Canada: Selling Its Soul to AmericaStephen Lendman, Contributor Theyre also worried about a country junior partnering with imperial America, Israel, and other rogue NATO allies. A previous article said the following: On September 7, Foreign Minister John Baird said Canada closed its Tehran embassy. It expelled Iranian diplomats in Ottawa. They have five days to leave. He claimed a nonexistent Iranian threat. He took a page from AIPACs playbook. He bogusly called Tehran the gravest threat to global security. He accused Iran of providing increasing military assistance to the Assad regime. He ignored Washingtons war Syria. He said nothing about Canadas role. He didnt explain how America, rogue NATO partners, and regional allies recruit, arm, fund, train, and direct ravaging death squads. He was silent on what matters most. He recited a litany of lies about Iran. He unconscionably pointed fingers the wrong way. Canada is a committed imperial partner. Its one of 28 NATO countries. It supports the worst of Israels crimes. Its on the same slippery slope as America. Its fast-tracking toward fascism. Sleeping with the devil rubs off. Unless stopped, its just a matter of time before Canada crosses a Rubicon of no return. Its perilously close to full-blown imperial/ neoliberal/police state dark age harshness. Conservative and Liberal parties allied with Americas war on terrorism. They stopped short of participating in its Iraq coalition of the willing. They willingly marched in lockstep with its illegal Afghan war of aggression and occupation. In February 2004, they partnered with America and France against Haitis Jean-Bertrand Aristide. They ousted a democratically elected leader. They crushed his popular movement. They ended his progressive reforms. They installed fascist harshness. They had unchallenged pillaging in mind. Canada today operates as an appendage of imperial America. It abandoned its traditional commitment to equality, inclusiveness, and rule of law inviolability. Its plagued by a militaristic/imperial/neoliberal culture. Its no longer a fair arbiter and promoter of just causes. The conservative Harper government is fast-tracking toward fascism. In the 1980s, Canadas downward trajectory began in earnest. Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney bonded with Ronald Reagan. Corporate America remembers his December 1984 address. He appeared at the New York Economic Club. Business heavyweights packed the house to hear him. He didnt disappoint. He said Canada (was) open for business. His meaning was unambiguous. US corporations were welcome. Economic integration would proceed. Americas sovereignty henceforth took precedence over Canadas. Its been downhill ever since. Before Stephen Harper became prime minister in February 2006, Liberal leader Paul Martin tilted hard right. In 2003, he succeeded Jean Chrtien. His 2005 defense policy review stressed integrating Canadas military with Americas. He approved redeploying Canadian Afghan peacekeepers as combatants. Harper maintains the same policy. Canadians have no say. He governs in lockstep with Washington. He abandoned Canadas traditional even-handed Israel/Palestine agenda. In 2006, he threw its democratically elected Hamas government under the bus. Doing so showed contempt for Palestinian rights. He showed no concern for 50,000 Canadians in harms way during Israels war of aggression on Lebanon. He called its death and destruction campaign measured. Post-WW II, things were different. Canadas internationalism evolved. It supported rule of law principles, endorsed peacekeeping, spurned militarism and imperialism, and worked cooperatively with other nations. No longer. Harpers government, Canadian elites, its business community and military support imperial/neoliberal/anti-populist policies. Ottawa replicates Washington. Essential social programs are eroding. Egalitarianism is disappearing. What corporate Canada wants, it gets. Militarism grows stronger. So does police state harshness. Pandering to Washington is policy. Tortured logic follows the same destructive path. McQuaig calls Harper Americas unctuous little sidekick. She compared Canadas government, corporate, and military officials to 19th century compradors. Modern-day ones are subservient US junior partners. Canadas soul went on the auction block for sale. Like Americans, Canadians are force-fed the worst of all possible worlds. Ottawa allied with Washingtons war on Libya. Its partnered against Syria and Iran. It shamelessly supports what it should renounce. Doing so makes it complicit in the supreme crime against peace. Its guilty of crimes of war, against humanity and genocide. Its leaders are war criminals. Iran responded to Canada suspending diplomatic ties. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said: The decision by Canada showed that this country has sacrificed the interests of its nation for the sake of the Zionists by following their policies against Iran. He called Harpers government racist and hostile. He added: The closure of the visa section of the Canadian Embassy in Tehran, freezing the bank accounts of Iranian nationals living in Canada, and prohibiting money transfers to Iranian students studying in that country are among the Canadian governments numerous hostile measures against the Iranian nation and the Iranian community in Canada. Senior Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi accused Harper of blindly following Britain, saying: The British government certainly seeks to lead its friends to the same path that it had taken. Therefore, this decision was in fact blind acquiescence by the Canadian government. He added that Canada allied with Washington and Israels attempt to undermine a historic NAM summit in Tehran. It perhaps reacted to its success. He