Northern Clarity
Three great ones by my uncle, Canadian soldier, war correspondent and Toronto Sun columnist Peter Worthington,* on courage, clarity of thought, cowardice and some Canadians worth knowing about.
On Canadian civil libertarian Alan Borovoy:
Alan Borovoy is one of those rare individuals who defies easy categorizing.As general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) he reacts to some human rights issues the way one might expect, while on other issues he takes a stand that challenges the convictions of those who usually support him.
… Borovoy has a new book out — Categorically Incorrect: Ethical Fallacies in Canada’s War on Terror — that advances the view that Canada has been “needlessly dovish abroad and excessively hawkish at home.”
…Among his fallacies is the idea that UN approval somehow makes going to war legal, while UN disapproval makes going to war illegal. To Borovoy (and people like me) it’s “a gross misconception” that the UN “embodies the rule of law.”
…Borovoy cites various views of the war against Iraq (to atone for Bush’s dad’s failure, for oil, to guarantee American military might, U.S. imperialism, etc.), and deflates them: “Was it not possible that America was doing the right thing for the wrong reasons?”
…Offensive to the pathologically logical Borovoy is what he calls “Equivalence Mongering” — such as equating America’s nuclear capacity with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, or equating America’s behaviour with “the behaviour of tyrants and terrorists.”
On Chris Alexander, 34-year-old Canadian diplomat now with the U.N., and why Canada should listen to him at a time at a time when some Canandian pols are interested in more of a “non-fighting role” in Afghanistan:
Alexander feels positively about Afghanistan’s future, and says the opium poppy trade doesn’t make farmers rich; that headway is being made to reduce that evil trade. Profits from Afghanistan’s opium don’t help the small producer, but those up the distribution line.
As for the resurgence of the Taliban, he feels they must be soundly beaten before peace and security reign. He says they are being beaten — largely by Canadian forces who’ve gone after them in the field and have kicked the Taliban’s ass.
On a case of cowardice in Afghanistan, and when it is appropriate for a war correspondent to set aside the notebook. It includes this gem from Peter’s own war experience:
As a platoon commander in the Korean War, I had a couple of soldiers who did everything possible to get charged in order to escape the trenches. Every man under my command was curious to see if the ploy of sleeping on sentry duty, insubordination, ignoring orders would work. My cure was to take each guy into an empty bunker and offer to have it out with him.
Troops understood
When each declined I said I was not going to charge him, but if he continued his attitude I would send him on every patrol and assignment until he was killed.
One of the guys straightened up immediately, the other went berserk and was evacuated. Morale survived.
The troops understood exactly what was going on.
Journalists covering wars, rebellions and violence know that some members of their trade never leave their hotels and avoid risky situations. They usually don’t write about them, and have disdain for those who pretend in print that they were there.
Soldiers feel similarly.
Read the whole thing.
*Technically, Peter is my step-uncle. All I know is he’s a good guy, gracious and engaging, I keep running into him at family events and I am glad to know him.
h/t Capt. H, thanks for pointing me to Peter’s latest.
Topics: Uncategorized
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:07 am on Monday, January 8, 2007
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