Article content continued

If you believe his most cynical critics, it was also an attempt to exploit the political potential of being perceived as a warrior prime minister. But there’s no denying millions of Canadians feel that as one of the world’s most fortunate countries – peaceful, prosperous and democratic – we have a duty to offer whatever assistance we can to those caught in less fortunate circumstances, and it’s hard to imagine anything less fortunate than being trapped in a region subject to the barbarities and brutalities of ISIL. There is broad support for humanitarian aid, which the Conservatives have delivered in generous amounts, and for increasing the number of refugees Canada accepts. But many Canadians also believe firmly that there’s a duty to address the causes of the crisis as well as the symptoms. And that means trying, even to the limited extent Canada is capable, of doing what it can to halt the spread of ISIL.

Mulcair disagrees. As he explained to Mansbridge, the civil war in Syria is just the latest in a seemingly unending line of Middle East crises.

“I know what poses a threat to Canada and Canadians, it’s continued war in a region that’s known almost nothing but for 35 years, going back to the Iran­-Iraq war shortly after that revolution. We went through Desert Storm and the first Gulf War and then we went through, which was supposedly mission accomplished by getting rid of Saddam Hussein. And everything has flowed from that, all the horrors ­ and I’m not trying to understate them that we’re seeing flow from that. So I think that the best thing for Canada to do is to start playing a positive role for peace and that’s – that would be a top priority for me as the prime minister of Canada.”

Fair enough. But what, precisely, would a “positive role for peace” consist of? To answer that question the NDP traditionally falls back on the United Nations, arguing that working with and within the international body is the best means of addressing the root causes the hatreds that criss-cross the Middle East.

The UN, however has proved spectacularly incapable of anything approaching an effective role in promoting peace. Russia, a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, is even now increasing its military presence in Syria in support of President Bashar al Assad. Iran, having achieved its nuclear deal with the U.S., has made clear it has no intention of reducing its disruptive activities in the region. Just Wednesday, Iran’s supreme leader predicted that Israel would no longer exist as a country within 25 years.