Change in Intent; Change in Rhetoric

An interesting development has been the possibility --and given the government's record on these issues, the likelyhood-- that some of the money being collected for the Tsunami relief effort may be going to Tiger Tamil terrorists. It is unfortunate that we should be talking about this at all for it may dissuade some from giving more or from giving to the victims of the disaster all together. But it would not at all be an issue if the Liberals had dealt with the organizations that have been collecting for humanitarian purposes in Canada and then buying weapons and explosives to wage war at home with the monies that they collect right here. The Post wrote:

There is no evidence that recent tsunami aid has been used to buy arms in Sri Lanka, but Canadian officials are concerned because the RCMP is currently investigating several Tamil Tiger front organizations across Canada to determine whether charges are warranted under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Some of the Tamil groups now collecting for victims of the disaster have been linked to terrorist financing in the past. Last week, some Liberal MPs raised concerns about aid ending up in the hands of terrorists (National Post 7 Jan 05).

Elsewhere, the Minister of Defense seems to be standing down a little, and has adopted a more reasonable disposition. He admitted to the TV cameras that the government's response has been slow, and that there are lessons to be learned from all of it. This is a welcome attitude from the blame-the-victim position of last week. He and the Prime Minister, who last weekessentially accused Sri Lanka's infrastructure for DART's slowness, will be visiting the devastated areas very soon. It's time to tone down the rhetoric. Graham said to CBC:

We could be quicker with it [DART] and we could be lighter on our feet. We learn from every experience.

We will see what exactly is the lesson that the federal government will draw from it.