The General has a point

General Roméo Dallaire (that's Senator Dallaire to you civvies) is upbraiding the Conservative government over the case of Omar Khadr. (In all fairness, the Liberals didn't do any better when they were in power, which may be why Stéphane Dion is threatening to discipline the senator, in yet another stunning example of Dion's lack of political and good sense.)

Dallaire's central point - and whatever you think of the General or Khadr or any of the political parties, it's a very good one - is that Khadr was only 15 at the time he was taken into custody and sent to Guantanamo. Someone that young is normally considered a victim of indoctrination and/or intimidation and is rehabilitated, not charged. He asks what makes this case different. And he's right. You cannot have two sets of standards, applied according to the political winds of the times. Either we stand for human rights and justice equally applied, or we don't.

Dallaire said Canadian soldiers have helped rehabilitate more than 7,000 child soldiers in Afghanistan. None of them have been prosecuted, he said.

"What is the political reason? What makes [Khadr] different from the others?" said Dallaire.

Technorati tags: Romeo Dallaire, Omar Khadr

Talking to the Taliban

Susan Riley in today's Ottawa Citizen:

There is probably a significant constituency of Canadians who agree with Layton that ... peace will not be achieved without talking to the Taliban ...

I am slack-jawed. Talking to the Taliban??? These are the guys who made their women ride in buses with the windows covered, who beat them if their shoes made too much noise in the home, who pulled out the eyelashes of little girls if they grew too long, and Riley wants to TALK to them? Has there ever been the slightest reason to believe that rationality had any hold on them whatsoever? Is there even the tiniest bit of historical evidence that negotiations with them could accomplish anything of worth?

And I thought I led a sheltered life!

Ms. Riley desperately needs to understand that there are people in this world who can never be negotiated into reasonability. You do not negotiate with an armed sociopath, unless it is terms of surrender. And even then you keep the finger firmly on the trigger until he's safely in custody. There were never any happy endings in negotiations with Stalin or Hitler. And there can be none with the Taliban. They have no concept whatsoever of playing nice or growing up to become responsible members of society.

Cancers have to go. You can debate ways and means, but accommodation is not a viable option.

If Ms. Riley is right, and the majority of Canadians agree with that statement (which I have trouble believing), then God help us.

Technorati tags: Susan Riley