Holding
The Bully’s Coat
By Jim Miles
27 May, 2007
Countercurrents.org
Holding the Bully’s Coat – Canada and the U.S. Empire.
Linda McQuaig. Doubleday Canada, Toronto. 2007.
This
is a wonderfully refreshing examination of Canada’s role, current
and historic, as supporter of and participant in the American Empire.
Linda McQuaig makes accurate assessments of Canada’s current role
in partnership with the United States and the ongoing development of
this role historically. Unlike the regular media, she recognizes that
Canada is subservient to the Americans in Afghanistan under the guise
of a UN approved NATO force occupying that country. Quite clearly in
her opening arguments she states that Canada’s current role has
brought it “more into line with the U.S. empire, even as Washington
become a belligerent and lawless force in the world.”
The first chapter covers
a series of mini-themes that exposes the American empire at the same
time implicating Canada in its complicity with American actions. Familiar
topics arise with Canada as they do with America abroad in the world:
Canada’s recent implicit support of torture in Afghanistan by
‘rendering’ prisoners to Afghanis bases; military plans
of attack, in this case against Canadian the 1930’s, such that
it would cause “devastation” and include “chemical
warfare”; a view of American “exceptionalism”, another
word for ignoring international norms, laws and institutions (illegal
wars, torture, nuclear weapons double standards, UN, ICC, Kyoto, ICJ,
Biological weapons); in other words a generalized withdrawal from international
law and conventions.
McQuaig recognizes the incongruity
of the U.S. “defending” itself against many created foes,
focussing her arguments on the Persian Gulf, reiterating the American
tale of woe about “vulnerability”, of America being under
attack. While the majority of Canadians do not want to be a part of
this militaristic exceptionalism, the “media, academic and corporate
worlds – pander to Washington.” The elite see Canada as
a renewed power, as an energy superpower, but what sort of superpower
would give all its energy resources to another country before its own
needs are guaranteed, leading to the author’s conclusion that
Canada would not be viewed “with anything but contempt, as the
bully’s unctuous [great choice of word – “simulation
of affected enthusiasm” based on the root meaning of anointed
with oil] little sidekick.”
Oil and free market economics
flow via the Canadian elites “fiercely resisting such [social]
planning in the Canadian national interest.” As Canada’s
social services diminish and its resources are sold off liberally and
cheaply, the reality is that “there is little connection between
a country’s level of social spending and its ability to compete
in the global economy.” Examples are evident for this, with Norway
being the most successful, and with the countries of Latin America slowly
turning away from the disastrously imposed free market policies.
In the second chapter, “No
More Girlie-Man for Peacekeeping” the Canadian popular view of
peacekeeping is explored, again exposing the elites, in this case Canada’s
own copycat military-industrial-political he-man alliance, as manipulating
events towards the American pre-emptive war attitude that searches out
strategic control of oil and gas resources, hidden behind the hunt for
terrorism, as “America’s vigilance against terrorism…just
happens to coincide with its need for oil.” Once again the media
come into the picture, a poorly defined picture of “distortion”
that has “rendered the suffering of the Arab world invisible to
us.” What is viewed in the west is far different than the view
seen by others, “the ultimate horror of occupation: the powerlessness
of an occupied people against an all-powerful foreign army.”
The argument then turns fully
to Afghanistan where Canada is an invading army (and for those Canadian
politicians ignorant of the role of oil in Afghanistan, it is a focal
point for oil trans-shipment as well as having significant reserves
of gas in its north-western provinces in the Caspian Basin), that has
committed war crimes by “rendition” and the “collateral
damage” of killed citizens. She concludes the section posing the
question of security, “Because we realize our security is not
actually at stake, and we sense that there is no compelling purpose
to this mission….We’re not aggressors [arguable, but perhaps
only semantic]. We’re just helping out the aggressor in order
to protect our trade balance.”
In summary, McQuaig concludes
that “Powerful forces inside the Canadian elite want to move Canada
not only away from peacekeeping – as they’ve already succeeding
in doing- but also away from an allegiance to the United Nations and
the rule of law.” This is a strong statement that Canadians and
the world need to be fully aware of.
