Saint Baird the Bombastic declares six months of war on Islamic State

But only an air war mind you... no boots on the ground or anything like that.

My, that's gotta strike fear into the evildoers! "Oh no!.. Bombardier Baird is coming for us!"

In reality, Canada's participation in this Coalition of the Retarded is entirely irrelevant. The geography of Iraq has enjoyed more or less continuous bombing by the US and a small circle of Me-Too allies since 1990, to what end?

By all accounts, after nearly 25 years of hostilities, "the enemy" is now more numerous, better equipped, better funded, and more dangerous than ever.

Therefore, reason the arm-chair war strategists Harper and Baird, a six month commitment of a few antiquated Canadian warplanes will be a meaningful contribution to what has morphed into "a test for our generation."

Foreign Minister Baird sets out the Harper-Baird rationale for war in a shallow bit of jingoistic clap-trap on page A9 of today's Globe and Mail.
Get a load of some of these howlers:

• Inaction is not an option.
• Canada heeds the call.
• Canada protects the vulnerable.
• Canada challenges the aggressor.
• there is no doubt that even our own homeland will be attacked.
• Canada cannot stand on the sidelines when we see these atrocities.
• the struggle against terrorism will define our generation.

Yes indeed, Canada has a duty to act! At least for six months. After all, we're not the sort to cut and run, at least until we do. Nowhere does the phlegmatic bullshitter evince the slightest hint of awareness of the root causes of instability in the region, because if he had any, he would realize that this latest escalation can only make things worse.

Canada has zero legitimate interests in the region. We have no duty of any kind to involve ourselves in other people's wars. The fact that our elected government is doing exactly that, with no consultation with the electorate, is a betrayal of the very democratic ideals that we are supposedly promoting.