QIO Volume 9 Issue 1

Volume 9 Issue 1

QUEEN’S

INTERNATIONAL

OBSERVER

Featuring interviews with Professor Charles Pentland Col. Jody Nelson of the U.S. Army Opinion pieces on the role of social media and the U.S. presidential election Photo Essay: Fishing for Meaning in Japan

FROM THE EDITOR Hello dear readers, If you are a first time reader of the Queen’s International Observer, welcome. If you have read and enjoyed the magazine before, welcome back! After a busy summer researching and writing our Summer in Review mini-issue, we hit the ground running in September, promoting the magazine and getting Queen’s students excited about international affairs.

With the school year barely underway, the QIO exec team began to work towards the first full-length issue for the 2012/2013 academic year. We chose to focus our articles around the subject of Disaster’s in a Globalized World, in conjunction with the theme of the Queen’s Foreign Policy Conference.

We were particularly interested in exploring the many facets in which disasters and globalization intersect. In the Disasters 101 section, Deborah Chu’s discussion with notable economist Don Drummond considers the idea of financial disaster, while Isaac Burger and Idrees Ali delve into the dangers of small arms and chemical weapons respectively. To lighten the tone, Felix Grenier and Stephen Roddick suggest solutions to alleviate the damage done by climate change and natural disasters through the use of simple communications technologies.

Stephanie Rudyk

Editor-in-Chief

Natasha Mukhtar Brenna Owen

Assistant Editors

Staff Writers

Social Media Director

Layout Editor

Idrees Ali Daniel Bodirsky Deborah Chu Sara O’Sullivan William Leung

Ellen Fu

Logistics Coordinator

Outside the realm of disasters, QIO had the privilege to speak with members of the Queen’s faculty, namely Professor Charles Pentland from the Department of Political Studies and Colonel Jody Nelson of the U.S. Army, visiting fellow with the School of International and Defense Policy. Professor Pentland sheds some light on the role and capacity of the United Nations as an international actor in issues of war and peace, while Col. Nelson discusses her recent lecture on the life of the American Soldier, as well as Canada-United States security integration. It is these interactions with seasoned scholars and political practitioners on campus that illustrate QIO’s mandate of “Bringing Global Politics to Queen’s University”.

Opinion pieces exploring social media’s democratic power and America’s presidential candidates should quench the thirst of any political news junkies out there, while also providing unique perspectives on these very timely topics. Finally, transporting you clear across the globe, Devin McDonald’s photo essay Fishing for Meaning in Japan grapples with being a tourist in a foreign land, and whether it is possible to achieve sustainable cross-cultural exchange.

As always, we encourage you to contribute your voice to QIO’s global conversation, and consider submitting to this next issue. Deadlines and submission information are available on our website at www.queensobserver.org. You can also follow QIO on Facebook or Twitter @queensobserver.

Happy reading, Stephanie Rudyk Editor-in-Chief 2

INSIDE THE ISSUE 4 5

Campus Forum: The United Nations in the 21st Century

8

Social Media and the Emergence of Virtual Communities

by Joanna Plucinska

10

Obama vs. Romney: Corporate Candidacies

by David Hadwen

12

Gender, American Decline and the U.S. Army An interview with Col. Jody Nelson by Daniel Bodirsky

13

Fishing for Meaning in Japan A photo essay by Devin McDonald

16 17

DISASTERS 101

19

Dialling in Adaptation: Using Cellphones to Facilitate Solutions to Climate Change and Natural Disasters

by Felix Grenier and Stephen Roddick

22

It’s Not the Size that Matters. It’s How You Use It

by Isaac Burger

23

Obama’s Red Line in Syria: Addressing the Threat of Chemical Weapons

by Idrees Ali

United Nations in a Changing Political Order An interview with Charles Pentland by Stephanie Rudyk

Sink or Swim: Canada’s Place in the Global Economic Crisis

by Deborah Chu

Volume 9 Issue 1

3

CAMPUS FORUM October 24th marks the United Nation’s 67th anniversary. What do Queen’s students think the UN means in 2012?