In the next chapter the focus
turns to three areas. The first is Canada’s successful promotion
and signing of the land mines treaty, helped out by many NGOs, Princess
Diana, and a persistent and vocal Canadian contingent led by Lloyd Axworthy
and Jody Williams, the latter receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her
efforts. In contrast Canada caved on the issue of nuclear disarmament,
effectively blocking “all meaningful progress on nuclear disarmament”
even though Canada’s perceived status within the G8 and NATO “could
have added a particular heft to the…countries trying to shine
the flashlight on U.S. intransigence.” Finally there is recognition
that Canada has been involved with the Palestine/Israel problem since
World War II, with the outcome of its initial investigations that “Canadian
support for partition” was based on the fear of “greater
violence by Jewish extremists, who had shown their willingness to resort
to terrorism to get their way.” This has evolved of course into
recent full on support of Israel, as Canada accepted Israel’s
attack on Lebanon as “proportionate”, were one of the first
to deny the validity of the democratic election of Hamas, and continue
to back U.S. views on Iran.
“The Most Dangerous
Man in the English-Speaking World” turns out to be Lester B. Pearson,
the Nobel Peace Prize winner for his efforts in the Suez War of 1956.
In spite of this success Pearson “subscribed to many Cold War
attitudes” and “bears considerable blame for Canada’s
complicity in U.S. actions in Vietnam.” As with the U.S., evidence
is given that strongly supports the idea of Canada having its own military-industrial
complex accompanied by the over-hyped fear of being attacked. The latter
as I have always argued could only be by the U.S., unless it was the
scenario of nuclear war, in which case no amount of military preparation
would do any good anyways.
Following these developments
came “The Threat of Peace”, the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Here the discussion turns more strongly to the UN and its role in comparison
to the ideas formulated by Cheney, Wolfowitz, and Rumsfield, and the
role of NATO in Yugoslavia. Canada’s role of ‘protection’
has been stretched to the arena of economic well-being, leaving the
door “wide open to interventions” in order to open up other
countries economies “to foreign investment and free trade,”
the Washington consensus adopted in full.
Unlike many critical works,
McQuaig also supplies some strong arguments that war, in spite of accepted
opinion – at least in the current media –is an inevitable
part of human nature, there is strong evidence to the contrary. She
examines such arcane actions such as duelling and gladiatorial combat
and more obvious examples of slavery and absolute hereditary monarchy,
all ‘natural’ human institutions that have disappeared.
The “mirage of prosperity” driven by war, needs to give
way to popular opinion that will “undermine war’s acceptability.”
Finally, McQuaig returns
to her beginning ideas, arguing again about Canada’s energy security
(or lack thereof), the sabotage of Kyoto, the implicit acceptance of
torture, contradictions in human rights arguments (Chinese prisoners
versus U.S. prisoners), and the wonderful Professor Ignatieff who supports
the “lesser evils” because of we are good and they are bad
simplicities. The narrative ends with the recent Maher Arar case, with
Canadian Justice O’Conner stating unequivocally that torture “can
never be legally justified….torture is an instrument of terror,”
while referring to many treaties that Canada has signed against torture.
This is a great history and
current affairs book, not the kind with boring linear dates, but one
that exposes thematic ideas that are not expressed in current media.
By necessity it covers similar American history and current affairs,
showing how Canada, against the wishes of the majority of its population,
is directed by an elite “comprador class”, a plutocracy
that is in full alignment supporting American exceptionalism, we are
“holding the bully’s coat”. All Canadians should be
challenged by this work, a challenge to their perceived image of themselves
and the reality that lies behind the media and governmental spin.
Jim Miles is a Canadian educator and a regular contributor/columnist
of opinion pieces and book reviews to Palestine Chronicles. His interest
in this topic stems originally from an environmental perspective, which
encompasses the militarization and economic subjugation of the global
community and its commodification by corporate governance and by the
American government.
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