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Iraq

Saturday September 11, 2021

September 18, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 11, 2021

The 20th anniversary of 9/11: no end in sight

Wednesday September 12, 2001

A new and deadly era began when the planes sliced into the twin towers on the morning of 11 September 2001. That evening, the historian Tony Judt wrote that he had seen the 21st century begin. The nearly 3,000 lives stolen by al-Qaida were only a small part of the toll. The horror began a chain of events that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, including huge numbers of civilians abroad and many US military personnel. It is still unfolding.

If the killing of the plot’s mastermind Osama bin Laden a few months before the 10th anniversary perhaps let some hope that an end to that new era might be in sight, there can be no such false confidence at the 20th. The establishment of a Taliban government in Kabul, two decades after the US ousted the militants for harbouring Bin Laden, has underscored two things: that far from reasserting its global supremacy, the US looks more vulnerable today; and that the echoes of 9/11 are still reverberating across the region – but will not stay there.

September 11, 2006

Al-Qaida itself survives and others claim its mantle. In the west, the threat from Islamist terrorism endures – from 7/7 and the Madrid train bombings, to the attacks at Manchester Arena, the Berlin Christmas market and Vienna – though the nature of the threat has shifted, from a heavily financed, complex and internationally organised plot to more localised, less sophisticated attacks. This week, 20 men went on trial over the 2015 massacre at the Bataclan concert hall and other sites in Paris. Ken McCallum, MI5’s chief, said on Friday that the agency had prevented six “late stage” terrorist plots during the pandemic, and that with the Taliban’s triumph, “more risk progressively may flow our way”.

The determination to pursue a military solution fed the political problems, as history should have warned. (A Rand Corporation study of 248 terrorist groups worldwide suggested that only 7% were ended by military force.)

September 11, 2011

In Afghanistan, the refusal to accept a Taliban surrender paved the way for America’s longest war and ultimate acceptance of defeat. Islamic State arose from the ashes of the invasion of Iraq. Extraordinary renditions, torture, the atrocities of Abu Ghraib and the unwillingness to acknowledge or atone for civilian deaths at the hands of US forces or their allies all stoked the fire. These abuses and crimes were not anomalies but intrinsic to the war on terror. Men swept up in the aftermath are still held at Guantánamo Bay.

Around the world, basic rights were erased at home too. The US saw a massive expansion of presidential power; the veneration of secrecy; the destruction of norms; the normalisation of Islamophobia; the promotion of a narrative linking immigration and terrorism, breeding broader intolerance; and the encouragement of the belief that ordinary citizens were in a state of war. It is not hard to draw the line to the rise of Donald Trump and white supremacy, or rightwing populism elsewhere. In the US, far-right terror groups were behind most attacks last year; in the UK, police have said that the fastest growing terror threat is from the far right. The biggest perils to the US now appear not external but internal. The future of a divided and distrustful country looks increasingly precarious, its status in the world weakened.

August 18, 2021

Whatever many in the country once believed, American citizens cannot be isolated from the dangers of the outside world; trouble is not “always someplace else”. On 9/11, the country transitioned from a dream of unending tranquility at home to a nightmare of forever war. With the return of soldiers from Afghanistan, the US is more distanced from the enemy. But the conflict continues by other means, and without boots on the ground, drone strikes are more likely than ever to claim the lives of civilians as well as terrorist suspects. The US, and the west, cannot be safe at home while insecurity reigns abroad. (The Guardian) 

 

Posted in: International, USA Tagged: 2021-31, 9-11, Afghanistan, anniversary, history, International, Iraq, terror, terrorism, Uncle Sam, USA, war

Thursday September 3, 2015

September 2, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

 

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday September 4, 2015 How Canada could be doing more to stop the migrant crisis They are desperate people taking desperate measures as they flee war, persecution and poverty. They endure abuse, starvation and, for the unlucky, death in their search for asylum. The numbers are numbing. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 60 million displaced persons are on the move. Each day an additional 42,500 Ð the equivalent of everyone living in the Northwest Territories Ð are forced to leave their homes. The flows, the most since the mass displacements after the Second World War, are global. They are desperate people taking desperate measures as they flee war, persecution and poverty. They endure abuse, starvation and, for the unlucky, death in their search for asylum. The numbers are numbing. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 60 million displaced persons are on the move. Each day an additional 42,500 Ð the equivalent of everyone living in the Northwest Territories Ð are forced to leave their homes. The flows, the most since the mass displacements after the Second World War, are global. The number of European migrants increased 51 per cent in 2014: through Turkey, the worldÕs top refugee-hosting country; across the Mediterranean; and within Ukraine. The number of Asian migrants is up 31 per cent, with Iran and Pakistan now in the top four refugee-receiving nations. Displacement in the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa is up 18 per cent. Ethiopia has replaced Kenya as the top African host nation. The numbers from the Americas are up 12 per cent because of the six million still displaced within Colombia. Refugee claims are up 44 per cent in the United States as a result of the increased flow from Central America. The displaced are labelled variously as aliens, illegals, migrants or refugees. Few countries particip

