Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Policy Pretzel?

I wonder if there is any veracity to this report:
Canadian officials are being tight-lipped over claims a suspect in the killing of a Hamas leader in Dubai earlier this year has been arrested in Canada.
Lt.-Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the Dubai police chief, told broadcaster Al-Arabiya that Canada informed United Arab Emirates officials back in June about the arrest but were asked that it not be announced. He claimed that officials are covering it up.
"I am astonished," he said. "Why this attempt to cover up on this issue? We must act transparent, reliably and quickly in such cases."
The federal government had no immediate comment on his remarks. Canada's consul general in Dubai, Kris Panday, told The Associated Press he had no comment.
Because if there were, it might throw the Conservative's heavily biased policy toward Israel in with the tale of Camp Mirage, the UAE and airline landing rights. We needed to be on friendly terms with the UAE in order to support our war in Afghanistan. The Cons (and choice cuts of Liberal) for reasons of insanity and their Christopathic base, need to demonstrate unblinking fealty to the Israeli far right. Admitting that Canada (along with many other countries) was helping the UAE capture alleged Israeli assassins would cause apoplectic vapours in our Cons and their supporters. Failing to admit, unlike the other countries, that we're helping the UAE capture alleged Israeli assassins AND denying them landing rights while demanding military base privileges, tells the UAE we'll sleep with them but don't want them near us in public.  And it tells the Israeli hard-right that our government is nothing more than a sweet-tongued rhetorical ally, and we again look like assholes.


Sigh. Back in that long ago day when Canada's "principles" the Middle-east involved encouraging rapproachment and peace in as neutral a way as possible this really wouldn't be a problem. And we might find ourselves sitting on the Security Council at the UN.

I suppose we could send everyone pallets of beer and maple syrup.

2 comments:

Beijing York said...

So would that make the UAE more or less Canada's coyote date and Israel the bride?

Edstock said...

Somehow, a Mossad katsa was apprehended by some kind of official Canuck and shipped to the UAE without notifying the Israeli embassy? And the RCMP have no record of this? Try the Barrie police?

Chicanery or mind-boggling incompetence?