01/08/06, Michael Ignatieff
Post
01/08/06, Michael Ignatieff, Canada can help stop this march to the abyss, (Source).
02/08/06, Letters, (Source).
01/08/06, Michael Ignatieff, Canada can help stop this march to the abyss, (Back).
For weeks now, Canadians have watched as innocent civilians on all sides have been killed in Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
For Lebanese Canadians whose families have been fleeing the violence and for Jewish Canadians whose relatives may be hiding in bunkers, emotions are very raw. None of us can pretend the conflict is happening to someone else, far away. In a real sense, it is happening to Canadians. The conflict is sowing discord among us at a time when we should be standing together.
Canada can play a significant role in reducing the suffering, but first we need to agree together why this terrible conflict is so dangerous.
Hezbollah's strategy is to lure Israel into an escalation of violence that will radicalize the Arab world and cause Israel to lose its remaining international support. The terrible tragedy in Qana, which claimed more than 50 lives, is thus a victory for Hezbollah. But that is not all. Hezbollah then hopes to draw Israel into a wider conflict that would result in its ultimate destruction. In this terrible struggle, Israel cannot win, Hezbollah cannot lose and Lebanon perishes. Israel must not play Hezbollah's game. It must defend itself, but to persist in its military campaign would only give Hezbollah what it wants: continuing carnage in Lebanon and weakening world support for Israel. Canada should be saying to Israel that there are no further military options in Lebanon that do not risk destroying Lebanon and ultimately endangering its own security.
If Israel persists, there is a danger that it will lose control of the situation. Hezbollah cannot be wiped out militarily. They have support among Lebanese Shiites, because they provide social welfare and have the blessing of the mullahs. They also have political power, having won parliamentary seats in free elections. Further military action by Israel may only strengthen Hezbollah's political power in Lebanon.
Hezbollah's backers -- Iran and Syria -- are providing it with advanced military equipment. If Iran flashes a green light, Hezbollah could launch long-range, heavy payload weapons on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel has warned Iran that, if it encourages Hezbollah to escalate, what happened to Beirut will happen to Tehran. But Israel cannot be sure that Tehran will get the message. If anyone miscalculates, the struggle risks turning into a full-scale conflict between states with unforeseeable, yet devastating, consequences.
Who can stop this struggle before it gets out of control? In the 1990s, the Clinton administration managed to keep all parties focused on a peace process leading to a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Such a solution remains the only long-term hope for peace. The Bush administration has done little or nothing to keep the parties focused on peace, and it is bogged down in a grinding insurgency in Iraq. Worse still, the U.S. administration has still not called for an immediate ceasefire.
The Harper government's response has been inadequate. It has failed to address the damage that the conflict is doing to relations between communities in Canada; it has failed to grasp just how serious the situation could become; and it has failed to stake out the positive role that Canada could play in defusing the crisis.
It's time for Canada to do its part in stopping this march to the abyss.
It should call for an immediate ceasefire, authorized by the United Nations Security Council. It should line up with the Europeans and moderate Arab states issuing the same call. Under such a ceasefire deal, Israeli forces would withdraw, aerial bombardment would cease, and Hezbollah would stop rocket attacks and incursions into Israeli territory. Once a ceasefire has taken hold, Canada should propose the deployment of an international naval, air and land force to prevent the movement of missiles and other military technology into Lebanon. These weapons come by land through Syria and by sea through the Mediterranean. Such a force should be deployed at all Lebanese ports and land borders. An additional naval force should patrol Lebanese waters. The force should be authorized by the Security Council to seize any weapons destined for Hezbollah or any non-state actor in the region.
Such a force would not engage in direct confrontation with Hezbollah or with the Israelis, but patrol a buffer zone between them. Canada's commitments in Afghanistan preclude sending ground troops on this mission, but Canada could participate in the naval interdiction effort in the Mediterranean. Canada's navy has already played this role in the Persian Gulf and would be well-equipped to do so again.
The goal here is limited but vital: to create demilitarized zones between combatants and to bar the entry of the advanced weaponry that risks widening the local conflict into a regional conflagration.
Once a ceasefire is in place, and the interdiction force deployed, Canada could form a "friends of Lebanon" club, a group of states to work with the Lebanese government to reconstruct the country's shattered infrastructure. Germany played this role after the Afghanistan war of 2001, and Canada could play the same role in Lebanon.
