More Mission Creep
2016 2016-04Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 8 →
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8 SOCIALIST ACTION APRIL 2016 D sion of the Justin Trudeau gov on’t be distracted by the deci ernment to remove six CF18 fighter jets from Iraq, or to allow 25,000 Syrian refugees to come to Canada.
In addition to sending hundreds more troops to the Middle East, and on top of permitting Canadian mer chants of death to sell $5 billion in military vehicles to Saudi Arabia, Ot tawa is considering another “train ing mission,” this time in Libya, ac cording to Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan. This would involve troops on the ground, combat troops.
Western forces are preparing for a military intervention in the North African country. Libya was laid waste by NATO bombing and the regime-change war that eventually toppled Muammar Gadhaffi. The re sulting political vacuum enabled groups like Daesh (ISIS) and Boko Haram to take advantage, and to seize territory.
In life there aren’t many certain ties. But here’s one: Under capital ism there is plenty of money to be made by weapons producers for conflicts new, and wars ongoing.
Justin Trudeau seems to think that antiwar public opinion will be ap peased by cosmetic changes to Ca nadian military intervention—even as he actually steps up involvement in imperialist adventures overseas.
Ottawa wants a seat at the table where and when African and Asian concessions will in future be award ed to Western powers involved in the scramble for resources. There is nothing humanitarian or defensive about this greedy gambit.
— BARRY WEISLEDER programs harder to access and more uncertain for those receiving them. The increased poverty and the climate of desperation that this attack has gener ated have been of central importance in ensuring an astounding growth of low-wage, precarious employment in Ontario.
As the Liberals, political chameleons that they are, posture on the issue of Basic Income, we must avoid the trap of thinking that a rational and socially just approach is going to be won on the strength of good arguments. The idea that Basic Income is so sensible that ev eryone on both sides of the class divide will want to get behind it and make it work in the best interests of all is pro foundly mistaken.
If the concept is being advanced in On tario by the very provincial government that has led the way in program reduc tion and austerity, it is not because they want to reverse the undermining of income support, the proliferation of precarious employment, and the priva tizing of public services but for the very