Globe and Mail Editorial
July 28.2006

The "Honest Broker" That Never Was

Is Canada squandering its reputation as an "honest broker" in the world? That's the charge levelled against Prime Minister Stephen Harper by those who object to his strong support for Israel in the current conflict. Lloyd Axworthy, a former Liberal foreign minister, says that "we're becoming part of the problem, not part of the solution." Bill Graham, interim Liberal Leader and another former foreign minister, says Canadians expect their government to keep the peace, not take sides. "Canada for a long time had a traditional role in the Middle East that was difficult, but it was one that enabled us to be an interlocutor that [allowed] us over the long time to advance the cause of peace." Really? The awkward truth is that Canada has done little to advance Middle East peace. Our last big contribution occurred when Lester Pearson helped negotiate an end to the Suez Crisis in 1956, half a century ago. Our only significant role in the Oslo peace process that began in the 1990s was to head a committee on the fate of refugees, an issue that has yet to be solved. No recent Canadian prime minister has been even a bit player in settling the region's quarrels. When a crisis erupts, as it has this month, no one in the Middle East asks: What does Canada think? The reputation that Mr. Harper is supposed to be squandering exists mainly in the minds of Canadians like Mr. Axworthy and Mr. Graham.

We are not abandoning our role as honest broker in the Middle East because we never were one.

In any case, it is hard to see exactly what even the most honest broker could do in the present situation. The Oslo process is dead.

The "road map" to peace is in tatters. The current Palestinian government, led by Hamas, a terrorist group, refuses even to acknowledge Israel 's right to exist. Hezbollah, which started the current conflict by kidnapping and killing Israel 's soldiers, and then firing rockets at Israeli cities, is devoted to Israel 's destruction.

To take a neutral stand between terrorist militias fuelled by radical Islam and a democratic country defending itself from attack would have been a perversion of our traditions. Mr. Harper did the right thing when he backed Israel 's right to defend itself, even if its counterattack has sometimes been too fierce and too sweeping.

Canada has recognized Israel 's right to exist since its birth in 1948 and has always supported its attempt to live in peace within secure borders, just as Canada has supported the Palestinians' right to a homeland.

Backing Israel in the current conflict doesn't mean abandoning the quest for peace. Once the fighting has died down, Canada and other countries should redouble their efforts to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict, the cause of so much hate and violence in the world. The Palestinians deserve a nation of their own as much as Israel deserves the right to be free from constant attack. Since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip and announced its intention to pull out of much of the West Bank as well, it has been clear that a two-state solution accommodating both parties' interests is there for the taking.

But Israel cannot be expected to proceed with its pullback while it is under attack from fanatics who see every inch given as a sign of Israeli weakness. Long-term peace is not even a possibility if Israel feels that the land it evacuates will be used as a launching pad for attacks on its citizens. That is one reason why Israeli leaders, with massive support from the public, are so determined to end the attacks from Hezbollah. If they cannot neutralize the threat from foreign soil that Israel left six years ago, how can they ever persuade Israelis that it is wise to quit the West Bank, whose hills overlook its biggest cities? When the fighting is over, Canada should do whatever its modest means allow to advance the cause of peace. In the meantime, Mr.

Harper's critics should stop worrying about its mythical status as an honest broker in the Middle East and remember Churchill's dictum about impartiality. Only fools are impartial between the fireman and the fire.