Ghost of a flea

Meet the new boss

Same as the old boss. Paul Martin had yet to take office and could not wait to blame the alleged torture of a man with dual Canadian and Syrian citizenship on... wait for it... the Americans! Martin can "certainly understand" the American position but fixates on American deportation rather than yet another Ba'athist dictatorship torturing its own citizens. Hooray for continuity in government.

And then... One piece of good news is the appointment of the Right Honourable David Pratt to the defence portfolio. Pratt's experience with the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans' Affairs may signal a new seriousness on the part of the Martin government.

Recalling Canada's role as a NATO founder, Pratt pointed out that we were once at the forefront of collective security but that we are moving toward a neo-isolationist position with our recent approach to defence issues. Canadians have seen themselves as valuable contributors to international peacekeeping, and also as being safe in our corner of the globe, but that is no longer the case. "It puts some national myths in some jeopardy," said Pratt. "The planet isn't getting any safer."

Posted by Ghost of a flea at December 12, 2003 09:03 AM