I know this is a blog about economic development, but I will digress for a moment.
What’s the deal with Iggy and war crimes?
I realize he’s an academic heavyweight – Ignatieff was ranked 37th on the list of top public intellectuals prepared by Prospect and Foreign Policy magazines.
But the way he throws around the term, I guess I don’t really understand. I know there is a technical definition of what a ‘war crime’ is in international law but it seems to me when people use the term they do so in the context of the Congo, Sudan, Bosnia, Iraq, Cambodia, etc.
Having said that, I realize Louise Arbour, a top international law expert did say the Israelis may have committed war crimes -but she is not running for office.
Today, Iggy says the Israelis committed war crimes, so did Hezbollah, so did Don Cherry. If we start applying that term willy nilly to any conflict it will lose some of its significance, me thinks.
Anyway, I may have to pull my support of the Igster as Libby leader (given because he called the lack of regional development in Canada a war crime – oops – I meant a serious threat to national unity).
It seems to me that any politician so quick to throw around terms like that is liable to alienate large chunks of Canadian society and I really think we need national leaders that are about bringing some sense of togetherness to the most multicultural country in the world.
….but he is a fan of regional development….