Apolitical Staples

This is a strange development. I guess Rahim Jaffer was not available.

The Decima polls may have been right after all. To go all the way to Joe Volpe’s campaign team for advice on the Middle East … Joe Volpe!

Does this not reek a little bit of desperation?

There is also the matter of MP Khan’s background as a Pakistani Air Force officer in the mid-70s. Has anybody thought through the implications of this particular fact?

I am not following - what implications?

Greg:

Pakistan…implications? better google and get up to speed.

Spell it out for me because I sense you are digging yourself a hole…

CB, I don’t get it, really, what do you mean?

Apparently, 16 Pakistani Air Force pilots volunteered to go to Egypt to fight Israel during the Yom Kippur War. They wound up in Syria in a training role (Wiki has a bit more info). Fill in the rest of what cb is implying for yourself.

Either provide evidence that Mr. Khan did something in particular or move your smears somewhere else.

On the subject of implications: I should clarify lest Staples explodes.

Where to begin?

First, notwithstanding the judgement of anybody who volunteers to be Volpe’s Campaign Co-Chair, Mr. Khan could very well be an upstanding citizen and a good MP. There is no personal attack intended.

Second, on the bio. If correct, Mr. Khan was a member of the Pakistani Air Force during the two wars - including the 1971 conflict where thousands of Indians and now Bangladeshis died - with India. A possible question that could be raised: was Mr. Khan one of the pilots who took part in the bombing runs, many of which were on Bangladeshi refugees trying to flee across the border to the Indian state of West Bengal. Given the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and the clear indications of a direct link to the Pakistan based terrorist organization Lashkar-Taiba (sp?), there could be unfavorable political implications in the (not insignificant) Indo-Canadian communities here at home.

Third, on the PR optics. Of the dozens - possibly hundreds - of South Asian and Mid East experts at DFA, PCO, and the various think tanks and Universities, was a Liberal MP serving as a Co-Chair of one of the leadership campaigns the best possible candidate?

Finally, on the Afghanistan/Pakistan front. It is widely known that the Taleban is - and remains - a subsidiary of the Interservices Intelligence Agency (Pakistan’s CIA). Many have asked - and a simple search will provide hundreds of citations - whether Pakistan is doing enough to neutralize these fighters who are largely responsible for the deaths of dozens of civilians and NATO - including Canadian - soldiers in recent months. While Mr. Khan is probably no longer in touch with Pakistan’s military, it could nonetheless be an issue.

Perhaps my concerns are well founded, perhaps not. Nevertheless, I hope the PMO has thought through these possible implications.