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 3, 2015

How Canada could be doing more to stop the migrant crisis

They are desperate people taking desperate measures as they flee war, persecution and poverty. They endure abuse, starvation and, for the unlucky, death in their search for asylum.

Wednesday April 22, 2015The numbers are numbing. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 60 million displaced persons are on the move. Each day an additional 42,500 – the equivalent of everyone living in the Northwest Territories – are forced to leave their homes.

The flows, the most since the mass displacements after the Second World War, are global.

They are desperate people taking desperate measures as they flee war, persecution and poverty. They endure abuse, starvation and, for the unlucky, death in their search for asylum.

The numbers are numbing. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 60 million displaced persons are on the move. Each day an additional 42,500 – the equivalent of everyone living in the Northwest Territories – are forced to leave their homes.

The flows, the most since the mass displacements after the Second World War, are global.

Wednesday February 18, 2015The number of European migrants increased 51 per cent in 2014: through Turkey, the world’s top refugee-hosting country; across the Mediterranean; and within Ukraine. The number of Asian migrants is up 31 per cent, with Iran and Pakistan now in the top four refugee-receiving nations. Displacement in the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa is up 18 per cent. Ethiopia has replaced Kenya as the top African host nation. The numbers from the Americas are up 12 per cent because of the six million still displaced within Colombia. Refugee claims are up 44 per cent in the United States as a result of the increased flow from Central America.

The displaced are labelled variously as aliens, illegals, migrants or refugees.

Few countries participate in the UNHCR program that resettles about 100,000 refugees each year. The United States takes the most. Canada has agreed to resettle 14,500 refugees as part of an intake of 285,000 immigrants this year.

During the current election campaign, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper pledged to accept 10,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq over the next four years, but critics note that it took almost two years to meet our 2013 commitment to settle 1,500 Syrian refugees. Our processing capacity will have to be improved if we are to meet the pledge of 10,000 over the next three years.

Canada could do more.

RB-Europa-promo

Available at the Redbubble Boutique

The next government should launch an energetic appeal matching private and government giving. Couple it with a similar plan for private and government sponsorship to increase refugee resettlement. Make bureaucracy facilitate, not hinder.

While the federal government must lead, provincial and municipal governments have a role. In the aftermath of the Indochinese boat people crisis, then-mayor of Ottawa Marion Dewar launched Project 4000 in June, 1979, to help resettle 4,000 of the 8,000 refugees Canada had agreed to take. Her initiative galvanized the country. Then prime minister Joe Clark’s minority government raised Canada’s intake to 50,000. Canada would eventually settle more than 60,000 refugees.

The moral case for saving desperate people fleeing for their lives is clear. So is the realpolitik recognition that inaction only compounds a human tragedy that eventually may wind up on our own shores. (Source: Globe & Mail)


(Saskatoon) Star Phoenix, September 4, 2015

(Saskatoon) Star Phoenix, September 4, 2015

Posted in: Canada, International Tagged: Canada, Europe, Immigration, International, Iraq, Libya, maps, migrants, refugees, Syria, tearsheet, war

Wednesday March 25, 2015

March 24, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Wednesday March 25, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday March 25, 2015

Harper seeks Parliament’s approval to extend Iraq mission into Syria

Stephen Harper is asking Parliament to endorse his plan to extend Canada’s involvement in the fight against Islamic State militants by 12 months and to expand the scope of Canadian air strikes against extremists to include Syria.

The Conservatives are putting the motion for expanding the mission on the order paper today and debate will begin Thursday. Both the NDP and Liberals said they opposed the motion, though the vote is expected to easily pass given the Conservative majority in the Commons.

