the new petro power paradigm - Diplomat Magazine

QUESTIONS Asked|DIPLOMATICA
RC: I think we’ve made good progress.
Looking at the attacks in Kabul [where
insurgents launched a coordinated attack
on the U.S. embassy and NATO headquarters,
killing seven Afghans], I think
there will always be those attacks. But I
think it looks as though we will be able
to reduce our forces to the extent that
the Afghans will be able to handle their
security for themselves. I don’t think it’s
any secret that a lot of people wanted
Canada to stay, and I was among them,
but the prime minister made a promise
and he kept it.
DM: You mentioned the NATO engagement
in Libya. How do you see that ending?
RC: I’m not so optimistic about Libya. I
think it could go either way. It could go
the way we’d like to see it — it could
evolve into a moderate state with some
semblance of democracy or it could go
the other way and become a real problem,
like Iran has become. It’s hard to
know.
I think Canada made a relatively painless
investment in Libya. It allowed us to
take the lead. Our aircraft and our ships
and so on have made a big contribution at
relatively small cost in terms of lives and
money. It really put us at the forefront of
that group of nations that are willing to
stand up and do something. It’s added to
our international credibility.
Whether you like it or not, your credibility
on the international scene is a
function of your ability, in extremis, to exercise
some hard power. And that’s what
Canada has lacked for a long time. This is
what we’ve re-established now and are in
the process of building up.
Whichever way it goes, in Canada,
we’ve done ourselves a service by being in
the forefront. It could become a long-term
headache but unless we try, we’ll never
find out.
It’s the same with Afghanistan. My philosophy
is that sometimes it’s not possible
to win but being there, and shouldering
the burden with your allies, you still come
out of it with a lot of credit. You enhance
your reputation and your international
influence. It’s not always about winning
and losing. We’re playing the game in big
ways and it has a huge influence on our
relationship with the U.S. especially which
is, of course, one of the keystones of our
foreign and economic and every other
policy.
DM: Speaking of which, Canada and the
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