Ignatieff Back With a Bang…Tells Israel it Needs to Stop Shooting

Vindication is sooo sooo sweet.

All I can say is WOW. Michael Ignatieff’s Op/Ed in today’s Globe and La Presse was all the proof I need to determine this man can defeat Stephen Harper. Although we are several weeks into the conflict, Michael Ignatieff is the first to propose a concrete solution. The bombing in Cana showed the devastation that this conflict can lead to. The statement is loaded with nuggets of powerful statements and because I am so happy my leadership candidate is on the same side as I am, I will break them down for you.

“The terrible tragedy in Qana, which claimed 57 lives, is thus a victory for Hezbollah. But that is not all. Hezbollah then hopes to draw Israel into a wider conflict which would result in its ultimate destruction. In this terrible struggle, Israel cannot win, Hezbollah cannot lose and Lebanon perishes.”

Making the distinction between Lebanon and Hezbollah is very important. Israel claims to have been bombing Hezbollah so far. However, any neutral observer will tell you now that Hezbollah is stronger than ever, the Lebanese government is powerless, and that the bombings have destroyed the country of Lebanon, but not Hezbollah.

“If Israel persists, there is a danger that it will lose control of the situation. Hezbollah cannot be wiped out militarily. They have support among Lebanese Shiites, because they provide social welfare and have the blessing of the mullahs. They also have political power, having won parliamentary seats in free elections. Further military action by Israel may only strengthen Hezbollah’s political power in Lebanon.”

Oh It gets better…

“Israel must not play Hezbollah’s game. It must defend itself, but to persist in its military campaign would only give Hezbollah what it wants: continuing carnage in Lebanon and weakening world support for Israel. Canada should be saying to Israel that there are no further military options in Lebanon that do not risk destroying Lebanon and ultimately endangering its own security.”

Canada should tell Israel to stop bombing…hmm…well Steve, grit heart, shoshana, and Michelle, we now have a divergence of opinion. Luckily, Ignatieff is on the right side of this one.

You can crap on Michael for seeing ailing relatives, although I find it slightly unclassy. However, give the man credit, he is the first to propose a solution and it is a fantastic one to boot.

“It’s time for Canada to do its part in stopping this march to the abyss. It should call for an immediate cease-fire, authorized by the Security Council. It should line up with the Europeans and moderate Arab states issuing the same call. Under such a cease-fire deal, Israeli forces would withdraw, aerial bombardment would cease and Hezbollah would stop rocket attacks and incursions into Israeli territory.
Once a cease-fire has taken hold, Canada should propose the deployment of an international naval, air and land force to prevent the movement of missiles and other military technology into Lebanon. These weapons come by land through Syria and by sea through the Mediterranean. Such a force should be deployed at all Lebanese ports and land borders. An additional naval force should patrol Lebanese waters. The force should be authorized by the UN Security Council to seize any weapons destined for Hezbollah or any non-state actor in the region.
Such a force would not engage in direct confrontation with Hezbollah or with the Israelis but patrol a buffer zone between them. Canada’s commitments in Afghanistan preclude sending ground troops on this mission, but Canada could participate in the naval interdiction effort in the Mediterranean. Canada’s navy has already played this role in the Gulf and would be well equipped to do so again”

Using multilateralism is the only way to disarm Hezbollah. It worked extremely well when British and Irish police sought to disarm the IRA. Israel has made it so that Hezbollah has more authority than the Lebanese government. With an international force in place, Israel can rest assured that Hezbollah is being targeted and the Lebanese government can re-build its authority over the region.

“The goal here is limited but vital: to create demilitarized zones between combatants and to bar the entry of the advanced weaponry that risks widening the local conflict into a regional conflagration. Once a cease-fire is in place, and the interdiction force deployed, Canada could form a ‘friends of Lebanon’ club, a group of states to work with the Lebanese government to reconstruct the country’s shattered infrastructure. Germany played this role after the Afghanistan war of 2001, and Canada could play the same role in Lebanon.”

Creating a “Friends of Lebanon” would prop up the Lebanese government again and proves once and for all that supporting Lebanon is NOT supporting Hezbollah. Israel itself should be supporting Lebanon. It is only the Lebanese government that can root out Hezbollah but it needs everybody’s help as the task is even more difficult now.

Michael ends the Op/Ed with a passage that left me breathless. It proved to me why the man is not only capable of beating Harper, but capable of taking Canada to the next level.

“We are a country of peace-makers, especially because we are also a country of immigrants, many of whom have come to Canada to escape the horrors of conflict. As a nation of immigrants from the zones of war, we have a special vocation for peace, and it is by exercising this vocation that we maintain our unity as a people. We have a voice that other countries listen to. Let us use it.”