He's always been a nerdly chickenhawk. Posing as a Great Warrior Leader, inflating and deflating like a blimp, depending on the prevailing political winds.
He's never seen a war he didn't like, from the one in 1812 to the one in Libya, and now Stephen Harper is frantically flapping his stubby wings again, trying to pump up a war against Iran.
Which is particularly alarming, since tensions in the region are escalating, and the more political leaders talk about war the more likely it becomes.
The really frightening thing about the situation is not so much the military preparations but that so many are ready to discuss war as if it was a perfectly rational, and indeed likely, possibility.
Even though Iran can't cut off the flow of oil, not only because it depends on it to survive.
Blocking the straits would result in a total shutdown of Iran’s exports and imports; with 60 percent of Iran’s economy coming from oil exports, it would bring the government to a standstill.
But also because it can't.
Even though Iran has plenty of reasons to feel threatened.
And all this crazy war talk could play into the hands of that country's fascist theocracy, even as it teeters on the verge of collapse.
At the moment the regime's deep internal contradictions could be leading towards a revolutionary climax, the US and its allies are giving Khamenei a possible way out by allowing him to externalise the problem and claim that the Iranian nation is under attack from hostile foreign forces, rather than definitively changing from within.
Which not only would be an act of monumental idiocy, but could trigger a war that would set the Middle East on fire, lead to another wave of global terrorism, turn western countries into police states, and plunge us all into a brutal recession.
But of course, don't expect Stephen Harper to be concerned about any of the above eh? Or expect him to act responsibly, at a time when overheated rhetoric is the last thing we need.
Because he's just a tool of Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing settler regime. Benny and his gang want an excuse to attack Iran's nuclear installations. And Great Warrior Leader would do ANYTHING to please them.
And what more can you say eh? Except Stephen Harper is a dangerous leader.
Canada, and the world, won't be safe until he is defeated.
And of course, as always.
Oh oh oh it's a lovely war...
While I understand Harper's passion and fondness for history which includes - whether you or any one else likes so or not - the 1812 war, that is probably the only thing I can declare to be on common ground with this man.
ReplyDeleteI fail to see any tangible, logical, or rational motive for getting involved in any American/Israeli military confrontation with Iran - it is utterly counterproductive and will only serve to fan,as opposed to extinguish, support for a theocratic regime that will likely collapse at the hands of its own oppressed citizens if it is either contained or isolated by the international community.
Obama has said, he is cutting back on the U.S. military. He said, Canada must take up the slack. So, Canada has to fight the wars, the U.S. starts. Such as WMD in Iraq, where there were none.
ReplyDeleteHarper also said, the war vets will get no pensions. If they are maimed for life, they get a buy out and that's it.
The WW11 veterans were livid with Harper, for doing such an evil to our young military today. The WW11 vets are realizing, Harper was not worth, our young Canadian boys dying for. They said they went to war, so we wouldn't have a fascist dictator such as Harper running this country. They all died for nothing.
What good did the war with Afghanistan do? They are right back to murdering each other and tribe against tribe. Muslim against Muslim. The violence is just as bad, and getting worse.
Harper is the worst P.M. in the recorded history of Canada. Many Canadians say, Harper did not win his election majority on the up and up. He had a convicted American felon working for him. Among a lot of other things.
Canada's role as a peacekeeping country, is the best role for Canada.
Afghanistan was in the throes of a civil war and our interference only made it bloodier. Iraq was a functioning society with possibly less poverty than we are seeing among our own citizens in North America. Ditto Iran.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of oppressed people, I certainly don't think of Iran or Iraq. I think of North Korea, Somalia, Rawanda, Congo, Sudan, etc. I think of places where people are truly f*cked and have no food, jobs or hope for a future.
Yes, there are countries where freedom is curtailed and political opposition is severely contained. But that includes us when you think of how G20 protesters were treated or how draconian the omnibus crime bill is or how we hold suspected terrorists without access to adequate defense. Pot to kettle arguments are ridiculous.
Right now, the majority of Iranians are living quite normal lives much like ourselves. Who are we to swoop in and destroy that just for greedy and imperious reasons? What we (as in the western powers) did in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya is criminal. All those lives lost with countries left in ruins. But hey, those lucrative rebuilding contracts and non-binding control over resources always works out well for the victors.
hi did101...well I'm not sure that Harper has a passion for history, or whether he is just using this alleged passion for cheap political purposes. Like his much ballyhooed love of hockey.
ReplyDeleteBut I completely agree with you that there is no rational motive for getting involved in a military confrontation with Iran. The world has so many other problems, I fear another senseless war would just push us over the brink...
hi anonymous...we are in no position to fight any wars. Our army is too small, and the years in Afghanistan have worn it down, and degraded its equipment. So I see Harper's absurd militarism as nothing more than posturing, trying to whip up Canadians into thinking that war is like a hockey game. And we're numbah ONE !!!!!
ReplyDeletePathetic. I would like to see a military that concentrates on guarding our sovereignty, and takes part in peacekeeping missions like we used to do before these ridiculous chickenhawks started attacking our traditions. We are a nation built on compromise not war, and it's time we were proud of that...
hi Beijing...I am opposed to all foreign wars. Period. There are times when you have to fight, like we did during the Second World War, to save the world from a fascist tyrant.
ReplyDeleteBut all these little wars Canada the U.S. and NATO keep getting into, are worth nothing at all, based on greed and a desire for power, and only make things worse.
And of course, a war with Iran would be the worst one of all, and an act of absolute madness...