本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Harper calls McCallum idiot: Defence minister blasted on Iraq stand
Montreal Gazette
Source: CP
Ottawa, April 2, 2003
Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper lashed out at the defence minister yesterday, calling him an "idiot" and a "clown" over the government's position on Iraq.
Harper started his verbal assault on John McCallum by shouting "idiot" during heckling in the House of Commons.
Outside the House, Harper acknowledged that frustration with the federal government got the better of him. But he then went on to insult McCallum further.
"It was probably not an appropriate term, but we support the war effort and believe we should be supporting our troops and our allies and be there with them doing everything necessary to win," Harper said.
"Then this clown gets up and makes these ridiculous defences about how you can have troops in the field and somehow they're not your responsibility and somehow you're not part of the war."
Harper said it's hypocritical of the government to have exchange officers in the war against Iraq while at the same time opposing the conflict and maintaining they're not combatants.
"Frankly, any minister who has any integrity would resign from his position if he was forced to parrot lines that stupid."
(Material reprinted with the express permission of The Canadian Press)
Canadians support Iraq invasion, Alliance leader Harper tells U.S. television
By Colin Perkel, Canadian Press Newswire, April 3, 2003
TORONTO Most Canadians outside Quebec support the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and Ottawa's position on the war is hypocritical, Opposition Leader Stephen Harper told an American television network Thursday.
In an interview with Fox News, Harper tore a strip off the Liberal government, saying he was speaking for the "silent majority" of Canadians in endorsing the war.
"We have a government here that says Saddam Hussein is a war criminal and maintains diplomatic relations with him during the conflict," said the leader of the Canadian Alliance.
"We have a government that says they're not supportive of the conflict but it becomes more and more obvious that we have Canadian soldiers and sailors involved in the conflict."
While there are Canadians who oppose the invasion, Harper said they are a minority, as are those who are anti-American.
"It certainly exists. But in fairness, there's an anti-American sentiment among the American left in the United States itself. We have some of that here. But that's a minority sentiment."
Only in Quebec, with its "pacifist tradition," are most people opposed to the war, Harper said.
"Outside of Quebec, I believe very strongly the silent majority of Canadians is strongly supportive."
The segment, to be broadcast across the United States and in 41 countries Friday night and repeated on the weekend, is aimed at providing viewers with an overview of Canadian sentiments on the Iraq conflict.
"We're up here judging the mood of the people with regards to the war in Iraq and Canadians' feelings about whether they should have joined the coalition or not," said Andrew Fone, a Boston-based network producer with Fox News.
"You see clearly that there is a division and it's very similar to the division in the United States where you have people that are dead set against this war and those that believe the administration is doing the right thing."
Even among those opposed to the war, Fone said he didn't pick up an anti-American feeling among the Canadians he talked to.
"People were very affable."
Some Canadian politicians, such as Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and Ontario Premier Ernie Eves, have warned that Canada's failure to endorse the war effort could create a backlash in the U.S. and hurt business and trade ties.
But Fone said he's detected no such backlash.
"I don't think people are beating Canada up down there in the U.S," he said. "It's really an issue that hasn't received a lot of play."
On Thursday, the Alliance put forward a motion aimed at getting the Commons to "repudiate a number of anti-American statements that have been made by some of our opponents."
Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish and Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal have recently sparked controversy with strong statements against U.S. President George W. Bush and the war.
"The other parties are clearly a bit frazzled by that," Harper told Fox. "Public opinion in this country has turned very much against those who have tried to promote anti-American sentiment."更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net