Canadian isolationism: Hokey Pokey diplomacy

By J. L. Jackson
web posted March 10, 2003

"You put your left foot in,
You take your right foot out…
And you shake it all about.
You do the hokey pokey
And you turn a pirouette…that's what it's all about!"

Canada has its right foot, for all practical purposes, in the United States' camp (Canada sends 85 per cent of its exports to the US), but after two generations of Liberal rule Canada's philosophical left foot is firmly planted in old Europe. With a left foot in old Europe and a right foot in the United States, Canadian isolationism, in the North American context is becoming an increasingly painful stretch. An embarrassing hokey pokey, children's nursery rhyme, diplomatic dance of foolery is the result.

When United States' Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfield identified France-Belgium-Germany alliance as "old Europe," what was said in passing frustration has turned out to be particularly profound.

September 11 has changed the United States. The ocean is no longer a protective barrier. Left wing Eurosocialists cannot accept the United States' new post-September 11 clarity because this new perspective destroys their non-absolutist way of life, upon which the European Union and Europe's other bureaucratic institution the United Nations are based.

In a world of shifting alliances, if France-Belgium-Germany represent old Europe, new Europe is the emerging democracies of the past Soviet bloc countries. These former Warsaw Pact countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Hungary are now openly being courted to join a trade alliance with the European Union and now due to the impending war in Iraq, the United States as well. A heady experience for these impoverished countries. It is no wonder new Europe has chosen to back the US: new Europe understandably hopes to partake in the United States' benevolent generosity, needing hard cash to re-build their ailing economies. Having been recently freed from communism, the moral clarity of the United States defending itself after September 11 does not aggravate them as it does non-absolutist old Europe.

Diplomacy = economic and political warfare

France and Germany, dominant partners in the European Union (it is no mere coincidence that the head offices of the European Union are in Brussels – the capital of Belgium and Strasbourg a French city on the German border), would like to stall the war in Iraq until at least summer, indefinitely if at all possible. They are smugly gambling jihad terrorism's target is really an American thing not a French or German thing.

If these crazies are after the United States, not France or Germany, appeasement, while potentially hazardous to US homeland security, may be worth the risk. The longer the United States delays its Iraq deployment seeking United Nations approval, the greater the world uncertainty and the greater the world uncertainty the greater the chance the US economy will continue to decline -- possibly even to the European Union's advantage.

Vested interest could in fact be the prime motivator for Old Europe's appeasement of terrorism and its rogue nation sponsors to the point of accommodating a notorious human rights violator of gargantuan proportions. Saddam Hussein an evil dictator who kills political prisoners every day, gasses his own people and who has been clearly financing terrorism: $25,000 payments per suicide bomber family, according to Front Page contributor John Perazzo, "With these payments, Saddam's cumulative intifadaera contributions to the families of Palestinian terrorists eclipsed the $10 million mark."

Canada's isolationist stretch

Since September 11 Canada's role, while unavoidably somewhat cooperative domestically, has neither been significant militarily (since the Canadian military has been effectively emasculated), nor has it been morally supportive. There are in fact, some practical implications for Canada to at the very least act as a sort of diplomatic cheerleader in the United States' time of need. The more the US is beaten down diplomatically, the greater the likelihood the US economy will decline, making Canada's foot dragging, and ongoing embarrassing official anti-Americanism make little to no sense from a North American free trade perspective.

Instead of following Great Britain and new Europe's lead, foreign policy wise, Canada strangely has chosen to ally itself with Eurosocialist old Europe's stall as long as you can approach. Leaving Canada in a disturbingly isolationist position in the North American framework.

Traditionally, Canada has always looked to Great Britain for foreign policy direction. After all, not joining the American War of Independence is one of Canada's claims to fame. Canada's allegiance and trade connections with the British Commonwealth have greatly diminished over the years, at the same time, Canada-United States free trade has enabled an interdependent successful economic relationship for both countries. Some Canadians, mostly Liberal elites, see this as over-dependence on the US and like to blame Brian Mulroney (Canada's lone conservative Prime Minister in unmitigated Liberal rule), rather than recognise North American free trade is an inevitable reality in a global economy.

From the current Canadian Liberal regime's perspective, United States absolutism and moral clarity following September 11 is offensive…even dangerous. We must guiltily look to ourselves to discover, "Why do they hate us?" Blame after all is a very strong, absolute, black and white sort of a concept.

Consider for a moment Canada's bizarre foreign policy blunders of recent months as more then the mad, final ravings of a lame duck Prime Minister's administration on the way out, but rather a gradual progressive process, in the light of external pressure, only now forming a pattern. For years Canada has followed Eurosocialist policy in: military (thoroughly gutting it), environment (Kyoto was rammed through Parliament without an implementation plan to please the United Nations and European Union bureaucrats), immigration (lax idealistic policy, even Hillary Clinton calls Canadian refugee status "pretty liberal"), taxation (excessively high and complicated to finance more and more big government programs), and finally drug policy (lax laws for trafficking barely enforced by even laxer judges appointed by consecutive Liberal governments -- heading towards Holland's marihuana decriminalization policy in the near future).

