This message is in MIME format. The first part should be readable text,
while the remaining parts are likely unreadable without MIME-aware tools.
Send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] for more info.
--------------75BA3FF15BB1
At the signing ceremony for Ukraine s admission into the aggressive
U.S.-led NATO military alliance, Prime Minister Jean Chretien is
reported to have made "unguarded comments" while chatting with Belgian
President Jean-Luc Dehaene in front of a microphone he thought was
turned off. The comments highlight the deep crisis of the Canadian
bourgeoisie in producing statesmen and stateswomen with any
credibility.
In public, Chretien has said that the expansion of NATO is a matter of
security and "peace in Europe." In private he said that the position
of the U.S., which stands at the head of the NATO expansion, has
nothing to do with security. "I know the reasons, it's not the reasons
of state. It's for political reasons, short-term political reasons, to
win the next elections." He did not comment as to who is going to
benefit from the NATO expansion, but it is well-known that the
military-industrial complex in all the NATO countries will hand over
lots of money for election campaigns, not only in the United States,
but in Canada as well. Over $30 billion worth of armaments is at
stake.
In terms of U.S-Canada relations, and particularly the use of Canadian
troops to do the dirty work for the U.S., Chretien said: "(Clinton)
goes to Haiti with soldiers. The next year, Congress doesn t allow him
to go back. So he phones me. Okay, I send my soldiers, and then
afterwards, I ask for something else in exchange." On the Helm-Burton
legislation, Chretien boasted he was the first to oppose it and added,
"I like to stand up to the Americans. It's popular. But you have to be
very careful because they're our friends."
According to reports, Chretien said that American politicians "sell
their votes." He said Clinton won support for NATO by promising to
build bridges. He said that if politicians did the same thing in
Canada or in Belgium they "would be in prison." It would be laughable,
were it not such a serious matter, that in the same breath that
Chretien admits he sent Canadian troops to Haiti "in exchange for
something else," he is castigating the U.S. politicians for their
deal-making.
The criticism of the parliamentary "opposition" has further revealed
the deep crisis of the bourgeoisie, as the only concern they raised
was how Chretien's comments may damage relations with the U.S.
imperialists.
What is revealed by Chretien's comments is the utterly unprincipled
and double-faced nature of the bourgeois ruling circles. They reveal
the "sell-your-mother-for-a-dime" pragmatism which can justify
anything, and do anything to advance the interests of imperialism at
the cost of the rights and freedoms and lives of the people of Canada
and of other countries, all the while claiming to stand for all the
best in the world. The opposition could not complain of such things
because they too have the sole interest of advancing the aims of the
most economically powerful, at home and abroad. While Chretien has
shrugged off the issue, his comments are now going to haunt and stymie
the Liberals, particularly in their foreign policy affairs, which they
try to present as being based on the highest and most lofty "Canadian
values."
CPC(M-L)
Shawgi Tell
Graduate School of Education
University at Buffalo
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
--------------75BA3FF15BB1--
