Just gotta respond, Marcos! I was born and raised in Canada and was taught all about how great the concept of the United Nations was, how important it was to support them etc. In grade school we used to recognize "United Nations Day". I have read of polls stating that the majority of Canadians did not want to support the use of armed force in Iraq without unequivocal UN sanction. And yet, when Mikhail Gorbachev sent his black berets to fire upon peaceful demonstrators in Vilnius, Lithuania I wrote to Stephen Lewis the Canadian representative to the UN. Answer "while it was an unfortunate incident, Canadian government policy is to support Gorbachev, not to antagonize him" . And nobody did anything! When the Serbs ringed the hills around the beautiful city of Sarajevo with their tanks and artillery and rained down their shells and sniper bullets on innocent civilians, I wrote to the Canadian Minister of External Affairs, Lloyd Axworthy and got a computer generated reply about Canada's role in the United Nations. And nobody did anything for years!
When France sent their troops to invade the Cote D'Avoire a couple of months ago, I did not hear anything about Canada or the UN complaining.
I listened while France and Russia and China said they would use their veto to stop the UN from issuing the 18th resolution on Iraqi disarmament. I did not understand how they could reconcile their position with their unanimous support of Res. 1441. Afterwards, I read that these same 3 countries accounted for 83% of the arms shipments to Iraq in 2002 in direct violation of UN sanctions! Now I understand!
And where was the UN in Rwanda? Why did Canada send troops to Afghanistan and to Kosovo without UN sanction?
Now I look at TV and see and hear items on Iraqi torture and execution, of people who do not want to fight, of women who wave white flags, and of POWs. I contrast that with the pictures of American and British troops carrying wounded Iraqi soldiers to safety, of military doctors giving aid to these wounded, and of troops protecting Iraqi civilians from Iraqi troops and terrorists!
This may sound naive to many, but I have a hard time worrying about a world dominated by the United States when they and the other members of the "faux coalition" are the only ones noble enough to risk the lives of their citizens, and spend their countries' treasure, to liberate the Iraqi citizens and save them from Saddam, that most sadistic of humans. And I realize that there are some who will chuckle at my naive use of the term "liberate". To them I point out that some of the world's most recently liberated, the Bulgarians, the Rumanians, the Hungarians, the Czechs, the Poles, the Latvians, the Estonians and the Lithuaniaans are so strong in their support of the US. I note that the Poles, Estonians and Lithuanians have promised to send troops to support the effort. I do not consider them naive, only thankful to have been liberated.
Recently, I received a pm from a gentleman who called himself "just Joe average American". I do not wish to be dominated by anyone! But if it has to happen, I would choose to be dominated by "just Joe average American" over all others! |
