Pen Meets Paper Jan.25'10

Opinion by Helge Nome
The disaster in Haiti may become an opportunity for Canada to step back into its traditional role of peacekeeper and community builder. There are already many established ties between the two nations with a sizable Haitian community in Montreal.
And Canada has already taken the initiative of hosting a conference on reconstruction of the shattered country that has been on the receiving end of so much misfortune for so long. The common French heritage of the two nations creates a special bond that could prove very useful for both.
On the other side of the ledger, taking a leading role in Haiti could provide Canada with an exit strategy from Afghanistan where young Canadian lives are being wasted in what is essentially a civil war magnified and driven by outside interest groups.
Canada is much better at saving lives than taking them and here is an opportunity to show the rest of the world where our talents lie.
We should get out of the bed we have shared with the empire builders of this world and do something useful instead.
As a matter of interest, have you noticed that Al-Quada has a funny way of showing up just where and when it is needed? Bin Laden’s friendly face kinda pops up just at the right time, when some imperial action is needed, not too far from valuable energy resources. (Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Yemen)
The philosophy of imperial agitators is plain for all to see: “If you spook ‘em good (meaning us) you can get away with anything”.