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Written by: Yves Engler
As Israel slaughters tens of thousands Justin Trudeau wants us to believe Russia is responsible for the “might makes right” philosophy in international affairs. He knows ‘serious’ journalists won’t challenge his nonsense.
At NATO’s 70th annual Parliamentary Assembly the prime minister claimed Canada would continue pumping resources into the fight against Russia since Moscow had reverted to a “might makes right” philosophy “long after it disappeared” in international relations. In his Montreal speech, Trudeau also bemoaned Russia’s “destabilization of the rules based international order.” He added: “If Russia succeeds in gaining an inch of territory in Ukraine because of their illegal invasion, countries around the world will look at their historical grievances around a border. They will look at the fact that perhaps they have a slightly larger military than their neighbour and wonder if it isn’t time now to redraw lines on a map, to violate the UN Charter, as Russia has, to once again destabilize the rules-based order in a way we have not seen since the end of the Second World War. The prosperity we have had for decades around this world happens because we agreed to rules — and we abided by them even during the Cold War.”
In his story headlined “Trudeau opposes Russia keeping Ukrainian territory” senior Globe and Mail reporter Steven Chase quotes Trudeau but fails to offer readers any alternative to the PM’s absurd statement (the only criticism Chase includes is that Canada hasn’t increased military spending fast enough). Didn’t NATO “destabilize the rules based international order” with its “might makes right” wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Libya? Didn’t the USA’s might-makes-right wars against south-east Asia destabilize the rules based international order? What about the dozens of U.S.-sponsored and Canadian supported coups around the since the Second World War? Isn’t Canada backing Israel’s “might makes right” genocide in Gaza while enabling that country “to redraw lines on a map, to violate the UN Charter” in the West Bank?
As Trudeau and Chase know, the International Criminal Court recently issued arrest warrants for the leader of a country Canada is arming. Additionally, the International Court of Justice advised UN member states they were obligated to cease enabling Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
The innumerable ways the Trudeau government has supported Israel makes a mockery of Ottawa’s claims to be advancing human rights or international law in Ukraine. Does anyone believe someone so deeply complicit in the Gaza holocaust cares about Ukrainian sovereignty or rights?
Over the past 33 months Canada has offered arms, training and intelligence support as part of delivering nearly $5 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. They’ve contributed another $15 billion in non-military assistance. Concurrently, Ottawa has seized Russian assets, sanctioned its firms and sought to isolate that country.
Canada has repeatedly pushed to escalate the proxy war. In September Trudeau called on the Biden administration to allow Ukraine to fire ATACM missiles deep inside Russia. Trudeau told reporters “Canada fully supports Ukraine using long-range weaponry to prevent and interdict Russia’s continued ability to degrade Ukrainian civilians (and) infrastructure.” NATO forces provide logistical and intelligence assistance to fire these long-range missiles deep into Russia.
One needn’t back Russian actions to be troubled by NATO’s steady escalation of the proxy war. A staunch proponent of the conflict, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently told a radio interviewer, “We’re waging a proxy war! We’re waging a proxy war but we’re not giving our proxies the ability to do the job.” The belligerent alliance, born in bolstering western colonialism, is playing a dangerous game of brinkmanship with a nuclear armed state.
Even if this existential threat doesn’t come to pass, the war is a catastrophe for Ukraine and its people. Despite the outlawing of public criticism, polls now show that most Ukrainians want an end to the war. Yet Washington is pushing Kyiv to lower the age of conscription from 25 to 18 so hundreds of thousands more young men can be sent to fight. On Wednesday a senior US administration official told the Financial Times, “The simple truth is that Ukraine is not currently mobilising or training enough soldiers to replace their battlefield losses while keeping pace with Russia’s growing military.”
Ottawa hasn’t publicly promoted Washington’s push to conscript teenagers, but Canada is assisting Kyiv in its bid to force passport holders to return to Ukraine to renew their passports, which allows authorities to press them into the military.
Critics of the NATO proxy war have long argued the western alliance was pushing to fight to the last Ukrainian. In April 2022, this author wrote “internationalist-minded Canadians should be working to end hostilities, not push the fight ‘to the last Ukrainian.’” That statement was informed by Canada’s role in provoking the conflict by promoting NATO expansion, the 2014 ouster of elected president Viktor Yanukovich and the subsequent low-level proxy war Russia massively expanded in February 2022.
Many who are appalled by Canada’s role in Israel’s holocaust have supported Ottawa’s Ukraine policy. They refuse to challenge the simplistic NATO narrative.
As such, the engagement of many involved in the last week’s Quebec student strike for Palestine in protests against the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Montreal was important. It suggests the popular uprising against Israel’s genocide may be broadening its outlook towards challenging Canadian foreign policy and imperialism.
Many eyes have been opened to see the hypocrisy of our “leaders” and the lies they tell about “good guys” and bad.
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Yves Engler is the author of 13 books. His latest book, available now, is “Canada’s Long Fight Against Democracy”.
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