Eric, Political Studies ’13 I am disappointed by that fact that the UN has become more concerned with technicalities of the veto than with actually taking the necessary actions to solve issues of war and peace. We see this specifically in the UN’s inability to respond to the recent conflict in Syria.

Julie, Drama and Psychology ’12 I think the UN is a great idea and shouldn’t be gotten rid of, but they also haven’t achieved their Millenium Development goals yet which I think are incredibly important and should be prioritized.

Angelica Lebar, Health Studies ’13 As a fourth year student in Health Studies, I have been exposed to teaching about the UN and the ways in which it significantly influences public health initiatives. Bearing these things in mind, I feel that this human rights agency doesn’t necessarily live up to the incredibly large global expectations that its name suggests. The balance between talk and action must be re-established if the UN is to create meaningful change in people’s lives worldwide.

Jason, Political Studies ’15 The UN might be a good organization for countries to come together that ordinarily wouldn’t, but at the same time I find that it can be used as a front for the big powers to accomplish their goals. So the U.S. might use the UN when it wants to intervene somewhere, or if it doesn’t want to intervene somewhere, but if even there wasn’t a UN, the U.S. - or China or Russia - would still be acting on its own whims, on its own agenda. For small countries, the UN can be important because they might get a voice, not necessarily, but there’s a chance.

But for the big powers, whether there is a UN or not, it’s the security council that really counts... Whether there’s a UN or not, the great powers will act as they please.

James, Rehab Science PhD ’16 I think the UN is relevant, but ineffectual because it gets bogged down in politics. Vetoes and whatnot, and people are more interested in trade and alliances than in actually protecting people.

4

Queen’s International Observer

UNITED NATIONS

IN A CHANGING POLITICAL ORDER:

would be that same consensus. So in effect, [the UN] doesn’t have to exist in the form that we have now in which the veto applies to everything, but without the veto in some form we would not have the UN. QIO: Do you think it would be possible for the veto power to be given to different countries?

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES PENTLAND

CP: There is a possibility, but it would be extremely

by Stephanie Rudyk difficult because the five current veto powers are named in the Charter. The Charter would require amendment, and yet a Charter amendment is subject World UN Day is October 24th, marking the to the veto. Under what circumstances can you see the 67th anniversary of the ratification of the UN British and the French agreeing to end their permanent membership? The only remote circumstances under Charter. Queen’s International Observer sat which that might happen are if the Europeans had a down to talk with Professor Charles Pentland common foreign policy. The British and French would about the UN’s changing role in the contem- have to agree to fold their seats into a single European porary political context. Professor Pentland Union seat. That is just science fiction at the moment, teaches in the Department of Political Studies, but it is what some people think would be a reasonable concentrating his research on European Union outcome to work towards.

Most people who look at UN reform focus on enlargement, international and regional organithe size and composition of the Council. There are all zations and foreign and security policy. kinds of proposals out there for changing the composition of the Council to 24 or 25 seats, and increasing QIO: To set historical context, the UN was as a vethe number of permanent members. Also, qualifyhicle to maintain international peace and security ing the use of the veto has been suggested; have it in a post-WWII context. Britain, France, Russia, reserved for big peace and security questions but not China, and the United States were given veto power used for everything as it is now. This would change on the Security Council, as the five great powers the way in which it is used without necessarily taking of the time. However, today these five countries it away. do not necessarily hold the same power they did in 1949. Do you think any reforms should be made in who gets a veto on the Security Council? Does the system of ‘big five’ veto power help or hinder the UN’s ability to make effective decisions?

CP: I’ll take the second question first, because everything else is premised on that. If you agree that you must have a special category called ‘great powers’, the question then becomes, who should they now be?

Regardless of this answer, I think that you have to have them. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is to avoid a negative. If you don’t give special status to countries that are recognized as great powers, then they will not support your position. They might not even stay in the United Nations. In 1945 there was a kind of agreement among the great powers of the day that it was important to have this special status.

