Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Baird met with Mossad chief to discuss Iran 'threat'

During a visit to Israel in January, when Foreign Minister John Baird met with the head of Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, he was prepped to discuss at length the "threat" of Iran, documents have revealed.

Briefing notes prepared for Mr. Baird and released under access to information legislation show that during the meeting between Mr. Baird and Mossad director Tamir Pardo, the foreign minister was prepped with statements such as, "[Iran's] nuclear activities are very worrying, posing a threat to the security of Israel, but they could also lead others in the region to pursue similar activities."

Mr. Baird's meeting with the head of Mossad is mentioned in the foreign minister's public expense reports for that period as a meeting with a "Tamis [sic] Pardo, Director of Mossad."

But the Harper government has never publicly talked at length about the meeting. It was also not specifically mentioned in a well-circulated op-ed the minister wrote for The Globe and Mail in January about his trip—although he did write that as foreign minister, he "would be privy to a broad range of opinions and expert advice on an issue as fraught as Middle East security."

The briefing notes also show that Mr. Baird was prepped to talk about Iran with at least a half-dozen other top Israeli officials and experts, including: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Israel's foreign, defence, and intelligence ministers; a former Mossad director; and a former head of military intelligence.

Many of those meetings, and the minister's focus on Iran, have been well publicized. And Mr. Baird, as Canada's top diplomat, meets with many national security advisers on a regular basis.

Still, observers see the meetings, and especially Mr. Baird's meeting with Mr. Pardo, as proof of the degree to which the Harper government has aligned itself with Israel—and the extent to which the Netanyahu government encourages that alignment by offering up its most senior officials for meetings.

'Profoundly concerned'

Mr. Baird's schedule during his trip to Jordan and Israel in January was jam-packed, according to the documents. He met with Mr. Pardo about halfway through his trip, after he had met with Mr. Netanyahu and Israeli President Shimon Peres.

"You will be meeting Mossad Director Tamir Pardo at Mossad headquarters in Herzliya at 19:00 on Tuesday, January 31. Mr. Pardo will provide you with an intelligence briefing on a range of regional issues," Mr. Baird's briefing notes read.

"This will be an excellent opportunity to [censored]."

The document preps the minister with a list of "key messages" and "questions." One of them is that "Canada strongly supports Israel's right to defend itself and live in peace with its neighbours, within secure boundaries."

Another is that "Canada is profoundly concerned by the threat Iran poses to regional and global security."

It continues: "its nuclear activities are very worrying, posing a threat to the security of Israel, but they could also lead others in the region to pursue similar activities...it is also continuing to play a destabilizing role in the region, with respect to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon in particular."

Six other points that Baird was prepped to bring up were also censored from the document before it was released to Embassy.

Canada's foreign minister was also prepped to bring up Iran during his meeting with Mr. Netanyahu, and a meeting with Dan Meridor, who serves as Israel's minister of intelligence and atomic energy, as well as the country's deputy prime minister.

He also took part in a "roundtable on Iran" on Jan. 31 hosted by the Israel Institute for National Security Studies, and its director, Amos Yadlin, a former chief of defence intelligence. That roundtable featured former Mossad director Meir Dagan, who retired in January 2011.

"Meir Dagan has been highly critical of the idea of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities...his assessment will not be shared by others around the table," reads Mr. Baird's briefing note.

"You may wish to use this opportunity to hear what further steps states like Canada could do to help isolate the Iranian regime."

The document also states that Canada was not satisfied at the time with international sanctions against Iran: "Sanctions seem to be having some effect; however, there remain huge holes that allow Iran to continue to export its oil and import goods that support its nuclear activities."

In addition to the meetings mentioned above, Mr. Baird also took part in a ceremony, a conference, a panel discussion, and two receptions. He met with other experts in regional topics, and the leader of the opposition. The Israel Defense Forces also took him on a tour of the Gaza-Israel border.

'Closely aligned'

Observers say the meetings show the extent to which Canada is sidling up to Israel and taking the Israeli perspective on foreign affairs.

The fact that Mr. Baird would even have those kinds of meetings signals that he was very keen on talking to the right figures, and that he felt he could learn something from them, said Wesley Wark, a University of Toronto expert on security and intelligence.

That, in itself, "indicates the degree to which the Canadian perspective on the Middle East sees itself as closely aligned with the Israeli perspective," said Mr. Wark, who is currently a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa.

In return for Mr. Baird's attention, he said, "the Israeli government clearly values the Canadian closeness of approach to Israel on many Middle East issues, and is prepared to trot out the head of Mossad, of military intelligence, to talk to Canada's foreign affairs minister."

That might not have happened in the past, or if Canadian policy was different, he said.

Indeed, people like Mr. Pardo are typically reached through intermediaries, not directly, said Mike Molloy, who served as co-ordinator of DFAIT's Middle East Peace Process from 2000 to 2003, and was Canada's ambassador in Jordan from 1996 to 2000.

"Quite often people like that don't see people who are coming to town just because they're ministers of some other government," he said.

"Depending on who initiated it, it's a very interesting indication of Canada's very high stock with the current Israeli government, if the impetus came from their side."

Like Mr. Wark, he said the meetings between Mr. Baird and Israeli intelligence show that the Harper government "really likes Israel, and does everything it can to cozy up to it," and that the "Israelis really appreciate the extent to which this government has changed the voice of Canada on these matters, so they're eager to please."

But he argued the meetings were not unprecedented. He said the Israelis place quite a bit of weight on "convincing others about their security anxieties."

Jez Littlewood, director of the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies at Carleton University, said while it was significant that Mr. Baird met with top-level Israeli intelligence figures, it didn't surprise him much—given that Canada's foreign policy was already leaning towards Israel, and its condemnation of Iran was already in full swing, by January.

The meeting with Mr. Pardo was just as indicative, he said, of a global trend of heads of intelligence agencies becoming more public in their commentary, and briefing officials of allied nations.

"I wouldn't read too much into it. I think a number of things come together, and one of those things is intelligence agencies coming out of the shadows," he said.

The Israeli Embassy wouldn't release any more details about Mr. Baird's trip. In response to several questions, a spokesperson emailed the following statement: "The embassy does not disclose details of diplomatic meetings."

Rick Roth, a spokesperson for Mr. Baird, sent an email that stated: "Unequivocally, we have no information about a military strike on Iran."

cmeyer@embassymag.ca

Prepped on Palestinians

Briefing notes prepared for Foreign Minister John Baird, in addition to prepping him on Iran, also readied him several times to raise the issue of Palestinians.

For example, the briefing notes provide an overview, marked "secret," of Mr. Baird's visit in general. There are four "strategic outcomes" of the trip, one of which is to "underline the strong ties between Canada and Israel and our shared foreign policy priorities." The other three are to advance the bilateral relationship, support Palestinian Authority governance reforms, and "encourage Israel and the Palestinians to return to direct negotiations."

A section on "The Middle East Peace Process" is almost entirely blanked out, save for one section discussing the road map for peace, the plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that was proposed by the so-called quartet of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and Russia.

With Israeli President Shimon Peres, Mr. Baird was prepped to offer that "the Palestinian Authority has made considerable progress in developing its institutions," while later on noting that both sides will have to make "compromises in their negotiating positions."

With several others, he was prepped to state that "Canada welcomes recent peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in Jordan." The notes also suggest that during Mr. Baird's meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, "you may...wish to take the opportunity to remind him of [Canada's] vote against the Palestinian initiative at UNESCO."

Original Article
Source: embassy mag
Author: Carl Meyer

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