On Israel

The defining moment that drew me to the Conservative Party was last summer, in the midst of the Israel/Hezbollah war. The PM's firm support of Israel was brilliant, gutsy, and a politically wise move. One in a series of moves devoted to splitting the LPC caucus and driving them further to the left, thus exacerbating the fatal divide in the left. One of a series of moves that, though perhaps only 40% (a somewhat random number, mind you, but pertinent) of Canadians support it, it's that 40% that'll elect you a majority in a FPTP system. More importantly, it was the morally correct move. Israel is seven million surrounded by hundreds of millions that are pledged and devoted to driving those seven million into the sea, not just an independant Palestine, but pure annihilation of both a Jewish state and the Jewish race, and the establishment of a fundamentalist Islamic theocracy stretching across all the Middle East.

Israel is a bulwark of democratic rights in the name of this theocratic plague. Is it perfect? Of course not, Israel has its human rights problems and should be held accountable for them, but is Israel a helluva lot better than the alternative? Of course. The PM firmly standing for Israel was absolutely the correct move.

Especially at the micro-level of the Israel/Hezbollah war. Compare these two sides:

One which was founded on the mandate of ending an Israeli occupation, succeeded at this task, but still existing with a sub-state independant military force which commits terrorist actions. One that started the conflict by invading Israeli sovereignty and attacking their army, one that ignores UN resolutions, and one that fires missiles indiscriminantly into Israeli urban areas, hitting schools or houses, either is fine because Jews aren't people, right? Finally, one side that is primarily funded by one of the worst and most abusive theocratic regimes in the world.

On the other side, though nowhere near shining and perfect, you have a side that was retaliating to initial attacks. One that left Lebanon and listened to UN mandates. One who mainly struck infrastructure targets and structures where prior missiles had been launched from into Israel. One who left goddamn pamphlets laying around saying "Next up, we're invading this region. It's most likely in your best interest to leave the area." It was the most humane military campaign fought in years, due to media attention, which partially contributed to how ineffective it was. Did they commit atrocities and human rights violations? Of course, and those actions are reprehensible, but find me a conflict, throughout history, that has NEVER had violations of basic human rights. It's a sad fact about the nature of war, but it's the reality you face with human conflict. So it comes down to a matter of which side is more morally correct in the conflict and tries to be more humane? Which side supports basic Enlightment ideals? Which side listens to intergovernmental organizations? The answer is, of course, Israel.

Best move you've made yet, PM Harper.