Regardless of who the great powers are today there Volume 9 Issue 1

5

Then you have the question: who are the logical candidates? Most obviously there is Japan, India, and Brazil, but then who should be the African representatives? South Africa, Egypt, or Nigeria? In every part of the world you find a tug-of-war over this. No one would question India and Japan, but what about Indonesia? This is a big country, and an important country.

In Latin America, Brazil is obvious, but what about Argentina and Mexico? Everyone has got a claim, and there are an awful lot of states. So, this idea of reform has been around for a long time, but we are not near a resolution yet.

QIO: Paul Kennedy pointed out that power distribution within the UN is far from democratic. He suggested the General Assembly should take on more power, and the Security Council less power in order to be more representative. Should making the UN more representative be a priority, or would giving the General Assembly more power just be an exercise in frustration, with consensus impossible to reach?

majority of the votes? Is it democratic to have representation by population? China and India would love that. When you drill a little bit into the democracy issue, it becomes problematic. In the General Assembly, all states are equivalent to citizens of equal status, and this is fine as far as it goes. However, when it comes to action and committing resources, the world is not an equal place. The big powers are going to insist on having the final say, or they just won’t cooperate.

QIO: Al Jazeera ran articles recently about deadlock in the UN over the Syrian crisis. At the General Assembly, the Emir of Qatar stated that Arab forces should band together and intervene in Syria. Do you think this could be a positive way to resolve the crisis, or would this directly compete with the legitimacy of the UN given that it has been unable to come to a resolution on Syria?

CP: Chapter VIII of the Charter privileges existing regional organizations, and the Arab League would CP: It is tricky to stretch and find ways within existing be the logical one to handle this. The problem is that language to give it [the General Assembly] more powthere may be some internal opposition to the League er, because there is that restriction [of the Charter]. If itself acting, in which case you would be looking at the Council wants to take on any matter of peace and some sort of coalition of willing Arab states. That security, then the General Assembly is unable to take would bea little trickier unless it received prior UN it on. That is not going to change unless you change approval. A resolution would have to pass in the the Charter. So the question really is where you think Security Council, granting legitimacy to act before power should lie. these countries went into Syria, in which case the

I actually disagree with Kennedy on giving Russians would have veto over the decision. This the General Assembly more power, because it is the would also be a problem in a post-facto approval great powers that really make a difference and whose process. resources would have to be used to deal with any issue

I think actually the more promising prospect of international peace and security. There would be now is a four-country regional grouping of Turkey, a huge reluctance on the part of the top ten countries Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran. These are an interestthat contribute 80 per cent of the UN budget, to give ing group of regional powers that don’t all get along, more power to the General Assembly. On one hand, it but are at least trying diplomatically to take some would be more democratic. However, it has in the past initiative over Syria. The UN at large would presumled to quite irresponsible resolutions in the sense that ably approve anything this group comes up with. It the countries that have the numbers to pass resolutions is hard to imagine the Russians going against those are not the ones that are going to have to pay for it in four countries, so that seems to be a more hopeful blood and treasure. initiative right now than a military intervention. I

That is the tension that you find on this questhink if you see a military intervention by the Arab tion about democracy. Is it more democratic to let the countries it will be ad-hoc and under the table - the General Assembly handle as many things as possible sort of thing that is actually happening right now because, by definition, the Security Council is restricwith the Saudis and Qataris already providing weaptive? Yes, and no. Is it democratic to have countries ons to the Free Syrian Army. However, I think an whose populations total a quarter of the world’s hold a actual intervention by troops from these countries Queen’s International Observer 6

would be hugely problematic. Never mind the odds of success, the diplomatic reaction it would get from Russia, China and the others would not be great.

QIO: So this is where we run into the problem of the veto power again.

CP: Yes it is, but you have to separate the question of the veto itself from the question of who should have it.

The international system is highly unequal in power.

