Monday, May 16, 2011

Jean Chretien Was Against The War In Iraq

Until he secretly committed Canadian forces to it. I guess I had better take down his quote from my banner.
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13 comments:

  1. ..and change your handle to Mr. Sinister Jr.

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  2. Well, it's fun seeing it in print, but we knew it was true.

    I mean, Canadian officers on exchange with American forces fought in the war. Had Canada truly been a neutral, those personnel would have been withdrawn.

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  3. This even goes beyond that.

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  4. Chretien, is indeed sinister. I will give you that.

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  5. Chretien was a scoundrel. We always knew that. And voted for him anyway.

    (Well, I would have in 2000; didn't feel like getting an overseas ballot.)

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  6. I never voted for him. His cancellation of the EH-101 helicopter program may have been popular elsewhere, but here in the Maritimes search and rescue is a pretty important social program. I only began voting Liberal in 2004 to stave off the HarperCon scourge. That tactical voting ended May 2.

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  7. So Chretien lied to the Canadian people - I am so totally disgusted - it was a defining moment in Canadian sovereignty which in fact the Liberals were doing the exact opposite - never will trust a word out of their mouths again.

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  8. It is obvious that you would tell your diplomats to whisper sweet nothings in the US ears. Our ships were already there as part of the blockade prior to the invasion. We were not part of the willing whatever it was. And I don't remember hearing us claim neutrality. I mean the two leading countries were our largest trading partner and the UK home of our Queen and all.

    This is not a big shock. I actually think the old dinosaur handled it pretty well.

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  9. Except for the lying to the Canadian people part.

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  10. Both Chretien and George Bush must have had a good laugh together over this one.

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  11. Greg -- did you ever read Mark Steyn's review of Chretien's autobiography?

    This line stands out, in this context: "Up north, M. Chrétien ran the numbers and concluded Canadians were willing to be maybe a 23 per cent ally, and that's how he played it."

    Vis a vis the Iraq War, and the wider War on Terror, that's almost exactly correct.

    Canada's role is not neutral -- it's that of a somewhat disgruntled ally that makes sure that its discomfort is known.

    If that's no longer satisfactory -- i.e., if people would prefer the honesty of being a real ally or a real neutral -- well, that's why you see former Liberal voters fleeing both left and right.

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