Foreign policy or posturing?

Norman Spector thinks Canadians--or at least our chattering classes--are more interested in making themselves feel good morally and "intellectually" than in either serving national interests or doing much actually to achieve anything that really helps others. I think he's bang on, as I have often posted (whatever one may think about Afghanistan or global warming):

Judging from his performance at last week's G8 meeting, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is wagering that voters will back a firm foreign policy on the issue of climate change. Maybe he's right but, based on the Afghanistan war experience, it's no sure bet.

In analyzing the high points of the last parliamentary session, even seasoned observers gave the Prime Minister credit for "having reached out to the Liberals to extend the mission." In truth, as General Walter Natynczyk stated immediately after taking over as Chief of the Defence Staff, the Canadian Forces "have a clear mandate to leave Kandahar, to leave Afghanistan, in 2011." Meanwhile, though MPs and some in the media have lost interest, Canadians are continuing to die, and U.S. and British casualties are mounting. As postsurge Iraq increasingly becomes the good war and Afghanistan the bad one, NATO commanders - and presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama - are calling for an increase in troops.

Mr. Harper should be forgiven for thinking Canadians would hang tough: Afghanistan was a Liberal war endorsed by our foreign policy establishment; it satisfied all Jean Chrétien's professed reasons for staying out of Iraq; and the Kandahar mission was Paul Martin's choice. Moreover, polls have consistently shown Canadians want our country to play an active role on the international stage.

To his chagrin, however, Mr. Harper did not fully appreciate that many Canadians cling to the peacekeeping myth, or believe that Canada "punches above its weight" when it talks loud and carries a small stick in places such as Burma or congo. He also did not understand that, for many Canadians, foreign policy is about feeling good about themselves, not about Afghans (including prisoners) or any other people. Anything that involves killing enemies - even "scumbags" - is especially to be eschewed.

On the environment, as on war, Mr. Chrétien understood all this and more. His sellout of our interests at Kyoto had its origins in a crafty understanding of the politics of Canada-U.S. relations. Simply put, his approach was to out-promise the Clinton administration, which, in the end, did not ratify Kyoto, and to slither away from implementation.

As for Afghanistan, a post at The Torch:

What's happening there?

Mark C.

Posted by markc at July 14, 2008 09:43 PM