Islamic State

Wednesday March 25, 2015

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.

 

Wednesday February 18, 2015

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)

Wednesday October 22, 2014

Wednesday October 22, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 22, 2014

Conservative government orders studies into homegrown terrorism

Thursday October 2, 2014A day after committing six fighter jets and hundreds of personnel to the fight against the Islamic State, the federal Conservatives are commissioning five new studies into homegrown terrorism and terrorist financing.

Public Safety Canada issued a call for five new research projects into a variety of terrorism-related topics Wednesday, including the domestic impact of international conflict and the role of the internet in terrorist recruiting.

“A prominent threat facing Canada’s national security . . . is radicalization leading to violence, including homegrown violent extremism,” reads the call for proposals.

“These cases are rare, but the impact of an act of terrorism is potentially enormous, with serious and lasting psychological and emotional harm to a large number of individuals, as well as economic impact and/or the creation or escalation of tensions between communities and countries.”

The research will consider a number of questions:

  • How does the “psychology of the internet” play into terrorist activities and recruitment?
  • What are the domestic impacts of international conflicts, such as the war in Iraq?
  • What are the gender dynamics involved in radicalization to violence?
  • How are resources transferred to terrorist organizations? How are those resources moved and used?
  • What makes people susceptible to recruitment into violent extremism?

Friday, April 19, 2013The research will be funded by the Kanishka Project, a five-year, $10 million fund created in 2011 to study security issues.

Despite the government’s mockery of political opponents for searching for the “root causes” of terrorism or “engaging in sociology,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has committed around $5 million to similar research over the last three years. (Source: Toronto Star)

Tuesday October 7, 2014

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.

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“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

 

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— 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

 

Saturday September 27, 2014

Saturday September 27, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 27, 2014

Stephen Harper more open with Americans, UN than with Parliament

Stephen Harper made an important announcement Wednesday about Canada’s willingness to do more in the battle to stop Islamic State fighters in Iraq.

You might have missed it, though, because the prime minister let it slip during a question and answer session before a business audience in New York City.

Wednesday September 3, 2014Harper told an interviewer that Canada will consider stepping up its contribution to the US-led effort to stop ISIS, apparently at the direct request of the Obama administration.

“The United States just recently, in the past couple of days, has asked for some additional contribution,” Harper said, before deflecting questions about what kind of support was being sought.

“Since they didn’t release the letter publicly I’m not going to do that,” he went on.  “I’ll just say the government of Canada will make a decision on that very shortly.”

Canadian government sources indicated later that the request is “not for combat” troops. So as information goes, it’s a shred.

Saturday September 13, 2014But it’s more detail than what the Conservatives have shared in the Commons, where opposition parties can barely get the government to divulge anything about the role Canadian Forces personnel already are playing in northern Iraq, or even how long those soldiers might stay.

Harper also didn’t mention the U.S. request at a news conference on Monday, when a reporter asked what concrete action Canada would take in response to new threats from ISIS to target Canadians.

Stephen Harper Crusader King Stephen Harper Crusader KingNow, this isn’t the first time Harper chose to announce significant government policy overseas. Canadians first learned of the plans to make them wait longer to collect Old Age Security from a speech the PM gave in Davos, Switzerland in 2012.

When it comes to an audience, Harper obviously prefers barons of business to members of Parliament. (Continued: CBC News)

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Post by Enough Harper.