We are a country of peace-makers, especially because we are also a country of immigrants, many of whom have come to Canada to escape the horrors of conflict. As a nation of immigrants from the zones of war, we have a special vocation for peace, and it is by exercising this vocation that we maintain our unity as a people. We have a voice that other countries listen to. Let us use it.
Michael Ignatieff is the MP for Toronto's Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding and a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.
02/08/06, Letters, (Back).
NATHAN PILA:
Toronto -- In the Middle Ages some people believed in fairies and goblins. Today some believe in the efficacy of the United Nations. Michael Ignatieff's idea is apparently to get the UN to solve the latest Middle East turmoil. According to Mr. Ignatieff's fantasy, Canada and the Security Council should call for an immediate ceasefire. Then, under such a ceasefire deal, Israeli forces would withdraw and Hezbollah rockets would stop. End of the conflict. It's as easy at that!
I find it outrageous that the ivory-tower philosopher feels that the UN, which is the cause of the current troubles, can in any way help provide a solution. If the UN force in southern Lebanon had done its job and kept Hezbollah from putting weapons in the area we would not be in this position in the first place.
AL LANDO:
Toronto -- Michael Ignatieff's article is clearly a paean to appeasement.
On one side, you have a terrorist organization whose members rejoice in public beheadings and suicide bombings, employing these events as photo opportunities. On the other side is a nation that expresses regret over a horrible military blunder and the Lebanese civilian casualties resulting from efforts to stop bombs from raining down on Israeli cities and towns.
Mr. Ignatieff would have us adopt a balanced position between these two forces. To do so in the name of avoiding "discord among us" is nothing more than an attempt to score political points.
Refusing to alienate some members of the Arab community may be expedient and politically effective, but the political cynicism it entails is breathtaking.
ADAM WATSON:
Kingston -- While I wholeheartedly believe that Michael Ignatieff's plan for Lebanon is philosophically sound, I wonder how he plans to make it a reality considering that the proposed military intervention would not directly engage Hezbollah. Is this not the same Hezbollah that has ignored the international community's previous order to vacate Lebanon? I suppose the presence of more observers and useless roadblocks will be sufficient pressure and, failing that, the observers could provide human shields for rocket launchers.
JANET ROSENSTOCK:
Dundalk, Ont. -- Michael Ignatieff's peace plan should be required reading for our Prime Minister, our diplomats and the U.S. government (Canada Can Help Stop This March To The Abyss -- Aug. 1). When they finish reading it, they should act on it. It is reasonable, it is workable and it is necessary.
Mr. Ignatieff is a rare politician, he sees all sides of the issue and has made specific suggestions toward a resolution.
KEN ROSS:
Vancouver -- My hat is off to Michael Ignatieff for his principled and well-stated position on the Middle East. His candid and forthright manner is refreshing: no more treating people like idiots unworthy of an honest assessment. I like his solution, too -- something we could all be proud of. And in his last paragraph he captured the very essence of what it is to be Canadian.
DOUGLAS L. MARTIN:
Hamilton -- I was wondering if Michael Ignatieff's "friends of Lebanon" club membership included a special T-shirt, pledge and, maybe, a plastic card for my wallet?
MARTY CUTLER:
Toronto -- Nice article, Michael. Someone should telephone Hezbollah and read it to Sheik Hassan Nasrallah.
EWA KRAJEWSKA:
Montreal -- Why isn't Michael Ignatieff our prime minister?
AVI MARKUS:
Toronto -- If 77 per cent of Canadians believe that we should remain neutral in the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict (Only 32 Per Cent Back PM On Mideast -- Aug. 1) then I am frightened beyond belief.
Are we so fickle or, worse, so ignorant about the realities of the world around us? Are we saying that our so-called "Canadian values" require that, in the spirit of neutrality, we should align ourselves evenly with Israel and with an organization that Western countries, including Canada, have deemed to be a terrorist organization?
The bombing of the UN post and the apartment building in Qana were both sad and regrettable incidents. But mistakes of war, no matter how awful they may seem, don't define who the bad guys are. Deliberate acts of war do.
Aggressive acts such as crossing international borders, kidnapping and murdering soldiers who are simply defending their own borders, and then sending thousands of rockets into Israeli cities, indiscriminately, are deliberate acts of war that need outright condemnation, and Israel therefore deserves our support, not more Canadian neutrality based on "Canadian values."
GARY D. KEENAN:
Vancouver -- Re Only 32 Per Cent Back PM On Mideast: Never have I been prouder to be a Canadian.
