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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Could Canada have prevented the recent North Korea debacle?
The reaction to the deal the Bush Administration made with Kim Jong-il continues to grow (and it is still all negative). I have commented before in this space about the possibility of this nonsense being avoided had Mr. Harper had a role in the nuclear talks (Canada is the only northern Pacific nation that was not part of the six-party talks).
Now, this deal basically sand-bagged the Japanese, but for years, Japan was the only nation other than the U.S. that was willing to show any backbone (now, they're the only one). I wonder if, perhaps, Canadian participation would have kept Bush's State Department from being worn down by Beijing, Pyongyang, Moscow, and (until recently) Seoul.
In reality, though, that question was made moot by the election of 2000. Once Jean Chretien won his third term, it was pretty clear Canada and the United States wouldn't be cooperating on much. By the time Chretien left the scene, the six-party format was already in place (and neither North Korea nor Communist China would have been happy adding another U.S. ally - especially after Harper replaced Paul Martin). Had Canada elected the Canadian Alliance, however (remember them?), Bush probably would have felt a lot better about having them at the table - and he would likely be hearing two voices telling him to hang tough, rather than just one.
While there are certainly a bunch of other factors involved (including weakness in the American State Department especially), one has to ask: Could this debacle have been prevented by Prime Minister Stockwell Day?
Posted by D.J. McGuire on April 29, 2008 in International Affairs | Permalink
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Uh no. Face it, despite the claims of the Trudeauists and Chretien worshipers, Canada does not matter on the world stage, nor has it ever. Pierre the Terrible (May God curse his name for his crimes) told his sheep that Canada was respected because some Developing World dictators told him so, in order to manipulate him. It worked rather too well - now it is called a 'tradition'. Chretien, the most corrupt politician in Canadian history, followed the same line. If only they did not have these lame sheep obeying their every move simply because they allegedly act against the US.
In this case, Canada's input would have changed nothing. Of Russia, North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan and the US, only the US could be sincere with naive little Canada. They could not have guided the US at all. North Korea continues to be a problem for all because of its dictator, Kim Jong Il. Once he and his ruling clique are gone and North Korea is integrated with the South, then and only then will the problem be solved.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2008-04-29 8:25:40 AM
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