Circularity of the war on terror

It is a pickle. You take a principled stand with your allies to help them defeat an affront on democracy. In so doing, you yourself become a target in the "war on the west."

Presently, Canadian views on the ongoing struggles in the Middle East can be categorized into five relatively simple views:

1) Pro-Israel and the right of a sovereign state to defend itself against all outward threats
2) Pro-Palestine and the rights of the dispossessed to find a voice that ensures they are heard
3) Anti-terrorists but pro-peace - why can't we all just get along?
4) Ambivalent towards the entire quagmire - be it Israel, Afghanistan, Iraq or the further nuclearization of Iran.
5) GAH! My husband/wife/son/daughter is in the military!!!

As you can see, it isn't really that simple after all.

Frankly, I am as ambivalent as it gets on this as a political issue. Canada is one of the only countries in the world that actually benefits from further instability in the region. As an exporter of oil...

But is this a voting issue? There are competing schools of thought - I had the chance to talk to a handful of interested parties (read: Jews) over the weekend, and while there was universal respect for the way that Harper was handling the situation, there was exactly zero of these people who would switch their vote on the issue. "How can we trust a man who would have invaded Iraq," they said. Of course, the two events are not directly related. Kind of like a degree in political science and the right to vote.

On the other hand, there are not many Muslims who are comfortable with the government's position either. Statistically, Muslims have NOT supported Conservatives in the last few elections, but interestingly, they tend to vote Republican in the states because of the social views of that party. Pockets of Muslims in Ottawa (by way of example only) have supported Senator Harb and high profile NDP candidates who share their faith and have their husbands stolen by the CIA and shipped to Syria. I think it goes without saying that there is now ever dwindling support for the Conservatives within this community given the government's actions in last few weeks. But where will they go? The Liberals might not be their first choice either. If anything, they might vote Bloc.

So, for the rest of the country who don't have a secured interest in the issue, is this going to change their vote? I, for one, do not like a foreign policy that allows further aggression into the area by "guarding" foreign lands already conquered by Americans. I am also not a fan of blindly repeating the same tired catchphrases without a full understanding of the consequences of them.

Of course, my view of foreign policy is a modified W5 - "War? Wanna trade? Why not? What about Wheat or Water? W?

See the first paragraph- when will our foreign policy lead to event at home that will force us to remain squarely in the camp in which we are already rooted? For our own sake, I hope it never happens but I am told that we are simply lucky that it hasn't.