conflict
Canada’s ceasefire motion is much ado about nothing
From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
“On Monday the NDP has a motion that it pitches as a call for a ceasefire. It does so without demanding Hamas surrender & no longer rule Gaza. It also calls for a litany of other things hostile to Israel. Changing foreign policy to reward a terrorist attack. Not smart”.
Canada was thoroughly embarrassed last fall when a former Nazi was applauded in Parliament.
So why are Liberals now shaking hands with a notorious Holocaust denier?
Or openly praising a Hamas zealot who joked about baking a Jewish baby with baking powder, as MP Heather McPherson did when she introduced the Gaza ceasefire motion?
These are some of the questions we can ask after watching the heated House of Commons debate that took place on March 19, 2024. In what looked more like an amateur debating contest, many speakers appeared to be trying to outdo one another in how pro-Hamas they could be.
The motion was opposed by every Conservative, as well as by three Liberals. One of them, Anthony Housefather, is now contemplating his future with the Liberal Party. Here is how he described the motion that was passed:
“On Monday the NDP has a motion that it pitches as a call for a ceasefire. It does so without demanding Hamas surrender & no longer rule Gaza. It also calls for a litany of other things hostile to Israel. Changing foreign policy to reward a terrorist attack. Not smart”.
And he is exactly right.
Every Canadian wants the war to stop. No one wants to see innocent Palestinians die. However, that will require that the hostages be returned, and Hamas to lay down its arms. That has been Canada’s policy from the beginning of the Oct 7, 2023 conflict. Defence Minister Bill Blair was absolutely clear about Canada’s position, when he said this about Israel, shortly after the Oct 7 attack:
“I think they have a right to defend themselves against that terrorist threat. And quite frankly, Hamas has to be eliminated as a threat not just to Israel but to the world. They are a terrorist organization.”
That is the official position of Canada, and it has never changed. But now, in this non-binding – and largely meaningless – motion the Liberals who supported it have condemned Israel instead of properly putting the blame on Hamas – the terrorist group that caused the single worst pogrom since the Holocaust
It is extremely important to remember in all of this verbiage that Hamas was, and is, a designated terrorist organization in Canada, and the rest of the Free World. It is also extremely important to remember that Hamas is a proxy of Iran.
However, all of the words wasted on this debate are essentially hot air. Canada’s official position has not changed – Israel has the right to defend itself. To do that, Hamas must be eliminated.
Not that a great deal would change even if Canada’s official position on Israel was altered. Canada was a leader on the world stage at one time. Those days are long gone. The motion is for a domestic audience. It shows the Liberals trying to have it both ways. They are trying to appease their more radical fringe, while not getting Canadian Jews and other Canadians who support Israel not too mad at their obvious hypocrisy. Actual government policy calls for the elimination of Hamas, but Liberals don’t want to say so.
We see Joe Biden and his Democrats doing the same thing – strongly criticizing Israel and its elected leader while the official American position is that Israel has a right to defend itself – which includes eliminating Hamas as a threat. Biden made his staunch support for Israel very clear after the Oct 7 massacre. Despite his equivocation since that time, official American policy towards Israel has not changed. Biden, and Democrats, like Chuck Schumer, are playing to their audiences in sensitive electoral areas, like Michigan with their recent anti-Israel rhetoric. But those are performances for their local audience, as opposed to official policy changes.
What is really important is the U.S. Security Council veto. As long as America continues to veto demands for an immediate ceasefire Israel can continue its legitimate, methodical campaign to eliminate Hamas in Gaza. To date it has taken extraordinary precautions to avoid unnecessary civilian casualties, in spite of Hamas’ shocking use of human sacrifice – namely innocent Palestinians – to achieve its goals.
It doesn’t appear that a ceasefire motion that will include terms demanded by the U.S., such as an unequivocal condemnation of Hamas’s barbaric Oct 7 attack, and an immediate release of the hostages, will happen any time soon.
Unless that changes the heated political speeches and increasingly violent protests we see and hear everywhere are just noise. Israel is determined to finish what it has started.
The Oct 7 attack has profoundly shaken Israel to its core. Except for fringe voices, those Israelis who had once hoped that Hamas would eventually morph into a peaceful neighbor have come to the painful realization that it is – in crude terms – “kill or be killed”. They are not going to stop until Hamas is eliminated as an existential threat to their survival. Any nation would do the same if faced with a threat to their very survival.
So, even if the United States should withdraw its Security Council veto the Israelis would probably continue until the job is done – for the simple reason that they have no choice. They are determined to get the job done. The future of Netanyahu will be determined only after the war is over.
