One would think that a world leader hearing of innocent civilians from their homeland being killed abroad would prompt stinging criticism of the policies of the country involved, or at least would seek out an explanation as to why a country has killed its citizens.
But not Stephen Harper. Apparently the innocent Canadian civilians killed by the Israeli's are secondary at least to the well being of Israel and it's citizens.
What a fucking, fucking moron.
Since when does a Canadian Prime Minister take a back seat to his country and to the people of Canada by prompting more vigour for a foreign country than he does for dead Canadian civilians.
Are the Israeli's so fucking important in terms of world significance that our leader can't even ask how and why this happened. Oh my gosh,...would we offend the Israeli's or just side track them from terrorizing other innocent civilians.
Fucking sheep.If he wants to align himself with war criminals like Bush and Olmert, go ahead. He not only lost my vote, he lost something worse.My respect.
Any thoughts.Anyone else feel like a second class citizen next to Israeli's?
Canadian deaths in Lebanon do not change Ottawa's view of Mideast crisis BRUCE CHEADLE
48 minutes ago
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (CP) - The deaths of seven Canadians - including an entire family with three preschoolers - during Israel's bombing of Lebanon have not changed Prime Minister Stephen Harper's position on the crisis in the Middle East.
The return of Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Arab extremists, not an immediate ceasefire, is the key to ending the current conflict, Harper said Monday as the G8 conference concluded.
"We are not going to give in to the temptation of some to single out Israel, which was the victim of the initial attack," Harper told an abbreviated closing news conference.
In the meantime, evacuation of Canadian nationals from Lebanon is to get underway by midweek, "in line with the Americans and British," said Harper.
The government is leasing six commercial ships that can evacuate up to 4,500 Canadians a day. There are a total of about 50,000 Canadians in Lebanon but many live there permanently and likely won't want to leave, officials in Ottawa said.
Harper said he has not contacted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert seeking an explanation of the air strike that killed the Canadians on Sunday, nor had his officials.
"The onus remains on the parties that caused the conflict to take steps to end the conflict," said Harper.
"But obviously we urge Israel and others to minimize civilian damage. It is difficult, though, we recognize it is difficult when you're fighting a non-governmental organization that's embedded in a civilian population."
Critics say that is exactly why Harper's statements on the conflict have been rash.
The Canadian Arab Federation issued a release holding Harper responsible for the dead Canadians because he had not urged restraint on Israel.
"I don't think that warrants a response," Harper shot back Monday. "It's a bizarre accusation."
Several Canadian Jewish organizations have supported the government's position.
Harper initially called Israel's military action, including bombing Beirut airport, a "measured response" as he travelled to Europe last week.
Asked twice Monday if he still thinks Israel's military reaction is measured or whether he regrets that characterization, the prime minister was clinically dismissive.
"I think our evaluation of the situation has been accurate," he said. "Obviously there has been an ongoing escalation and, frankly, ongoing escalation is inevitable once conflict begins."
The cold calculus of his argument may be correct. The G8 leaders agreed on the weekend that the actions of Hezbollah and Hamas in entering Israeli territory and killing and abducting Israeli soldiers sparked the latest conflagration.
The Mideast situation overshadowed the summit of world leaders, held for the first time on Russian soil. Russian President Vladimir Putin had hoped to use the summit to burnish his country's standing on the global stage, but saw his summit priorities overshadowed by the crisis.
Harper's seeming lack of nuance, empathy and people skills are making his week-long diplomatic foray, which included a visit to Britain before attending his first G8 meeting, an excruciating exercise.
During a meeting with the Queen in London, the pool camera picked up Harper awkwardly commenting that the final leg of his junket - through France, starting Tuesday - "may not be quite as easy."
Given differences still evident Monday between Harper and French President Jacques Chirac, that may have been prescient.
Chirac says an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East is needed for peace. Not Harper.
During the two-day summit, Harper asked Putin at a bilateral photo opportunity to "explain to me how to maintain my popularity at high levels."
The Russian president and former KGB agent has been harshly criticized for what some in the White House call democratic backsliding, including the suppression of public dissent and control of the state media.
Throughout the trip, Harper has distanced himself from reporters. Since leaving Ottawa last Wednesday, he has spoken to media travelling with him only three times, including a brief encounter on the plane.
It appears that his handlers consider every media encounter an element of their larger political "strategy," not as a way of keeping Canadians informed about the government's actions.
That may be one reason behind the perception in some quarters that Harper's government hadn't done enough to plan for the Lebanon evacuation. He simply declined to talk about it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20060...n_na/harper_g8