Monday, November 30, 2009

It's not about patriotism, it's about crimes

Questioning the patriotism of those who oppose the Conservative Party of Canada is old hat for PMS. What is new is doing so not in Parliament, where he can be questioned, but on the road thousands of kilometres away, in front of our troops -- in effect, hiding behind the trousers and skirts of our men and women in uniform.

Asking questions is not unpatriotic. It's what democracy is all about. Perhaps Harper has taken one too many tutoring sessions from the GOP's Karl Rove, who has played this game against the Democrats since 1972 when he threw mud at George McGovern, even though the latter was a hero of World War II.
 
Let's be clear: No one has suggested that the allegations of Richard Colvin are absolutely, 100 percent the truth. All that has been said is that they should be investigated. No one has said all troops are guilty of war crimes. Just that it may be possible that war crimes may have happened and that it should be investigated.
 
A special prosecutor is necessary if civilians have been implicated, because of the obvious conflict of interest (since the Minister of Public Security has oversight over the RCMP). JAG is more than capable of handling complaints about people in uniform, but it too must be seen as operating without interference from the executive.
 
If Haper has the guts, he should say what he really thinks in the debating chamber -- not before a captive audience who could face court martial if they openly disagree with what he is insinuating. Make no mistake, STEVE, we are proud of our troops regardless of our political affiliation -- or theirs.

At the rate things are going, next we'll hear that Diane Finley or even Laureen Teskey has been named the new prez of the Canadian Red Cross. Good bye, political neutrality.

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1 comment:

ridenrain said...

It's good enough to beg for money though.