Walkom: What Harper and Co. get from the Libyan war Published On Fri Oct 21 2011[image: Prime Minister Stephen Harper was one of the first NATO leaders to publicly define the alliance’s goal as regime change rather than, as advertised, protection of civilians, writes Tom Walkom.]
Prime Minister Stephen Harper was one of the first NATO leaders to publicly define the* alliance’s goal as regime change rather than, as advertised, protection of civilians*, writes Tom Walkom. Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS [image: Image]<http://www.thestar.com/news/columnists/94627--walkom-thomas> By Thomas Walkom<http://www.thestar.com/news/columnists/94627--walkom-thomas> National Affairs Columnist For Stephen Harper, the successful end to NATO’s seven-month Libyan adventure has accomplished *three clear things.* *First, the death of Moammar Gadhafi has removed an unpredictable dictator whose whimsies threatened Canadian businesses operating in Libya.* More on this later. Second, success in Libya has taken the edge off disaster in Afghanistan. Canada’s military can now celebrate what appears to be an unalloyed victory. Just as Ronald Reagan used America’s 1983 comic-opera invasion of the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada as an antidote to U.S. military failures in Vietnam, so *Harper inflated the Libyan war* — lauding what he called “the prominent role played by Canada’s armed forces” and highlighting the fact that a Canadian general had been put in charge of NATO’s air strikes there. Third, the war has re-affirmed Canada’s full-fledged support for *NATO as the world’s self-appointed policeman.* Canada balked completely at sending troops to join America in its invasion of Iraq. *In Libya, by contrast, Harper has been front and centre. He was one of the first NATO leaders to publicly define the alliance’s goal as regime change rather than, as advertised, protection of civilians.* *He was one of the first to offer planes and a warship to the NATO effort. Later, he was one of the first to recognize Libya’s rag-tag rebels as the country’s legitimate government.* Yet why NATO itself chose to get involved in Libya remains murky. *Certainly, members of the alliance are not usually concerned about the fate of civilians* under dictatorial regimes. Rather, the late Libyan dictator*’s real sin was to fall afoul of the Western business interests* that were once his best friends. According to U.S. state department memos later leaked to the media, an enraged Gadhafi threatened* to seize all Libyan assets of Calgary-based Suncor Energy Inc.* *Ultimately, the Libyan leader satisfied himself with a 40 per cent cut to Suncor’s production quota. He can’t do that any more.* *Thomas Walkom's column appears Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.*
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