Michael Den Tandt: Harper is at his finest in standing up to Moscow
Michael Den Tandt | March 25, 2014 3:15 PM ET
Prime Minister Stephen Harper lays a bouquet of flowers at a makeshift memorial on Hrushevsky Street in Kiev, Ukraine.
Stephen Harper has drawn few accolades and many brickbats for his government’s performance over the past 18 months, and rightly so. But on the Ukraine file, since Russia’s illegal, duplicitous and reckless invasion of Crimea, the Prime Minister has been at his best. Both he and Foreign Minister John Baird deserve credit for the clear, principled and authoritative position they have taken, up to and including championing Russia’s indefinite suspension from the G8, now again the G7.
Some will say all Harper’s moves thus far have been obvious: What else could he have said? What else could he have done? But that would be neither fair, nor true.
Let’s consider, first, the arguments for cynicism. There are four, principally.
The first is that Canada is a paper tiger. With not a single aircraft carrier, broken submarines, fighter jets held together with baler twine, Ottawa brings no hard power to this contest. Much like Harper’s promise two months ago to stand with Israel through “fire and water,” the hymns of loyalty to Ukraine are hollow, if not backed up by a willingness or ability to send guns, planes and tanks.
Second argument: This crisis is the fault of NATO countries, led by the United States and tacitly endorsed by Canada, for daring to entertain that Ukraine might move gradually into the European sphere, and that Ukrainians might one day enjoy some of the same benefits we enjoy as citizens of a Western democracy. Had the West not “pushed east,” goes this line of thinking, Russia would not be pushing back.
Third, apologists for Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea note the region was part of Russia before 1956, when it was made part of Ukraine within the larger Soviet empire, by Nikita Khrushchev. Therefore Crimea’s status within Ukraine was a historical accident and oddity of the past half century, not a true fact on the ground. And as a result its detachment therefrom is not such a big deal, really.
Fourth, relatedly, comes the argument that a clear majority of Crimean people are ethnic Russians, who speak Russian, and want to be Russian, if forced to choose one way or the other. Whatever one may think about the Potemkin referendum of March 16, few would disagree with that statement. Who are Stephen Harper and John Baird to tell Crimeans which flag they should want to salute?
It’s all good fodder for chatter. None of it holds any water.
On the military question, it’s fair to say that Canada will need to build much more aggressively and quickly in the Arctic, than it has since Harper became PM, if Russian expansionism becomes the new geopolitical reality. But the engagement in Ukraine is not military, on the part of the Western powers. Because of history and geography and proximity, no one can credibly argue that NATO should go to war to push Putin out of Ukraine, any more than going to war with the Soviets in the 1980s would have been a good idea. The playing field here is moral and economic. And on that field Canada has a role to play. Doing so forcefully will come at unknown cost to Canadian businesses operating in Russia. But Harper has said, essentially, that global peace and security trump commerce. He’s right.
It’s all NATO’s fault for “extending its sphere of influence” eastward? Ah. But where are the guns? Where’s the coercion? In other words, the shift in Ukraine towards Europe has to all appearances been internally driven; a democratic movement, made concrete in the most visceral fashion by a spontaneous street revolution against a corrupt Russian-backed regime. While we’re on that subject; the Russian ruling clique itself is corrupt, is it not? How else can one describe Putin’s perpetual status as Russia’s pre-eminent leader, whatever official bonnet he happens to be wearing at the time? If we’re pointing fingers, therefore, why not say it’s Putin’s fault for providing Russians with such abysmal leadership that Ukrainians were driven to look westward?
Arguments three and four, those of Crimean Russian identity and legitimate nationalist aspirations, are trumped by this simple fact; Putin used guns. A political drive for greater Crimean autonomy within Ukraine, eventually a referendum on separation, sanctioned by independent observers, would have been within international norms. Instead Putin moved thousands of armed men, under false flag – for they were never acknowledged to be Russian military – into another sovereign state, and held its soldiers and officials at gunpoint until they surrendered. Ukrainian outposts that did not surrender were stormed. It is nothing more and nothing less than a mugging and theft, on an international scale, and perpetrated by a Great Power.
As the second-longest-serving head of government in the G7 (after German’s Angela Merkel), Harper knows the players. He has earned his international bully pulpit. It is to his credit, and to Canada’s, that he has used it to lay down clear markers about what is acceptable, and what not, among civilized people.
Twitter.com/mdentandt
Commentary by the Ottawa Mens Centre
Stephen Harper has serious problems of corruption to deal with in the
Canadian Justice system and should be fixing those up before preaching
to other countries.
