When You Send A Bonehead To Do A Statesman's Job

So Peter MacKay gets shipped off to Afghanistan to lay on some classic conservative military patronizing - and keep him from commenting on Schreiber-Mulroney-Harper-MacKay-gate. So what does "el-dorko" (he of the inappropriate comments about a certain lady from down South) do? He decides he should spout off about Iran backing the Taliban with supplies.

There are a few serious problems with this: You don't come out to give a message of peace and support to the troops, and use the time as a platform for your own political gain (the cons LOVE to pretend the military is their baby - even though we know Pierre Trudeau spent more on defense than they do); You don't use such an occasion to take random potshots at another sovereign state - without the appropriate diplomacy and evidence; Looking like some imbeciles simply carting in the standard US messaging has never been Canada's place - we've always been more objective, and it allowed us (even being a NATO and Commonwealth member) to be respected for our opinions. Joining in blindly with the "you're with us, or you're 'agin' us" mentality is a sure-fire way to get hated really fast.

There are ways to approach a nation which could explode at any time - and being the schoolyard bully is not it. Someone will step up and be the peace-broker in this region. Unfortunately, a nation that is shamelessly aligning itself with one of the aggressor sides is not going to be that broker. A nation like Sweden is more likely.

I hope fellow Canadians are starting to realize what a shameful mockery these Conservatives are making of Canada's proud international reputation.