Loss Of Power....Loss Of Face

The Syrian situation has caused a tremendous change in the world order of power. The president of the USA could have walked into the G20 ten years ago and dictated his will on any issue. This past week the president walked in the Russian gardens alone with his thoughts and wondering what went wrong.

His loss of power comes as no surprise because no president in recent history had to live with so much negativity and acrimony from his Congress and people in general. He attempted to steer the basic issue about Syria from him to the Congress but Congress will give him little solace as they probably will not support him. This is humiliating to the leader of the Western World as there is little support for the manner in which the leaders are responding . Time was of the essence and when the president hesitated his time was over and sober second thoughts became the outstanding mode. To blow Syria to pieces in a cold calculating manner weeks after the event is ludicrous

If your child does something that is wrong and you wish to make an impact on his behaviour you act in the immediate. To hesitate is to lose the impact and so it is with the powers of the world.

Canada's stance was sound in the time immediately after this issue but sounded like me to after the USA made its plan public. Beard has made strong statements about Russia and its support for requiring proof at the united nations before acting was again the weak link in  Canada's support for the .USA. Iraq was a case in point and see how our Prime Minister stood up to the USA and he was right. As it turned out there was no arms of mass destruction and Canada was spared the involvement in a useless war.

Even when most of the people of the world believe poison gas was used in Syria, most want to wait for the report to the security council. Canada was once one of the greatest supporters of the UN and now Baird publicly plays down its importance and the little countries of the world are shocked as the UN is the only international organization to which they are able to turn to in times of difficulty. It will take years for Canada to be accepted again as a positive member of the organization. What a pity.

No matter how this issue plays out in the future the world order will be once again divided into clear groups and the world will be a poorer place because of the lack of leadership among the western world powers.