Canada & the Saudis: Snowflake Versus Tyrant

BY RAHEEL RAZA Clarion Project

Canada’s ongoing spat with Saudi Arabia can be likened to a snowflake versus tyrant.

In a recent tweet, Canada reminded Saudi Arabia about its human rights record, specifically relating to the incarceration of liberal blogger Raif Badawi and now his sister, a women’s rights activist.

The kingdom responded by imposing trade restrictions, recalling its ambassador and declaring Canada’s ambassador persona non grata.

Small potatoes

Two points are worth noting about this incident:

First, Canada is operating from a very weak and isolated position. The Canadian government has steadily weakened all trade accords under NAFTA and has lost its position of authority among G7 nations after a series of diplomatic and trade gaffes, including a disastrous trip to India by Prime Minster Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau has come to be known as a man-child and after his trip to China, he was nicknamed “Little Potato.” The Trudeau government also has been appeasing Iran, which irks Saudi Arabia.

Such is the lure of oil. Yet even Western countries are not supporting Trudeau on the latter decision.

(On a side note, Pakistan has come out in support of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. What an interesting conundrum that none of Trudeau’s members of parliament of Pakistani origin have condemned Saudi Arabia. Talk about infiltration!)

Saudi Arabia probably has the worst human rights record in history. They have beheaded more people than ISIS. The day after they tried to defend their human rights record, they bombed a school bus in Yemen. The death toll is currently at 40.

And it was their second such atrocity in a week.

Second, the real reason the Saudis are paranoid about social media regarding human rights or any criticism of their attitude towards women is because most of the Arab Spring uprisings were started through social media.

If this is true, it is an indication of how vulnerable Bin Salman feels about criticism and social media. Reforms are necessary if another Arab Spring is to be avoided sometime in the future, but reforms are not welcome in fundamentalist Islam. 

While Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) speaks of reforms, Muslims have been struggling for reform for 1,400 years. And as much as they claim to have changed, the Saudis are by no means reformers.

Between their turf war with the equally evil regime of Iran and their constant export of their Salafi/Wahabbi ideology, they will eventually destroy the Muslim world if not the entire world.

As noted by J.J. McCullough in The Washington Post, “If Canada’s goal is a foreign policy oriented to endorse the spread of global liberalism, it is not at all obvious how a prolonged fight with Riyadh is more principled than tighter trade ties to Beijing or an embassy in Tehran.”

Just when I was beginning to believe that Foreign Minister Christia Freeland was a very capable minister, she pulls this trick out of her hat. Foreign policy by Twitter may work for bullies, and Christia may be a bully at heart but she cannot back up her bullying like Donald Trump can. Her only form of support is Trudeau and being known as 'Snowflake' or 'Little Potato' severely limits Justin's usefulness as an international heavyweight. Only another strongman can take on a strongman. Christia needs to find more traditional methods to practice diplomacy.

Establishment Outraged at Rep Tulsi Gabbard for Fact-Finding Trip to Syria

US Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) © Mike Segar / Reuters

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii has stirred up the US foreign policy establishment by going on a private fact-finding mission to Syria. Gabbard has opposed the US policy of regime change in Syria and championed a bill to stop arming terrorists there.

Gabbard’s trip to Syria and Lebanon was made public on Wednesday by Foreign Policy, a magazine close to the very interventionist establishment in Washington long criticized by the Hawaii Democrat.

A veteran of the Iraq War and major in the Hawaii National Guard, Gabbard “has long been committed to peace and ending counterproductive, interventionist wars,” her spokesperson Emily Latimer said in a statement Wednesday.

Gabbard has been a vocal critic of outgoing President Barack Obama’s policy of demanding the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad and blaming his government for the bloody war with Islamist rebels.

"As a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, and as an individual committed to doing all she can to promote and work for peace, she felt it was important to meet with a number of individuals and groups including religious leaders, humanitarian workers, refugees and government and community leaders," Latimer said in a statement.

Middle East pundit Charles Lister, among others, dubbed Gabbard an “Assad apologist,” while Washington pundits wondered aloud if she met with the Syrian leader.

Latimer did not provide any details of Gabbard’s itinerary to the media, citing security concerns.

One of the stops on the trip was Aleppo, AFP reported on Thursday, citing the Syrian daily Al-Watan. According to the paper, the US delegation that included Gabbard visited the historic citadel and eastern parts of the city that were held by Islamist rebels until December 22.

The surfing congresswoman famously resigned as the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee last year and endorsed Bernie Sanders for the party presidential nomination.

In November, she accepted an invitation from President-elect Donald Trump to discuss Syria and the US efforts to fight Al-Qaeda and Islamic State, sparking speculation that he might appoint her to a Cabinet post.

“Where I disagree with President-elect Trump on issues, I will not hesitate to express that disagreement,” she said at the time. “However, I believe we can disagree, even strongly, but still come together on issues that matter to the American people and affect their daily lives.”

On December 8, Gabbard introduced the Stop Arming Terrorists Act, which would prohibit the US government from arming and funding “Sunni militant groups working to overthrow the Assad regime, such as the Levant Front, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham [Al-Nusra Front], and al Qaeda,” in the words of Foreign Policy.

Gabbard may be the only honest voice in America regarding the war in Syria. She seems to be right-on. It's easier for her to critique America's position and involvement in Syria since she represents a state that does not manufacture weapons, etc. 

This woman has the nerve and the intelligence to be a candidate for the next president although she seems to be burning some bridges behind her which would make that objective much more difficult to reach. Still, can you imagine a female, Samoan-American who practices Hinduism as the next POTUS? Almost as much fun as Donald Trump!