Stephane Dion on the Middle East
The Liberal Party and Israel: a friendship based on frankness
STةPHANE DION
Special to Globe and Mail
Some members of Canada's Jewish community, including some prominent Liberals, are reportedly unhappy with the Liberal Party's position on the Middle East.
Following the position adopted by our interim leader, Bill Graham, many candidates for the leadership of the Liberal Party criticized the position taken by the Harper government — Stephen Harper's unconditional approval of the Israeli government's military strategy, his apparent indifference to the plight of the Lebanese people, and his refusal to call for a rapid cessation of hostilities.
When one believes a friend to be mistaken, one should say so. In 2003, for example, the majority of Canadians and their Liberal government did not approve of the American invasion of Iraq. The government refused to take part, against the advice of Mr. Harper at the time. This was not because we chose to ignore Saddam Hussein's crimes, but because we believed that such an invasion could only create more violence for the Iraqis and more political difficulties for the United States. The evolution of the situation over the past three years tells us that America's best friends are not those who encouraged it to invade Iraq.
In 1982, a previous Israeli government decided to invade Lebanon. A few years later, a majority of Israelis believed the invasion had created even more hostility against Israel among Lebanon's population (notably the creation of Hezbollah), had resulted in unnecessary Israeli military casualties, and had accomplished none of the political objectives set out in 1982.
Today, Israel's population is united because, in times of war, solidarity with a country's soldiers tends to drown out voices of dissent. But a few Israeli military and security experts have already criticized the current military operation. They believe the number of civilian Lebanese casualties and the breadth of destruction will increase support for Hezbollah, and that its nature as a guerrilla movement means its infrastructure cannot be dismantled through aerial bombardments. The result, in the medium term, can only be an even weaker Lebanese state and a strengthened Hezbollah.
If, in a few months, it clearly appears that the current crisis has made possible real progress for the security of both Lebanon and Israel, I will be overjoyed and will gladly recognize that we were mistaken in our analysis.
If, on the contrary, it is clear that it has produced only death and destruction and not really improved anybody's security, then perhaps those who criticize us today will recognize that, by worrying about Lebanon's fate, we were being lucid friends of Israel.
Stéphane Dion is the member of Parliament for Saint-Laurent-Cartierville and a leadership candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada.