A rebuttal to a local Conservative’s take on Liberal foreign policy
To the Expositor:
I read with interest Brad Middleton’s apparently satirical letter on what he believes Canada’s role in fighting ISIS should be (‘Local Conservative takes Liberal foreign policy to task,’ October 28, page 4). He first laments the lack of a role for Canada’s ground forces in rescuing hostages taken by ISIL. I guess we need more boots on the ground. Does Mr. Middleton realize that Harper’s commitment to the alliance expires in a few months? I’m guessing Obama already knows that.
He then attacks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for offering humanitarian aid in place of the present role of dropping millions of dollars worth of bombs on mostly empty desert. He even suggests that handing out blankets and setting up soup kitchens is something we shouldn’t be doing. I would think that anyone with an ounce of compassion would support sending winter jackets to those in refugee camps in Syria, where it gets mighty cold of a winter’s night, in spite of what some may believe.
Mr. Middleton then claims that our former policy of ‘soft power’ by the Chretien government was ‘wimpy/wussy’, without suggesting an alternative. Apparently he does not find the foreign policies of the incoming government macho enough. “We gonna get them there ISIL guys with our superior military equipment.” Oh, wait; The Harper Regime put a freeze on the purchase of new and replacement military equipment until 2017 in order to fake balance their fake budget. Maybe our boys can hitch a ride with the Kurds.
Now he’s castigating Tehran for lauding the election of a government that replaces one that was a major supporter of Israel. Does Mr. Middleton really find that reaction so far-fetched?
Wake up, Canada. We’re entering a new age of enlightenment in this country, now that internal our enemies have been routed and sanity has returned.
Yours truly,
Barry Epstein
Kagawong