For some time now, Australia has been courted by the European Union. While coyly avoiding full-fledged membership, Australia fully participates in trade with Europe. Canada, on the other hand, is a wanabe European Union candidate, perfectly pre-fitting the Eurosocialist mould, conceivably pining for a more rewarding EU economic relationship as well.

Liberal elites can only dream of what could be if it wasn't for Canada's annoying southern neighbour and that maddening Mulroney's free trade agreement.

Wrong continent for the wrong philosophy

Continued jarring anti-American outbursts from Canadian Liberals and the Prime Minister's pooh, poohing outrageously derogatory statements only makes sense from a smug Eurosocialist perspective.

Left-wing Eurosocialist frustration is building in Canadian Liberal elite circles.

Last year the Prime Minister's aid, Francios Ducros, made a ‘private' comment to a CBC reporter (state ran broadcast) in a room full of reporters during a NATO summit, calling the President a moron. When reported by the National Post (not the CBC reporter) the Prime Minister refused to let Ducros resign. Only after a groundswell of outrage and much pressure was the Prime Minister forced to let Ducros go.

More recently, we have Carolyn Parrish, Liberal MP from Mississauga, Ontario, caught on tape exclaiming, "Damn Americans, I hate those bastards." While once again, this is a diplomatic blunder of enormous proportions with Canada's largest trading partner, Prime Minister Chrétien when questioned in Mexico easily dismissed Parrish's statements as merely part of a "love-hate" relationship. Even going so far as to justify Parrish's outburst, "We should have somewhat the right to have a personal reaction toward something," Chrétien told Canadian Press.

In these Liberal elites' narrow and idealistic minds, France and Germany are the ideal Canada needs to follow -- not the US. In fact, Canadians have been duped into calling radical left-wing Eurosocialist ideals "Canadian values".

Of course, these Liberal elites, mostly living in Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal are living in a world of make-believe, resisting Americanization by dreamily yearning to more fully embrace Eurosocialism. Unfortunately for the Liberal government, Canada is located on the wrong continent for their philosophy's pet projects and strange diplomatic tactics to resonate or even make sense.

The legacy

Chrétien is desperately searching for a legacy before he is soon to retire, or rather be deposed at the upcoming Liberal party convention this fall. It would be a major coup for a Prime Minister the vast majority of Canadians wish would just go away, to bring peace to the world.

This is where Chrétien, a minor player by any stretch of the imagination, comes in with his recent attempt to sell a compromise deal neither the United States nor France is interested in. Chrétien's Eurosocialist ideals have deluded him into believing he is a player, even if he isn't.

Which makes Prime Minister Chrétien's recent strange 'diplomatic' Mexican initiative a little more understandable, but still surprising in light of the Parliamentary malaise only Liberal homogeny can affect. Canadian isolationism is becoming glaringly apparent, so Chrétien and crew head down to Mexico to stir the pot. In taking the idealistically risqué position of choosing to position Canada with Eurosocialist old Europe on Iraq, Chrétien hopes to pull Mexico into the mix to relieve the mounting pressure of Canadian isolationism.

The US administration has stated since last year that it wants to see regime change in Baghdad, but it was in Mexico that Chetien was "surprised" to learn about "regime change." Chrétien went on to adamantly support the rights of despots to rule unhindered by comparing their rule to his own, "I'm OK, I only have 11 months to go," Chrétien said, referring to his plans to step down. "But how about somebody else? So this is a very dangerous concept," he told Canadian Press.

This can hardly continue to be excused as diplomatic blunders by an ill informed court jester. It is a decisive pattern that follows along the lines of the Canadian Liberal regime's Eurosocialist philosophy.

Chrétien further stirred the pot by placing the United States in an adversarial position between Mexico and Canada:

"We're on both sides of the Americans and we can help each other," Chrétien, who was in high spirits, joked before about 200 people.

"You know, it's not easy . . . (former prime minister Pierre) Trudeau had a phrase on that. He said it's difficult for a mouse to sleep with an elephant.

"But now, at least, we're two. So we can wake up the other at the right time."

This is the kind of diplomatic foreign policy Canadian Liberals expect will help resolve many ongoing US – Canada trade disputes?

Chrétien's closing remarks are worthy of any Eurosocialist. France and Germany should be proud:

"The guy who has the key to (the) solution is Saddam Hussein," said Chrétien.

"He has to pile up that stuff (weapons) in the middle of the street and blow it up and that will be the end of it."

Uh...OK…uh, yeah sure…

Thank God for absolutely blessing President George W. Bush with moral clarity.

J.L. Jackson, is a freelance writer and conservative activist from Calgary area.

Printer friendly version

Home