Foreign Policy Takes Centre Stage

Nary a word was uttered about Libya or Afghanistan during the election, yet they're set to dominate Canadian politics this summer.

Canada's involvement in the NATO-led mission in Libya is up for debate in the House of Commons tomorrow, even though it's all but guaranteed to get a three-month extension. The Halifax Chronicle Herald's Scott Taylor wonders why we're “helping prop up a corrupt and hated regime against an armed rebellion in Afghanistan, while at the same time assisting armed rebels in their attempt to overthrow a corrupt and hated regime in Libya.” Afghan President Hamid Karzai's cabinet boasts warlords who have likely committed war crimes, while a harsh interpretation of Sharia law dominates the land. The faults of the Afghan regime are many, but Taylor ignores the fact that Karzai never threatened to massacre an entire city, which is why CF-18s continue to drop bombs on Moammar Gadhafi in Libya.

The Globe and Mail's John Ibbitson suggests these missions are indicative of a “Harper Doctrine” that is long on principle and short on nuance. Ibbitson sums it up in one sentence from a speech the PM gave at the Tories' policy convention: “We know where our interests lie and who our friends are, and we take strong, principled positions in our dealings with other nations, whether popular or not.” This mentality underpins unreserved support for Israel, aid doled out to reflect Tory values, and standing ready for NATO's every beck and call. Under these auspices, “foreign policy could increasingly become a polarizing element in Canadian politics,” writes Ibbitson. “But at least Canada has a foreign policy again.”

One aspect that Liberal Sen. Colin Kenny thinks Stephen Harper should include in any doctrine is clarity over a mission's aims. He asks in the National Post for the “government to level with us about why they are sending our military into combat, what the goals are, what yardsticks will be used to measure success or failure, and how things are working out,” none of which have been clarified in the case of either Afghanistan or Libya. As such, Kenny urges Harper to reveal “what his government believes it can achieve in Libya. And let him use more honest words than he did in his summary of what we achieved in Afghanistan.” Tomorrow's “debate” would be as good a place as any to do just that.