Saturday September 27, 2014Canadian warplanes have been bombing Islamic State targets in Iraq since last October and Mr. Harper had previously said he believed he needed the consent of the Syrian government before striking Islamic State forces in Syria.

On Tuesday morning, Mr. Harper told the House of Commons that the Canadian government has changed its mind and decided it doesn’t need the approval of the Assad regime, which is a pariah today because of its murderous war against its civilians.

“The government recognizes that ISIL’s [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s] power base, indeed the so-called caliphate’s capital, is in Syria,” the Prime Minister said. (Read Mr. Harper’s speech.)

“ISIL’s fighters and much of its heavier equipment are moving freely across the Iraqi border into Syria, in part for better protection against our air strikes. In our view, ISIL must cease to have any safe haven in Syria.”

He said Canada’s intentions in staying in this fight have not changed. (Source: Globe & Mail)


Reposted to Yahoo Canada News.

Stephen Harper drops Canada deeper into the snakepit #Syria #Iraq #cdnpoli http://t.co/B54PzAMzM3 pic.twitter.com/YeL0PkaHR5

— Graeme MacKay (@mackaycartoons) March 24, 2015

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: beaver, Canada, Iraq, ISIL, Isis, Islamic State, mission, snake, Stephen Harper, Syria, war

Wednesday February 18, 2015

February 17, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Wednesday February 18, 2015Wednesday February 18, 2015

Canada’s Iraq mission has cost $122 million, military says

Canada’s air and ground mission battling Islamic State extremists in Iraq has cost $122 million so far, new figures show.

Defence Minister Jason Kenney on Monday overturned weeks of silence by the Defence Department on the issue and revealed the price tag of the mission to date.

“We think these costs are entirely reasonable given the importance of this mission,” Kenney said in a statement.

Kenney, who took over as defence minister a week ago, said the final cost will be higher but the final tally depends on when the mission, now due to end in April, wraps up.

“Costs will ultimately be higher than that, but how much higher will depend on whether we wrap up the operation at the end of March, or extend it, so total final costs are still difficult to calculate,” he said.

He said Canadian special operations forces soldiers — working as advisers on the ground — and Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft are having a “meaningful impact against this genocidal terrorist organization.”

Kenney cited the latest atrocities — the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya by an Islamic State-affiliated group and the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot — as further justification of the Conservatives’ decision to launch the military mission over the objections of Liberals and New Democrats.

“This is a vicious death cult that is a threat to regional and international security, they have declared war on Canada and our allies, and that’s why Canada has a responsibility to be there,” Kenney said. (Source: Toronto Star)

Posted in: Canada Tagged: Canada, geese, goose, Iraq, IS, ISIL, Isis, Islamic State, military

Tuesday October 7, 2014

October 6, 2014 by Graeme MacKay

Tuesday October 7, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday October 7, 2014

ISIS mission reveals Liberal divide

When Justin Trudeau leads the Liberal Party of Canada Monday in opposing a Canadian military mission against ISIS in Iraq, he will do so against the better judgment of many of his party’s grandees, who between them have influenced Canada’s military response to global conflicts, from Rwanda and Kosovo to Afghanistan and previous wars in Iraq.

The genocidal jihadists, including Canadians and other Westerners, who fight under the banner of ISIS “have to be whacked, and whacked good,” Lloyd Axworthy, a former Liberal foreign affairs minister who aimed to put “human security” at the heart of foreign affairs, said on CTV last week.

[slideshow_deploy id=’1982’]

 

“If you really want to stop them, you’re going to have to give a full-court press.”

He was not alone in supporting the action Mr. Trudeau has vowed to reject, or in undermining the leader’s rhetoric before he used it. Former interim Liberal leader Bob Rae, for example, rejected the comparison, later made by Mr. Trudeau, to the “fiasco” of the 2003 Iraq War. Former Liberal Senator Roméo Dallaire dismissed a campaign of air strikes without ground troops as pointless, and former Liberal cabinet minister Ujjal Dosanjh calling for “robust” Canadian military action.

Thursday October 2, 2014All these comments were made before Mr. Trudeau vowed to oppose the government motion for the ISIS mission. But by accusing Prime Minister Stephen Harper of using “overheated and moralistic rhetoric … to justify a war,” Mr. Trudeau has chosen a strategy that is likely to colour his political fortunes for months to come.

