and Latin America next.
Martin also announced a $100-million contribution to treat millions of people who have AIDS.
The money will be given to a new initiative of the World Health Organization to treat three million people with AIDS by the end of 2005.
The contribution of new money has made Canada the largest donor to the program so far.