Dear Prime Minister Chretien, Mr. Manley, and Mr. Eggleton:
I am opposed to the role you have chosen for Canada.....joining the
violent military response of the
USA. I believe you have changed forever the image and reputation
of Canada as a peacemaker.
I believe Canada should play a support role (like we did after the
September 11th attack---being a
safe refuge for US-destined planes to land). I am extremely opposed
to Canada jumping on the war
bandwagon for two reasons.
Firstly, just as the US was unable to kill Sadam Hussein by dropping
bombs on Iraq, it is unlikely
you will kill Osama bin Laden by dropping bombs on Afghanistan....but
you will kill, as you have
already, Afghani civilians who are just as innocent as the civilians
who were unfortunate enough to be
in the two WTC towers on September 11th.
Secondly, because of our proximity to the US, it is too easy for our
country to become as much a
target as the US.
Just as we, in the western world, agree there is no justification for
the terrorist's act on September
11th, but some believe there is justification for our military response
and the death of innocent
Afghani civilians; the terrorists and their huge following believe
very strongly that they were justified in
what they did September 11th and that retaliation by NATO is an invitation
for all-out war.
What will it take for all to see that no country's justification for
killing innocent civilians can be more
valid than another's. After decades of watching the Irish kill
each other off, and the Israelis and
Palestinians do the same, and seeing what the people in the former
Yugoslavia have done to each
other, and the horrors of Rwanda and other African countries; what
will it take for us to see that you
can never convince the other side that your justification is right
and theirs is wrong......the killing of
each other only entrenches both sides deeper into their misguided belief
that killing is the only
answer to solving their differences.
As a response to September 11th, I would like Canada to address the
issue of the millions of
refugees who have been living in camps for the past two or three decades,
rather than join the war.
Sincerely,
Carolann Glover