"War and Peace both have a Price"

January 29, 2003

All of us want to avoid war, but not at any cost. 

Certainly not if the cost is to allow Saddam Hussein to exterminate anyone who resists him or to threaten neighbouring countries with invasion or to compile weapons of mass destruction. 

It’s an unfortunate and ironic reality, but history has taught us time and time again that in order to secure peace, we must be prepared for war. 

The greatest threat to peace is when the United Nations is not taken seriously.  If the UN resolutions are easily ignored without any serious consequences then it will soon become irrelevant as a protector of global peace. 

Left unchecked, Hussein will continue to advance his chemical and biological weapons programs.  Someone must display a willingness to deter him.  It’s naïve to believe that if the threat of war were taken off the table, Hussein would bow to diplomatic efforts.  And what happens should those peaceful overtures fail? 

Just as the world could not sit idly by when Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Kuwait more than a decade ago, we cannot ignore the dangerous reality of what’s happening within Iraq’s borders today. 

No matter how difficult, this is not another controversy that the Liberals can “wait out” until the Canadian public is distracted by time or another issue.

Yet the Liberal cabinet has no policy, no convictions and no resolve when it comes to Iraq.  Nothing except waffling, dithering and contradictory statements at a time when strong and decisive leadership is required. 

If necessary, is Canada committed to enforcing UN Security Council Resolution 1441 concerning the disarmament of Iraq with military action?  Is our country prepared to support our allies if they decide to act independently of the UN?  These are no longer “hypothetical questions” that Jean Chrétien and Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham have refused to answer.  

It’s not a matter of “if” the world is forced to take action, it’s “when”. Many had expected that findings released this week by the United Nations chief weapons inspector Hans Blix would be inconclusive.  Instead, his report clearly indicated that Iraq is not cooperating with resolution 1441 and has continued attempts to deceive weapons inspectors. 

Mr. Chrétien had said he was waiting for the UN report to decide what course of action Canada will support, yet now that he has the results, his only response has been to “shoot the messenger”.  

To Mr. Blix’s confirmation that Iraq has failed to account for missing anthrax and nerve gas, refused to allow unrestricted access to witnesses, nor explained the discovery of banned chemical rocket warheads, the Liberals did not respond with alarm or condemnation for Iraq or Hussein.  Rather, our Prime Minister directed his criticism at Mr. Blix saying he produced an “unsatisfactory report” that doesn’t do enough to help his government make a decision on what to do about Iraq.

In reality, they've been armed with all of the facts, yet the federal Liberals remain committed to their reckless policy on the disarmament of Iraq...a policy of indecisiveness.