The heated words, street demonstrations and politically-charged ceasefire motions will be around for a while, but they are largely much ado about nothing. What is not much ado about nothing is Israel’s certain knowledge that if they don’t destroy Hamas, it will destroy them.
Brian Giesbrecht, retired judge, is a Senior Fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
MxM News
Quick Hit:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has initiated an investigation into the Biden administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Hegseth confirmed that investigators have already been selected to examine the disastrous exit, which left 13 U.S. service members dead and stranded Americans behind. He emphasized that accountability is forthcoming and vowed a thorough review to uncover the decision-making failures behind the debacle.
Key Details:
- Hegseth told Breitbart News that he has already chosen investigators for a full Pentagon-led review of the withdrawal.
- The Biden administration’s 2021 exit resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members, abandoned American citizens, and a botched drone strike that killed an Afghan aid worker and his family.
- No officials were held accountable, while Marine Col. Stuart Scheller, who publicly called for accountability, was the only one punished—he now serves in the Trump administration.
Diving Deeper:
Hegseth, in an exclusive interview, stated that the investigation would be comprehensive, focusing on key decision-making failures that led to one of the most disastrous military withdrawals in U.S. history. While no specific timeline was provided, he stressed the importance of getting the facts right.
The 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, executed under then-President Joe Biden, resulted in a chaotic evacuation at Kabul International Airport. The suicide bombing at Abbey Gate claimed the lives of 13 American troops, while the administration abandoned hundreds of U.S. citizens despite claiming success. Additionally, the U.S. military, in a hasty attempt to prevent another attack, launched a drone strike that mistakenly killed an innocent Afghan aid worker and his family. At the time, then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley defended the strike as “righteous.”
Despite these failures, no senior officials were removed from their posts. The only individual who faced consequences was Marine Col. Stuart Scheller, who was discharged after demanding accountability in a viral video. Now, he serves as a senior adviser to the Defense Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness under the 47th President, Donald Trump.
Hegseth reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring accountability, emphasizing the need to establish a factual timeline of events, decisions, and their consequences. “I don’t think there’s anybody that feels like there’s been an honest accounting of what happened in Afghanistan. That’s our job,” he said.
The investigation, he added, will be critical to rebuilding trust within the Defense Department. “We’re going to drive that full investigation and get a sense of what happened. Accountability will be coming,” Hegseth concluded.
conflict
Senior U.S. officials meet with Russians in Saudi Arabia to normalize relations, end Ukraine war
MxM News
Quick Hit:
Senior U.S. officials met with Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia for the most extensive discussions between the two nations in years. The Trump administration is pushing for an end to the Ukraine war and the normalization of relations, with economic and energy cooperation also on the agenda.
Key Details:
- U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Riyadh.
- Russian officials are seeking to restore economic ties, including potential returns of American oil companies to Russia.
- Ukraine and European allies are concerned that President Trump could broker a peace deal favoring Russia without consulting Kyiv.
Diving Deeper:
Senior U.S. and Russian officials gathered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for high-level discussions aimed at ending the war in Ukraine and exploring ways to rebuild diplomatic and economic ties. The meeting marks the most significant engagement between the two nations in at least three years and follows a recent phone call between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which both leaders emphasized the benefits of renewed cooperation.
Leading the U.S. delegation were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff. Their Russian counterparts included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, and Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund. Discussions centered on peace negotiations in Ukraine and the possibility of American oil companies re-entering the Russian market.
Dmitriev emphasized the economic advantages of resuming business relations with the U.S., noting that American companies had lost an estimated $300 billion due to sanctions and business withdrawals following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He argued that restoring these ties could be mutually beneficial, citing President Trump’s focus on economic success and pragmatic deal-making.
The meeting has sparked concern among European allies and Ukraine, who worry that Trump may push for a settlement favoring Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, also in the Gulf region for diplomatic efforts, reaffirmed that Ukraine would reject any peace deal negotiated without its direct involvement.
Despite skepticism from the West, the Trump administration maintains that engagement with Russia is necessary to end the conflict and normalize relations. “If there is going to be the possibility of progress here towards peace, we are going to need to talk to the Russians,” Rubio stated on CBS’s Face the Nation prior to the talks.
Saudi Arabia, which has maintained a neutral stance in the Ukraine conflict, played host to the discussions as part of its broader ambition to position itself as a global diplomatic leader. The Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry emphasized its commitment to fostering peace and security through international dialogue.
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