And by favouring purely humanitarian action over military force, Mr. Trudeau seems to have broken with many of the party’s eminences —  if such a rift is already apparent, it could well go deeper. (Source: National Post)

Earlier in the week Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said Harper should be doing more in Iraq than just trying to “whip out our CF-18s and show them how big they are.” (Source: CBC News)

JustinTrudeau-Gallery


LETTERS to the EDITOR

It seems lately that cartoonist Graeme MacKay is crossing the line of poor judgment more often than not. Tuesday’s editorial “cartoon” is a prime example.

Canada’s reputation of being a nation of peacekeepers is something that should be held in respect. The men and women who represent Canada while acting as peacekeepers should be honoured. Having peace doves come out of the fly of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s pants disrespects and cheapens the image of these peacekeepers. — Lynn Timson, Hamilton


 

Tuesday’s editorial cartoon featuring doves flying from Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s pants zipper is way off base. This cartoon is both offensive and lacks taste. An apology to Trudeau and your readers is due. — Dave Hutton, Burlington


 

Why are some of your readers presenting dissenting comments as to the Graeme MacKay editorial cartoon highlighting Justin Trudeau’s comments? Is it not the mandate of a news publication to present fact and comment to its readers?

The comment Trudeau made in parliament was somewhat juvenile and The Spectator, in keeping with their mandate, commented in form of a cartoon as to such.

To any of your readers who have had any interest in past and present politics can certainly grasp the fact that in young Trudeau, the apple did not fall from the tree. Keep up the good work Mr. MacKay. — Arthur A. Alkerton, Oakville


 

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

Iiiiish, non mais quelle caricature de Justin Trudeau… (via @danlebla @natnewswatch) pic.twitter.com/65kkgfaTKy

— Annie Desrochers (@NieDesrochers) October 7, 2014

Cartoon Parody


 

BACKGROUND COMMENTARY

So the above cartoon attracted more negative feedback than usual. My editor thought it would be unclear to those completely unaware of the gaffe Justin Trudeau made at last week’s 2020 Conference in Ottawa.  Unless some kind of a reference was made of what Trudeau actually said with regard to the macho attitude he believes drives Prime Minister Harper to send fighter jets to combat ISIS terrorists in Iraq, some people simply won’t get it. So I added the caption bubble, and some people still didn’t seem to find humour in it.

For the record, when I saw the clip of Trudeau doing his whip out your CF-18s quip I actually chuckled to myself. It’s a pretty funny line that seemed to work well in an interview setting before a live audience, and coming from the hip Justin, not at odds with what his younger followers would say or write. Then, once the right leaning fogies heard, out came the bile and the charges of disrespect for our military, immaturity, and unstatesmanlike behaviour.

I spoke to a few readers upset enough that they felt compelled to call me personally. I pleaded to read to them what Trudeau actually said to give some context. Even after explaining the quote that was the actual motive behind drawing the cartoon, published on the very day Parliament voted on Canada’s combat role in the Iraq mission, Trudeau was given the pass and my cartoon was labelled disgusting, and offensive, and how dare Spectator editors allow such an obscenity be printed in such a wholesome family newspaper!

So what I thought would be a slam dunk of a cartoon sure to get lots of LOLs and social media shares and likes turned out to be a bit of a satirical dud. A reader registering their delight with the cartoon aptly described the cartoon as “naughty”, in full understanding of the sexy status Justin Trudeau enjoys as a popularity advantage over his political opponents, and how it can backfire against him.

“Naughty” is the ideal word in this case because Canadians aren’t used to mild sexual innuendo on their mainstream newspaper editorial page, I suppose.

“Offensive” has become the new word given that momentarily sways someones mood to a bit of agitation when they see something they don’t agree with and immediately it becomes branded as: Lacking taste! Or, beyond obscene! Cancel my subscription! And while you’re at it, print a full apology and shackle that wretched cartoonist! This coming after they gloss over the previous few pages leading to the Editorial section with news stories peppered with violent crime, and all kinds of horrible human behaviour that one can rightfully declare as “obscene.”

I don’t expect everyone to understand or appreciate my cartoons or what can be described as a sense of humour. It’s an impossible task to achieve. Even to my loyal fans any given cartoon might be a home run or a complete dud. I think this applies to anyone working in any field – ones work simply can’t be all good things to all people.

Sincerely,

Graeme MacKay


Article posted in Metro Toronto newspaper

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: Canada, doves, Feedback, Iraq, Isis, Islamic State, Justin Trudeau, military, peace, terrorism
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Please note…

This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

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