So I was checking out the C-SPAN website and I noticed that there was a briefing with Foreign Affairs Minister Pettigrew and US Secretary of State Colin Powell. It is amazing how little is said in these briefings.
As a follow question on Iran to Secretary Powell, Minister Pettigrew was asked about the next steps in dealing with Iran:
We are very preoccupied by the nuclear proliferation and we are not pleased at all with the way the Iranians are conducting this particular questions of nuclear proliferation. So this is something on which we need to cooperate and make sure that Iran respects International obligations and absolutely limits that. We also discussed the abuse of human rights..as you know there is the assasination, the murder of Madame Kazemi, a Canadian reporter of Iranian background, origin, who was killed in a prison there and we have no cooperation from the Iranian government. We've asked for the body to be sent back to Canada. We have realized that the whole justice system has been treating this as a farce, unfortunately, and we will continue to work as partners on Iran and it is something that I intend to raise at the UN General Assembly.
A reporter asked Minister Pettigrew to provide more details on what they talked about on Iraq. He answered first in French (the question was in French) and when he finished a translator tried to step in. Minister Pettigrew said he would do it in English and joked that he could do it in Spanish as well if you would like. He came off quite humoursly, so at least he has a sense of humour.
The Secretary did not address any particular requests with Canada but we have exchanged our respective view points on the present situation in Iraq and I have certainly reiterated Canada's commitment to the reconstruction. We want to be there, we want to be a partner. We've pledged $300M in favour of that reconstruction. As I was callin the Secreatary's attention, we've already dispersed $215M. Some tend to pledge bit not necessarily disperse. We've already dispersed $215M, so we really want to cooperate and help rebuilding of that country.
[mike doesn't pick up start of next question]...uprising in Najaf, on tensions, religious tensions in the Middle East.
Well we of course regret that very much and we have discussed the situation in Najaf, in further details obviously. And I know that the Secretary's attention is very much focused on that triangle.
That's it. We are not pleased with Iran...but we are not going to do much about, other than complain to the UN. Obviously we are concerned with the Kazemi situation, but seems to me that the nuclear proliferation is a bigger deal. But not to Canada.
On reconstruction, we complained when the coalition did the dirty work, but we want in on the reconstruction. Well, I guess fair enough, Iraq needs all the help in get in this, so go on us. We didn't support going in, but not that Iraq is broken, we will at least help fix it. A much more realistic and logical position that Senator Kerry voting for the war and then voting against funding it.