I would ask that Russia issue visa
bans to the following public officials who are blatantly criminally
corrupt and the Attorney General of Ontario has failed to act. The
Attorney General of Canada, Peter McKay has yet to show any interest.
1.
Vikii Bair is an Ottawa Prosecutor with perhaps the worst record in
Canada for abusing the process of courts, knowingly prosecuting the
innocent and NOT prosecuting her friends and associates who refuses to
prosecute or drops charges against her friends. Recently Vikii Bair
stayed charges against one of Ottawa's most notorious lawyers with 30
years of experience for perjury in swearing and filing an affidavit of
service when he had not served the documents. Every man and his dog in
the Ottawa legal community knows he habitually swears and files perjured
affidavits of service but the Ottawa Police and the entire Ottawa Legal
community do absolutely nothing..
2. Marguerite Isobel Lewis
is going to be of some interest to Russian Authorities. She is a lawyer
for the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa and personally fabricates
evidence to keep children unnecessarily incarcerated in their system
which earns them around $266,000 per child year. The FSB, the Russian
Federal Security Service should note that she has committed child abuse
crimes against Russian children.
3. Tracy Engleking is the "lead"
lawyer at the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa. She has illegally and
improperly obtained orders without a hearing, and committed the crime in
Canada of "Obstructing Justice". The FSB , the Russian Federal
Security Service should note that Tracy Engleking's crime was to abuse
Russian children.
4. Phillip Hiltz-Laforge is a Child Protection
Worker for the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa who has committed
criminal offenses of fabricating evidence and obstructed justice
involving Russian Children.
5. Ottawa Police Detective Peter Van
Der Zander has committed criminal offenses of Fabricating Evidence and
Obstructing Justice to abuse Russian Children.
The above
criminals are protected by corrupt Ottawa Prosecutors and corrupt Police
from any criminal charges. These are very serious offenses of what the
American Justice system calls "Crimes of Moral Turpitude" and as such
these unconvicted criminals should not be permitted to enter any
foreign country.
Full details and copies of certified documents
will be provided upon request to any foreign Police or security service.
Email Info@OttawaMensCentre.com or telephone (613) 797-3237
RUSSIAN TRANSLATION
Russian Translation of previous Post
Премьер-министр Канады Стивен Харпер имеет серьезные проблемы
коррупции , чтобы иметь дело с в системе юстиции Канады и должны быть
крепежные тех, перед проповедью
в другие страны.
Я хотел бы спросить , что Россия вопросом путешествия или Visa запрещает к следующим государственных должностных лиц , которые откровенно преступным коррумпированной и генеральный прокурор Онтарио не в состоянии действовать . Генеральный прокурор Канады Питер Маккей еще не проявляет никакого интереса .
1 .
Vikii Баир является Оттава прокурор с, пожалуй, худший результат в
Канада за злоупотребление процесс судов , сознательно преследования
невинным и НЕ преследования своих друзей и единомышленников , который
отказывается судебное преследование или падает обвинения против ее
друзей .
Недавно Vikii Баир остались обвинения против одного из самых печально
известных юристов Оттавы с 30 лет опыта за дачу ложных показаний в
ругань и подачи под присягой служба , когда он не служил документы .
Каждый человек и его собака в правовое сообщество Оттава знает, что он
обычно ругается и файлы ложные показания письменные показания
обслуживание, но Оттава Полиция и вся Оттава Юридическая
сообщество абсолютно ничего не делать ..
2 . Маргарита Изобель Льюис будет представлять некоторый интерес для
российских властей . Она является адвокатом для Детской Общества помощи
Оттавы и лично изготавливает доказательств , чтобы их дети излишне в
заключении в их системе которая зарабатывает их по $ 266 000 на одного
ребенка год. ФСБ, Русский Федеральная служба безопасности следует
отметить, что она совершила жестокое обращение с детьми
преступления против российских детей .
3 . Трейси Engleking является " ведущим " Адвокат в Детской Общества помощи Оттавы. У нее есть незаконно и неправильно получены заказы без проведения слушания , и совершил преступление в Канада из " воспрепятствование осуществлению правосудия " .
ФСБ, России Федеральная Служба безопасности следует отметить, что преступление Трейси Engleking был злоупотреблять Русские дети .
Полная информация и копии документов, заверенных
будет предоставляться по запросу любому иностранному полиции или службы
безопасности.
E-mail Info@OttawaMensCentre.com или по телефону (613) 797-3237