“In war, truth is the first casualty.” Aeschylus.

Nothing like breaking out a proverb from 400 BC to lead off a story about present day Canada.

Aeschylus was a Greek playwrite, considered by dramatic historians to be the father of tragedy. Which links up nicely with his saying about truth and war, I think. War, wounded or dead truth, tragedy... Makes sense to me.

What doesn't make sense is how Prime Minister Harper was able to get away with waving this ancient saying in our faces like a burning Canadian flag - and no one paid attention.

Last week General Rick Hillier, Canada's top soldier, stepped on a landmine. Not literally, of course, only grunts on the ground get fragged by hot metal. Hillier will lose a foot, or an eye, or an arm, to an explosive device about the same time Stephen Harper is the best man at a gay marriage. No, Hillier's landmine was contradicting the carefully considered position that the PMO (Prime Minister's Office; the most important assemblage of people in Canada who you've never heard of) had set out in the Throne Speech.

The PMO's position is that Afghanistan's army will be able to take care of business by 2011. Hillier was quoted as saying he didn't think the Afghan army would be capable of controlling the country in less than a decade. A significant difference of opinion between our top soldier and our top elected official and his handpicked team of professional politicos. The underlying message being that Canada may have to stick around for another decade, not another four years, in order to support the Afghan military. Hillier quickly retracted his statement, after the PMO released their opinion of his estimate. In short, the PMO said Hillier was wrong. Not much evidence was offered beyond pointing to the stance set out in the Throne Speech. Hillier then made a public statement saying that his comments had been directed at the country of Afghanistan as a whole, not the province of Kandahar that Canada is attempting to pacify. Kandahar will be a haven of Tim Horton's shops (“Opium with that double-double, sir?”) and Canadian Tire stores by 2011, according to the revised Hillier and the PMO, the streets made safe for freedom and economic activity by a fine Afghan army. Hell, maybe there'll be a hockey rink in Kandahar by 2011. We can only hope. Maybe the CIA will sponsor the rink with properly funneled drug money.

This is ugly stuff, but par for the course, according to Aeschylus and anyone who's been reading the news coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan since the beginning of the War On Terror. Here is our top soldier, a career military man, giving a reporter what appeared to be his honest assessment of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. And then, when the PMO realizes the dumb grunt wasn't briefed by the PR people, they put enough pressure on Hillier to force a very public and very embarrassing retraction. The central message seemed to be: We want you to speak in public, Rick, but please don't say what you really think. That doesn't serve Canadian interests in Afghanistan, or at home. Go back to barracks, clean your gun, and remember the Taliban is your enemy. No one will remember what you said, anyway.

This couldn't have anything to do with public perception and an impending federal election, could it? Nahhh.

Following the Hillier incident we Canadians learned how the Federal government plans on keeping Canada's manufacturing sector viable. Not by building electric cars, or investing in innovative renewable energy technology. Nope, we're going to keep jobs in Canada by making weapons and weapon systems and selling them around the world to whomever can afford them, as long as their human rights record is in line with Canadian standards (excluding our treatment of First Nations people).

Indeed, right here in London we're setting the example for the rest of Canada to follow. Build automatic weapons, outfit armoured vehicles, and ship them the fuck outta Canada so other people can blow each other away. But make sure the customers have an adequate human right's record, and, if it's not too much trouble, please don't shoot too many of our soldiers after purchasing your maple leaf decorated .50 cal. We know the world is a mean place, where a couple thousand assault rifles come in handy, but try to use them responsibly. Shit, if the dollar keeps going up and Billy-Joe loses his $30 an hour CAW job, start building whatever killing machinery will sell. We've just gotta keep jobs in Canada. Right, Mister Harper?

The most appropriate comment I heard about Canada's international arms trade was from former Liberal Foreign Affairs Minister and Nobel Peace prize nominee, Lloyd Axworthy, who said that he was always disturbed by Canada's growing arms trade while he was in government, but that it just wasn't good internal party politics to mention it out loud. Thanks for that, Lloyd. You set a fine example for the Conservatives to follow. And they have. Just ask Rick Hillier.
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