(Back)
02/08/06, Letters, (Source).
01/08/06, Michael Ignatieff, Canada can help stop this march to the abyss, (Back).
For weeks now, Canadians have watched as innocent civilians on all sides have been killed in Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
For Lebanese Canadians whose families have been fleeing the violence and for Jewish Canadians whose relatives may be hiding in bunkers, emotions are very raw. None of us can pretend the conflict is happening to someone else, far away. In a real sense, it is happening to Canadians. The conflict is sowing discord among us at a time when we should be standing together.
Canada can play a significant role in reducing the suffering, but first we need to agree together why this terrible conflict is so dangerous.
Hezbollah's strategy is to lure Israel into an escalation of violence that will radicalize the Arab world and cause Israel to lose its remaining international support. The terrible tragedy in Qana, which claimed more than 50 lives, is thus a victory for Hezbollah. But that is not all. Hezbollah then hopes to draw Israel into a wider conflict that would result in its ultimate destruction. In this terrible struggle, Israel cannot win, Hezbollah cannot lose and Lebanon perishes. Israel must not play Hezbollah's game. It must defend itself, but to persist in its military campaign would only give Hezbollah what it wants: continuing carnage in Lebanon and weakening world support for Israel. Canada should be saying to Israel that there are no further military options in Lebanon that do not risk destroying Lebanon and ultimately endangering its own security.
If Israel persists, there is a danger that it will lose control of the situation. Hezbollah cannot be wiped out militarily. They have support among Lebanese Shiites, because they provide social welfare and have the blessing of the mullahs. They also have political power, having won parliamentary seats in free elections. Further military action by Israel may only strengthen Hezbollah's political power in Lebanon.
Hezbollah's backers -- Iran and Syria -- are providing it with advanced military equipment. If Iran flashes a green light, Hezbollah could launch long-range, heavy payload weapons on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel has warned Iran that, if it encourages Hezbollah to escalate, what happened to Beirut will happen to Tehran. But Israel cannot be sure that Tehran will get the message. If anyone miscalculates, the struggle risks turning into a full-scale conflict between states with unforeseeable, yet devastating, consequences.
Who can stop this struggle before it gets out of control? In the 1990s, the Clinton administration managed to keep all parties focused on a peace process leading to a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Such a solution remains the only long-term hope for peace. The Bush administration has done little or nothing to keep the parties focused on peace, and it is bogged down in a grinding insurgency in Iraq. Worse still, the U.S. administration has still not called for an immediate ceasefire.
The Harper government's response has been inadequate. It has failed to address the damage that the conflict is doing to relations between communities in Canada; it has failed to grasp just how serious the situation could become; and it has failed to stake out the positive role that Canada could play in defusing the crisis.
It's time for Canada to do its part in stopping this march to the abyss.
It should call for an immediate ceasefire, authorized by the United Nations Security Council. It should line up with the Europeans and moderate Arab states issuing the same call. Under such a ceasefire deal, Israeli forces would withdraw, aerial bombardment would cease, and Hezbollah would stop rocket attacks and incursions into Israeli territory. Once a ceasefire has taken hold, Canada should propose the deployment of an international naval, air and land force to prevent the movement of missiles and other military technology into Lebanon. These weapons come by land through Syria and by sea through the Mediterranean. Such a force should be deployed at all Lebanese ports and land borders. An additional naval force should patrol Lebanese waters. The force should be authorized by the Security Council to seize any weapons destined for Hezbollah or any non-state actor in the region.
Such a force would not engage in direct confrontation with Hezbollah or with the Israelis, but patrol a buffer zone between them. Canada's commitments in Afghanistan preclude sending ground troops on this mission, but Canada could participate in the naval interdiction effort in the Mediterranean. Canada's navy has already played this role in the Persian Gulf and would be well-equipped to do so again.
The goal here is limited but vital: to create demilitarized zones between combatants and to bar the entry of the advanced weaponry that risks widening the local conflict into a regional conflagration.
Once a ceasefire is in place, and the interdiction force deployed, Canada could form a "friends of Lebanon" club, a group of states to work with the Lebanese government to reconstruct the country's shattered infrastructure. Germany played this role after the Afghanistan war of 2001, and Canada could play the same role in Lebanon.
