There is confusion across the country. The Hair is sending Foreign Minister John Baird to the Ukraine. Canadians know that if there is an important trip to anywhere, the first people allocated space aboard that big Airbus A310 are the Hair and the hairdresser.
But on this trip, the Hair sends Baird? We all know that the Hair only takes John Baird along sometimes because he asks politely and does not make a scene wanting to get into picture opportunities.
But why send Baird this time? Is there a possibility of some more shooting? Do you think Mr. Putin, Emperor of Russia would need it as an excuse to invade? Would shooting Baird be enough of an excuse? The more you think about it, a simple flesh wound would guarantee Baird’s re-election in his Ontario electoral district. Canada has never had a foreign minister who really deserved to get shot.
There is no question that the Russians are looking at the disorganized rebels in Kyiv and considering a surgical military strike to carve Eastern Ukraine and Crimea away from the troubles. People in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea are mainly of Russian origin and there is considerable precedence for action from the Russian viewpoint.
But even if the shooting has ended, why would the Hair send Baird to Ukraine? What is he going to do there? Is he going to go up and down the streets of Kyiv asking (through an interpreter) who the heck is in charge? And you can hardly ask the first cop you see. Most of them have left town until people cool off. You find it difficult to shoot at people one day and go back to giving out speeding tickets the next.
There is a parliament, of sorts. What the legitimacy of that parliament might be is open to question. Baird can hardly go to them and offer a generous aid package when you have no idea who will endorse the cheque.
The first beneficiary of any cheques Canada or any of the Western countries write will be the Russians. Russia supplies Ukraine with its vital natural gas supplies which provide home heating and electric power. And the more independent Ukraine wants to be from Russian influence, the higher the price of gas might go.
Frankly, the Hair might have made a bit of a mistake here. If you have to deal with all the complex problems related to maintaining peace on the Eurasian Steppe, you best send someone a hell of a lot smarter than Foreign Minister John Baird.
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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry
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