also called on Irans Foreign Ministry to respond in kind. Mehmanparast said expect it to be swift. Britain is part of a US/UK/Israeli troika. Its an axis of evil. Canada supports it. It threatens humanity. Its involved in North African/Middle East/Central Asian imperial wars. It plans more. Independent nonbelligerent countries are targeted. Syrian and Iranian sovereignty are threatened. Almost half a million Iranians live in Canada. Many reside in Toronto. Tehran planned a consulate to serve them. Theyll have no representation now. On Friday, Netanyahu congratulated Harper. He called his move a bold decision, (a) moral step, (a) clear message to Iran and to the entire world. Tehrans successful NAM summit endorsed peace, mutual cooperation, Irans peaceful nuclear program, and national sovereignty. Netanyahu called it a show of anti-Semitism and hate in Tehran. Every time he opens his mouth, he puts his foot in it. He displays racist scorn for Muslims, imperial brazenness, contempt for anyone not Jewish, and hostile rage. Ottawa has had poor relations with Iran since the 1979 revolution. They became strained after former Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor helped rescue six Americans during the 1980 Tehran hostage crisis. In 2003, they were further damaged after dual Canadian/Iranian citizen/freelance photographer Zahra Kazemi died in custody. He was arrested while taking photographs outside a Tehran prison. Canada responded. It recalled its ambassador. Iran ordered him out after unsuccessfully trying to resolve the issue and agree on exchanging ambassadors. Washington severed diplomatic relations in 1980. In November 2011, Britain recalled its entire diplomatic staff. It followed two days of protests. Hundreds of Iranian students staged it outside Londons Tehran embassy. They pulled down Britains flag and demanded its envoys ouster. Without justification, the Cameron government claimed Iranian leaders ordered it. It also expelled its diplomats from London. Days earlier, Tehran downgraded ties to Britain. It was over Londons decision to impose sanctions on Irans Central Bank and false allegations about its nuclear program. Washington, Britain and Israel target Iran for regime change. Top priority ahead is war. Not now, according to Time magazine. On September 5, it headlined, Worried About Israel Bombing Iran Before November? You Can Relax, saying: According to some Israeli analysts, Israels war of choice isnt cancelled. Its delayed. Internal opposition and public opinion are against it. Even Defense Minister Ehud Barak now wavers. Hes not called Mr. Zigzag for nothing. Netanyahu wants Washingtons full commitment. In late September, hell meet Obama in New York. Theyll both address the UN General Assembly. Expect neither to sound benign. Netanyahus saber-rattling bluster long ago wore thin, but not his hostile intent. He and Obama remain on the same page. Differences are mostly over timing and perhaps strategy. For now, the US looks likely to persuade Israel to sit on its hands. Nonetheless, its probably a safe bet that war talk will be revved up again come spring or perhaps earlier post-election. Canadian Foreign Minister Baird didnt explain why he cut diplomatic ties now, not earlier. He denied perhaps knowing that war is more imminent than Time imagines. Unequivocally, we have no information about a military strike on Iran, he said. In the fullness of time, well know. A Final Comment In 1953, Chicago Tribune owner Colonel Robert McCormick called Canadian statesman/diplomat/later prime minister (1963-68)/Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1957) Lester Pearson the most dangerous man in the English-speaking world. It was over Pearsons refusal to cooperate with Senator Joe McCarthys witch-hunt communist hearings. They destroyed lives, ruined careers, accomplished nothing, and led to McCarthys own demise. Pearsons ideas were mirror opposite Harpers and other imperial aggressors. He wanted NATO involved with economic and social issues as well as defense. He supported an alliance for Western free market alternatives to communism. He opposed nuclear weapons. He challenged Washington on policies he believed dangerous, provocative and destructive. In 1955, as Secretary of State for External Affairs, he was the first Western official to visit Moscow. He spoke forcefully against colonial domination. He endorsed sovereign rights for all nations. He supported internationalism, conciliation, and peace. He was a worthy Nobel laureate. His lecture stressed hard facts. Countries have a choice. Peace or extinction is in their hands. He added that nations cannot be conditioned by the force and will of a unit, however powerful, but by the consensus of a group, which must one day include all states. Predatory nations cant be tolerated, he believed. At the same time, he opposed communism and backed efforts to contain it. He erred supporting Washingtons Vietnam War. A later Temple University address challenged Americas Southeast Asian role. Overall, he supported peace and peacekeeping. His Nobel lecture named four faces of peace: prosperity, power, diplomacy and people. As prime minister, peacekeeping was prioritized. Canada has none like him today. Neither do other Western countries. War, not peace, matters most. So does imperial dominance. Ottawas on board with Washington. Its traditions long ago eroded and died. Some wonder what defines it as a nation. Riding shotgun for America and supporting the worst of Israeli lawlessness give them reason for pause. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.His new book is titled How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War.Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/ linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 