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Politics : Canadian Political Free-for-All -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: marcos who wrote (2088)	3/22/2003 9:50:45 AM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	Respond to of 37173

Canada has lost sway with U.S., Lord Black says Harsh words for Chirac: Newspaper magnate calls many members of United Nations corrupt Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief National Post Saturday, March 22, 2003 CREDIT: Marc Serota, National Post Conrad Black, proprietor of The Daily Telegraph, in Florida yesterday, gave his opinions about Canada's foreign policy on Iraq. He also said NATO should be revamped. ADVERTISEMENT PALM BEACH, Fla. - Conrad Black, the proprietor of The Daily Telegraph in London and a close political ally of George W. Bush, the U.S. President, yesterday deplored Canada's decision not to join the United States and Britain in a "coalition of the willing" to depose Saddam Hussein. Lord Black said the military action against Saddam's Iraqi regime is a just war that will rid the world of an international outlaw who has sheltered terrorists, bankrolled suicide bomber campaigns against Israel and built weapons of mass destruction that could be used against the West. "Saddam Hussein has been in violation of virtually every clause of the terms ending the Gulf War. He has been in that position for longer than the United States was in both World Wars and the Korean War combined. Added to that, it is a terrorist-supporting country," he said in an exclusive interview that was also aired on Global television. "Nobody in his right mind can say that, 1) it [war] is not justified and; 2) the world would not be better off without Saddam and; 3) the Arab world would not be better with some model other than the rather poor governments that have prevailed in the leading Arab countries for much of the modern era." Lord Black, who renounced his Canadian citizenship after becoming disillusioned with the Liberal government's policies, said he was disappointed Jean Chrétien, the Prime Minister, did not commit Canadian military forces to the war against Iraq. Mr. Chrétien has jettisoned Canada's "splendid alliance history" of standing beside Washington in the fight against tyranny by rejecting a role for Canada in the U.S.-led coalition, he said. "It is a disappointment.... It is unfortunate and Canada should be there. I don't think it is militarily or politically relevant. I don't think the United States needs Canada but I think it is unfortunate for Canada," he said. "It is conveying the impression of being neutral between one of the most odious regimes in the world and a great, benign democracy, and we must bear in mind that 42% of Canada's GDP is trade with the United States. It is more integrated in the American economy than the state of California. "Some Canadians may imagine that this is a dramatic and convincing chapter of Canadian independence but no informed person would take that seriously." He said Mr. Chrétien's action has effectively neutered Canada's ability to have any influence with the Bush White House, although he does not believe the President would seriously punish Canada for sitting out the war. Lord Black denounced the view held by Mr. Chrétien and the leaders of France and Germany that President Bush was not justified in launching the war without the approval of the United Nations Security Council. He described the UN as a body principally composed of corrupt politicians that has the mistaken opinion it functions as a moral counterweight to the power of the United States. "Where did this idea arise that, in response to months of provocation that the United States, in order to deploy its own armed forces that it has sustained and paid for, that it needs the permission of French and Russians?... Where did this absurd notion arise that the United Nations, a gaggle of largely petty despotisms, has conferred upon it some ultimate legitimacy," he said. "The United Nations should be reformed anyway. A huge proportion of the member countries are petty despotisms that have no civil power at all. The idea of one country and one vote in the General Assembly is essentially nonsense. We have seen what a demeaning farce the whole business of Iraq has been in the Security Council." Lord Black had particularly harsh words for Jacques Chirac, the French President, and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, saying their demands to allow UN weapons inspectors more time would have achieved nothing more than a prolonging of Saddam's "lethal shell game" and maintenance of the "myth of France as a world power." The actions of France and Germany have damaged the Western alliance and it may now be the time for the United States to dismantle NATO and create an international security organization to confront global conflicts, he said. "We should dissolve NATO as it is and have a world alliance, preserving the principle that an attack on one is an attack upon all, not defined to the North Atlantic, but to essentially democratic or adequately democratic countries who are prepared to be reliable allies," he said. Lord Black also scoffed at critics who claimed the war would destabilize the Middle East and inflame the so-called Arab street against America. It is much more likely that the removal of Saddam and his replacement by a government that promotes power-sharing and fosters economic growth will have benign effect on the region, he said. "The so-called Arab street and people trying to intimidate us as if it is some sort of Frankenstein monster has been relatively quiet. "The application of force in a just cause generally has a sedative effect and it will now," he said. "The fact is that most of these Arab regimes are corrupt despotisms that oppress their people, steal their money and have distressed them for decades with this red-herring of Israel, and if they are discomforted a bit that is not the end of the world." bfife@nationalpost.com © Copyright 2003 National Post