We are a country of peace-makers, especially because we are also a country of immigrants, many of whom have come to Canada to escape the horrors of conflict. As a nation of immigrants from the zones of war, we have a special vocation for peace, and it is by exercising this vocation that we maintain our unity as a people. We have a voice that other countries listen to. Let us use it.
Michael Ignatieff is the MP for Toronto's Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding and a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada.
02/08/06, Letters, (Back).
NATHAN PILA:
Toronto -- In the Middle Ages some people believed in fairies and goblins. Today some believe in the efficacy of the United Nations. Michael Ignatieff's idea is apparently to get the UN to solve the latest Middle East turmoil. According to Mr. Ignatieff's fantasy, Canada and the Security Council should call for an immediate ceasefire. Then, under such a ceasefire deal, Israeli forces would withdraw and Hezbollah rockets would stop. End of the conflict. It's as easy at that!
I find it outrageous that the ivory-tower philosopher feels that the UN, which is the cause of the current troubles, can in any way help provide a solution. If the UN force in southern Lebanon had done its job and kept Hezbollah from putting weapons in the area we would not be in this position in the first place.
AL LANDO:
Toronto -- Michael Ignatieff's article is clearly a paean to appeasement.
On one side, you have a terrorist organization whose members rejoice in public beheadings and suicide bombings, employing these events as photo opportunities. On the other side is a nation that expresses regret over a horrible military blunder and the Lebanese civilian casualties resulting from efforts to stop bombs from raining down on Israeli cities and towns.
Mr. Ignatieff would have us adopt a balanced position between these two forces. To do so in the name of avoiding "discord among us" is nothing more than an attempt to score political points.
Refusing to alienate some members of the Arab community may be expedient and politically effective, but the political cynicism it entails is breathtaking.
ADAM WATSON:
Kingston -- While I wholeheartedly believe that Michael Ignatieff's plan for Lebanon is philosophically sound, I wonder how he plans to make it a reality considering that the proposed military intervention would not directly engage Hezbollah. Is this not the same Hezbollah that has ignored the international community's previous order to vacate Lebanon? I suppose the presence of more observers and useless roadblocks will be sufficient pressure and, failing that, the observers could provide human shields for rocket launchers.
JANET ROSENSTOCK:
Dundalk, Ont. -- Michael Ignatieff's peace plan should be required reading for our Prime Minister, our diplomats and the U.S. government (Canada Can Help Stop This March To The Abyss -- Aug. 1). When they finish reading it, they should act on it. It is reasonable, it is workable and it is necessary.
Mr. Ignatieff is a rare politician, he sees all sides of the issue and has made specific suggestions toward a resolution.
KEN ROSS:
Vancouver -- My hat is off to Michael Ignatieff for his principled and well-stated position on the Middle East. His candid and forthright manner is refreshing: no more treating people like idiots unworthy of an honest assessment. I like his solution, too -- something we could all be proud of. And in his last paragraph he captured the very essence of what it is to be Canadian.
DOUGLAS L. MARTIN:
Hamilton -- I was wondering if Michael Ignatieff's "friends of Lebanon" club membership included a special T-shirt, pledge and, maybe, a plastic card for my wallet?
MARTY CUTLER:
Toronto -- Nice article, Michael. Someone should telephone Hezbollah and read it to Sheik Hassan Nasrallah.
EWA KRAJEWSKA:
Montreal -- Why isn't Michael Ignatieff our prime minister?
AVI MARKUS:
Toronto -- If 77 per cent of Canadians believe that we should remain neutral in the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict (Only 32 Per Cent Back PM On Mideast -- Aug. 1) then I am frightened beyond belief.
Are we so fickle or, worse, so ignorant about the realities of the world around us? Are we saying that our so-called "Canadian values" require that, in the spirit of neutrality, we should align ourselves evenly with Israel and with an organization that Western countries, including Canada, have deemed to be a terrorist organization?
The bombing of the UN post and the apartment building in Qana were both sad and regrettable incidents. But mistakes of war, no matter how awful they may seem, don't define who the bad guys are. Deliberate acts of war do.
Aggressive acts such as crossing international borders, kidnapping and murdering soldiers who are simply defending their own borders, and then sending thousands of rockets into Israeli cities, indiscriminately, are deliberate acts of war that need outright condemnation, and Israel therefore deserves our support, not more Canadian neutrality based on "Canadian values."
GARY D. KEENAN:
Vancouver -- Re Only 32 Per Cent Back PM On Mideast: Never have I been prouder to be a Canadian.
(Back)
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