Commentary

On Chretien's Opposition to Regime Change

While on a visit to Mexico, Prime Minister Jean Chretien came out in opposition to the demand of the Bush administration for "regime change" in Iraq. He labelled this demand a dangerous one which is not included in United Nations Resolution 1441, and asked: "If you start changing regimes, where do you stop?"

It is very positive that Chretien has finally spoken up against the war-mongering policies of the Bush administration and it will be even more positive if he sticks to this stand and refuses to participate in a U.S.-led war on Iraq. The unilateralist policies of the United States, which could destroy the United Nations and other multilateral international institutions, constitute a serious threat to world peace. Flawed as those institutions are, the danger of regional and global conflicts will be far greater if they are abolished.

At the same time, it is difficult to have much confidence in Chretien's statement. After all, just last week his government decided to send 5,600 Canadian troops to Afghanistan where they will free up an equal number of American soldiers for redeployment to Iraq. In addition, Canadian frigates are already in the Persian Gulf participating in the American preparations for war.

Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind the reason that Chretien happened to be in Mexico in the first place. He was there to convince Mexican President Vincente Fox to support a "compromise"proposal put forward by Canada which, if adopted, would resolve the split in the Security Council and give the Americans UN authorization for the bombing of Iraq. While Chretien's proposal would delay such an attack until the end of March, this would still be within the time frame favoured by the U.S. Pentagon to avoid a summer war.

In other words, Chretien is not opposing a U.S. war on Iraq. Rather, he is trying to save the Americans from themselves by convincing them not to go to war without UN authorization. His comments in Mexico must be seen within this light. Chretien is shrewd enough to recognize the value of the United Nations in providing the United States with a cloak of respectability and legitimacy in its wars of aggression abroad. He understands that a unilateralist United States will be labelled a rogue state by the world's people and wishes to save the Americans from such a fate.

Unfortunately for Chretien, it appears that the Bush administration has long since made up its mind to attack Iraq and has no intention of listening to the warnings of its friends. Bush rejected Chretien's "compromise" position within minutes of hearing it and Chretien's critical remarks in Mexico have been met with silence from Washington. It appears that the Bush administration does not even consider Chretien important enough to heap abuse on him as it has done to others, like French President Chirac and German Chancellor Shroeder, who have also criticized Bush's policies.