Crossposted at The Next Agenda.
So why exactly would Condi Rice spend the 5th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks in Halifax instead of New York or Washington? I don't really know the quality of Haligonian cobblers but
wasn't Dubya himself in Halifax just last year? And offering the very same 'thank you' that the Secretary of State did yesterday? Halifax gave him a warm welcome, at least those who waved with all five fingers.
I think this was really all for Stephen Harper's benefit.
While we were chuckling at the starchy double goodness of Rice (Condi) and Potato (Peter Mackay) ordering double-doubles at Tim's, Harper was setting up for the rear end of the dog and pony show.
More after the intermission.
Not only did
Steve-o have 10, yes 10, Canadian flags behind the podium (Steve, if you were trying to represent all the provinces and territories you were three short), he also employed the
symbolism of surrounding himself with relatives of Canadian 9/11 victims and relatives of Canadian troop casualties (all very carefully vetted and selected no doubt).
Stephen Harper surrounded himself yesterday with relatives of the victims of the 9/11 terrorism attacks while delivering an emotional appeal aimed at reminding Canadians why their army is fighting in an increasingly controversial war in Afghanistan.
Flanked also by family members of soldiers involved in the Afghan mission, the Prime Minister marked the fifth anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the United States with a rare speech on supper-hour newscasts.
I think all of that is fairly unprecendented for a PM's address. It isn't done by Canadian PMs because it appears too American. That doesn't bother 'Steve'. (Note however that the article refers to 'trying to sell'). Our media, at least our non-CanWest Global/National Post media, isn't buying it. As that second Globe and Mail article continues.
Mr. Harper has regularly tried to sell Canada's presence in Afghanistan by referring to the 9/11 attacks and the need to prevent other potential terrorist attacks. He has also said that Canada will not "cut and run" when it comes to the mission.
There are those, however, who say the strategy is flawed because it sounds too much like the more militaristic approach of Mr. Bush and fails to focus on reconstruction efforts.
One political scientist said last night that Mr. Harper needed to bolster support for the mission and did so by emphasizing the human side.
"It's been a long time since I've seen that kind of an array of people behind a politician," said Peter Woolstencroft of the University of Waterloo.
"There was a clear attempt to put a human touch on this." The victims' families had earlier been in New York at ground zero and were flown back to Canada by government aircraft.
Prof. Woolstencroft also noted a lack of direct references to the United States in the speech.
Thomas Walkom of the The Star (he also writes regularly for rabble.ca) wasn't impressed and lets us know.
But as a piece of theatre, Harper's televised address lacked for nothing. With him in front of the cameras were four people who had lost relatives in the 2001 terror attacks on New York. In the audience were four family members of Canadian soldiers now serving in Afghanistan.
In effect, their presence was designed to visually underline the Prime Minister's message: A clear line runs from the twin towers of 9/11 to the fighting in southern Afghanistan today; to question the Afghan mission is to dishonour those so brutally killed five years ago.
and
Prime Minister Stephen Harper drew on the symbolism of 9/11 yesterday evening to explain and justify his government's decision to keep troops fighting and dying in Kandahar.
In the end, the 10-minute address did not answer the real arguments posed by the war's critics. We still do not know how long the Canadian government and its NATO allies plan to keep fighting in Afghanistan, what they will view as success or even -- in very practical terms -- what they are trying to accomplish.
We do not know why Canada's government has chosen to put its troops into the midst of the heaviest fighting while countries such as France and Germany, all of whom are also apparently meeting their NATO obligations, are stationed in safer parts of Afghanistan.
We do not know how battling the Taliban in Afghanistan harms Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization, which apparently is safe in Pakistan. Nor do we know what attacks on Afghan villages have to do with stopping the homegrown terrorists who bombed Madrid's train system and London's subway.
These are all questions of content that the Prime Minister's speech did not attempt to answer.
Here's a little background to 9/11 and Canada-US relations.
The September 20, 2001 Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American Peoplewhere Bush says
Nor will we forget the citizens of 80 other nations who died with our own: dozens of Pakistanis; more than 130 Israelis; more than 250 citizens of India; men and women from El Salvador, Iran, Mexico and Japan; and hundreds of British citizens. America has no truer friend than Great Britain. (Applause.) Once again, we are joined together in a great cause -- so honored the British Prime Minister has crossed an ocean to show his unity of purpose with America. Thank you for coming, friend. (Applause.)
Any mention of the country that took in 45,000 passengers from 200 intercontinenatal flights diverted away from the USA nine days earlier? Not knowing if any of those 200 planes might be used as a terrorist weapons.
Nope, nada.
While Dubya couln't find a cell phone that worked on 9/11, the Canadian PM managed to give the order to shoot down a Korean jetliner that day, if it was necessary. But given Chretien's remarks on September 11, 2002 it's no surprise Dubya wouldn't visit nor would he send any high ranking cabinet members.
The perceived greed of the Western world, including the United States, is one of the underlying causes of the horrific terrorist attacks of a year ago, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien says.
In an interview with CBC-TV, which aired last night, Chrétien said the unchecked greed of the West made it lose sight of the consequences of its actions 20 or 30 years into the future.
"I do think the Western world is getting too rich in relation to the poor world,'' Chrétien said.
"We're looked upon as being arrogant, self-satisfied, greedy and with no limits.
"The 11th of September is an occasion for me to realize it even more.''
Power cannot be exercised to the point that it humiliates others, the Prime Minister said in the documentary, in which he also revealed he authorized a Korean passenger jet to be blown out of Canadian skies if it appeared bent on heading for Vancouver or Toronto the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001
Also, those fears that I and other Canadians had about air traffic being diverted to Canada? There's another forgetten bit of info at the end of that Common Dreams link.
Transport Minister David Collenette also revealed that in deciding to divert all Canadian air traffic to the east coast, he was concerned about keeping jets away from Toronto and Montreal because Ottawa had reports that as many as 12 hijacked jets could still be in the air. For a time, one of the potential hijacks was believed headed for Hamilton.
Collenette said he assumed other attacks were still planned and that the planes would not go back to New York, making a Canadian attack a possibility.
"I remember thinking a plane could be coming here,'' Collenette said.
Thanks, but no thanks, Condi. And George. And Steve.