The system of the veto simply recognizes that. This is a fact of life about the distribution of power in the world. So to complain about this fact, touches a little bit on John Baird’s recent comments about the UN. He and others assert that the UN is next to useless, and is becoming increasingly irrelevant in cases like Syria because the Security Council is deadlocked by certain powers threatening or using the veto. The response to that is: What would you rather have? Would you rather have the UN take action over the protests of Russia and China and risk, if not necessarily an open war, then direct conflict with those countries over Syria? The veto is there to prevent that from happening, because it is everybody’s worst nightmare to have the major powers at odds on something critical to their interests.

QIO: Like a Cold War 2.0?

CP: Yes. Seasoned commentators talk of the veto as a kind of safety valve or fuse. If the system gets over heated, the fuse goes off and things cool down. That is what the system was designed to be. If you don’t have that, you are going to have great powers in direct confrontation over Middle Eastern countries, and that would be a nightmare.

QIO: Prime Minister Harper dismissed “trying to court every dictator with a vote at the United Nations or just going along with every emerging international consensus, no matter how self-evidently wrong-headed.” It seems that Canada is pretty obviously snubbing the UN, or losing confidence in its ability to solve issues of war and peace. Do you think this is the case, or do you think this is mostly rhetoric, and perhaps Harper just coming on strong?

CP: I think a certain amount of it is rhetoric, and they are throwing a bit of ‘red meat’ to the base. A certain right-wing columnist from Alberta in Sun Media last week said it was ‘time to get out of the UN’. His argument was that the UN is full of countries Canada does not like. It is full of dictators, and abusers of human rights, and we should just leave.

QIO: But maybe the counter-argument would be, keep your friends close and your enemies closer?

CP: Yes, you need to have some forum where everyone is present and able to communicate with one another. You don’t have to like every country; you can despise some of them. I would not disagree with the Harper government’s saying that there are a lot of distasteful dictatorships out there. But that is the world.

The UN is just a reflection of the world. You could hunker down and only associate with countries like yourself. That is this government’s position right now - we associate with the Brits, the Americans, the Aussies, the New Zealanders, and other white people who speak English. As for the rest of the countries - who needs them? That strikes me as a very small-minded approach to the world, and one that will be ultimately one that will be ultimately self-defeating.

Volume 9 Issue 1

7

SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE EMERGENCE OF VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES

by Joanna Plucinska In recent memory, Facebook and Twitter have been seen as the catalyst for democratization and positive change around the world. Social media sealed Obama’s victory in 2008. It helped communicate the self-immolation of a lone Tunisian fruit stand owner to the world, sparking what became the Arab Spring. But as a tool, is it really that revolutionary? Social media in the ‘free world’ has, in fact, mainly been used to further entrench existing political divides instead of creating more democratic debate. Social media allows for communication to flow easily throughout the world, and its usefulness also lies in its ability to create virtual communities. However, it does not necessarily make it the world’s democratic panacea.

many news sources impose on their information, Twitter would become a more transparent and ultimately democratic source of information for all.

In the wake of the Arab spring, Twitter and Facebook were seen as a driving force behind the fall of Mubarak, Ben Ali and Gaddafi, and were touted as being an important catalyst for the creation of democracy outside of the Western world. Egyptian rebels created a virtual community on Facebook – a community that surpassed the controls of the state and was able to organize mass protests in Tahrir Square to bring down the regime.

This creation of virtual communities is seen as one of the most notable roles for of social media. Prior to the Politically speaking, America is a sorely divided coun- Internet, communities were tangible, physical entities try. The upcoming presidential election pits two can- rooted in direct social and cultural norms. With the netdidates in a heated ideological struggle. They are each working capacities that the Internet allows, individuals rallied by a deeply entrenched community of support- can connect with one another and organize on a variety ers – devoted Republicans or Democrats who would of topics regardless of physical location. never consider migrating to the other party.

