This exquisitely choreographed media stunt implied that the only obstacle to springing a Canadian potatoe farmer from a nasty Lebanese jail... was for Stephen Harper to fire up his laptop and gin up a get out of jail free card.
Maybe I'm not as plugged in as Lisa & company... but is that how international diplomacy works? Have these meticulously assembled and suitably sombre family members, after careful consideration & negotiation with the Lebanese government... wait a minute...
Henk Tepper's wife and sister were joined by two Liberal senators who have rallied to the man's cause: Pierrette Ringuette and Mac Harb.Okay, okay... the man behind the curtain... now I get it.
Call me cynical, but again I've gotta ask... is anybody else (professional journalists aside) getting even a little bit tired of politicians shamelessly trotting out tearful family members to take public potshots at the enemy?
Harb said Lebanese officials have indicated that should the federal government make a formal request for Tepper's return to Canada, "that request will take precedent over all other requests."Which is, one... simply not true and, two... has been known not to be true... for a week before the Liberals' little dog & pony show...
"The Lebanese government specifically dismisses the allegation that a simple letter would release Mr. Tepper and affirms that it must act in accordance with Lebanon's international legal obligations when faced with a request for extradition."Are Pierrette Ringuette and Mac Harb actually accusing Lebanon & Algeria of falsifying charges against Mr. Tepper... charges that can be dismissed with a little governmental nudge-nudge-wink-wink? I'm no diplomat, but it seems to me that might not actually help Mr. Tepper's case.
Funny, though how nobody (least of all two unelected Liberal senators) seems to be asking if the charges, (apparently Mr. Tepper is being held on an Interpol warrant) which involve falsifying documentation to ship tainted potatoes to the Middle East... are, in fact, justified.
That, of course, is not something anyone cares to address.
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RELATED: Kneejerk political intervention...
...it's a Liberal thing.