Was social media instrumental in the downfall of the This divide is clearly reflected in the media. While mod- Egyptian regime? Undeniably so, yet it is not a cataerate news channels exist, punditry forms the backbone clysmic force that will democratize the whole world. of much of the dissemination of political information in the United States. Republicans flock to the likes of Closer to home, the presence of these online communiSean Hannity and other programmers on Fox News to ties further affects the way that American politics are for confirmation of their views, while Democrats listen carried out – and it has not necessarily democratized to personalities such as Rachel Maddow on MSNBC the way in which they function. to hear about the downfalls of Republican politicians.

Even in the supposedly freest and most democratic The existing biases in American news media have only country in the world, it is not difficult to find sources of become more clearly emphasized by social media. Ininformation that are just as biased as news releases that stead of being used as a forum for increased dialogue could be found in the Peoples Republic of North Korea. between all sides of a debate, social media has simply created echo chambers in which individuals interact With the advent of social media, many hoped that sites with those who share the same opinions, thus serving to such as Twitter and Facebook would provide more un- reinforce and further entrench their biases. biased and diverse sources of information, fostering more rational discussion. With the lack of filters that so Twitter, as a major social media website, clearly dem 8

Queen’s International Observer

onstrates this. While it is an open, unregulated source of information, users pick and choose the information they want to consume by consciously choosing who they follow. Moreover, due to Twitter’s interactive nature through the use of tools like @mentions and @ replies, users can create a community that echoes their own beliefs and views and avoid any sort of interaction or discussion with those they disagree with.

In creating these virtual communities, larger news media continues to cancel out the voices they do not want to understand. While Twitter and Facebook are meant to facilitate online communication, they ultimately do not create a more democratic discussion – if anything, they give larger media organizations another forum to pander to the opinions of their existing audience.

So let us not be hyperbolic. Is social media a useful tool This trend is evident when analyzing the Twitter activ- for disseminating information and creating virtual comity surrounding any salient political subject, especially munities? Absolutely. Does it democratize the spread in the case of the American presidential election cam- of information through creating more open and honest paign. Pundits like Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow discussions? Not necessarily. tend to interact with those who hold opposing views in order to criticize them rather than attempting to reach Even in the so-called greatest democracy in the world, some sort of consensus or create a fruitful, bipartisan the United States, the news media uses social media to discussion. While this is only one example, it shows pander to their audience instead of facilitating further that even the major news producers in America are re- democratic discussion surrounding real issues. sponsible for furthering the biases of the media institutions they are affiliated with.

Volume 9 Issue 1

9

OBAMA VS. ROMNEY: CORPORATE CANDIDACIES

By David Hadwen

Before the Republican primary had even begun, mainstream media outlets were touting Mitt Romney as the inevitable Republican candidate for president. They were correct, of course, but were not explicit about why this was the case. Romney was consistently referred to as the corporate establishment candidate, yet he was not the ideal candidate for the Republican Party’s primary support base. Social conservatives, particularly evangelicals, mistrust Romney on the basis of his flipflopping on social issues like abortion.

As a result, popular support drifted from candidate to candidate in the primary season. Bachmann, Gingrich, Perry, Cain and Santorum all came to the fore before being put down by calculated advertising appeals created by Romney’s well funded backers, particularly so-called “Super PACs” or political action committees. While Super PACs cannot contribute directly to a candidate or party, they have emerged as prominent independent a source of pro-Republican advertising.

Two things are clear. First, the Republican base found Romney unsatisfactory and, initially, sought an alterna10

tive candidate. Indeed, Rick Santorum received more support in the primaries than most political pundits predicted. Second, Romney was always the candidate of the powerful corporate establishment, and subsequently emerged victorious in the primaries.

Four years ago, Barack Obama was the corporate candidate. Obama raised double the amount of money as John McCain, in part by assuring Wall Street that his candidacy was no threat to their interests. Indeed, he went on to assemble a team of former bankers to handle the financial file. While Obama did set records for small-scale donations, he received more than twice as many large donations from employees at companies like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Citigroup than John McCain. Obama’s candidacy was also furthered by its ethos of hope and change, which even corporate America couldn’t resist. This time around there are fewer fuzzy feelings. While there has been no wholesale migration away his candidacy, discontent is apparent amongst the well-heeled gentlemen who supported Obama in 2008.

Queen’s International Observer

While this presidential race will be the most expensive in American political history, the money is being put up in a contest where some claim little is at stake. However, those who claim that the Republican and the Democratic parties are two sides of the same corporate coin must pause when watching Romney’s cash stores soar.

Romney is neck and neck with Obama in money raised, will double the amount raised by Republican John McCain just four years ago.

Why is there such an effort from the right to defeat Obama, a candidate who has largely governed from the center? Perhaps many Republicans believe that something new and more radical lies in Obama’s second term. Obama’s acknowledgement of climate change and his delay of the Keystone XL pipeline is just one example of an issue over which Romney and Obama’s positions differ greatly. Likely one of the biggest fears amongst the rich donors attempting to spend Obama into defeat is the possibility that he will push for real action to counter climate change. If this were the case, what would follow would be a firestorm of obstructionism from Republicans in Congress. Moreover, Obama’s announcement in support of gay marriage over the summer advanced the polarization that plagues the political

outcomes of past Republican presidencies. Based on past experience, it should be clear to corporate interests that the cliff is as close or closer under a Republican president. Yet economic issues remain central to political sparring between the two parties.

A Romney victory would certainly result in a rollback of regulation and social programs, thus serving the interests of big business. Yet while wealthy advocates of an unfettered free market can use their personal coffers to finance Romney’s campaign, they cannot directly mobilize voters themselves. Whatever qualms staunch Republicans have over Romney, their dislike of Obama is palpable and they will turn out in great numbers to cast their ballot against the incumbent. Despite a winning debate performance, however, Romney will probably still lose in November. When polled, registered voters believe that Obama will win by a ration of 2:1.

Friction between the wider populace and the tradition political process and its institutions complicates matters further. Satisfaction levels with both parties are some of the lowest ever, and approval of Congress hit a miserable all-time low of ten percent in August. Obama was not the great vehicle for increased political legiti-

“One of the biggest fears amongst the rich donors attempting to spend Obama into defeat is the possibility that he will push for real action to counter climate change.” system. Lastly, while it is quieter now than four years go, there still exists a racist contingent peddling lies about Obama’s background and his plans for the nation. Thus, Obama will probably try to make headway on issues for which there is a modicum of bipartisan support. Budget issues along with immigration reform will be first on his list.

macy that many believed he would be, and although they lie on opposite ends of the political spectrum, both the Occupy and Tea Party movements represent popular frustration with the current political process. For the foreseeable future, in-house party discord and popular movements will characterize American politics. Politicians face a frustrated electorate and one whose demographics are constantly changing. The successful politiAnother Republican concern is that Obama is bringing cal leaders of tomorrow will not only manage to quell the United States toward a financial cliff. Yet Republi- intra- and inter-party discord, but also carefully observe cans have accumulated huge deficits for the last thirty the attitudes of important voting blocs like immigrants, years. Despite the addition of fiscally conservative Paul particularly growing numbers of Hispanic Americans.

Ryan to Romney’s campaign, it would be naïve to conclude that a Romney term in the Oval Office would be characterized by any drastic shift in the policies and Volume 9 Issue 1

11

IN CONVERSATION WITH COL. JODY NELSON:

them wrong. I believed in myself, but I had to make them believe in me as well.

QIO: With increasing budget cuts, how do you see the U.S. Army adapting to this? What will some of the bigGender, American Decline and the gest challenges on the ground be?

U.S. Army JN: The budget cuts will force the Army to adapt in ways Interview by Daniel Bodirsky similar to what it did the early 1990s. The Army is cutting close to 80,000 personnel from its ranks over the next five years, which means more personnel will be back in the QIO: How did you come to be at Queen’s, working at the work force. There will be a slow-down in technology and Centre for International and Defence Policy? What is training will slow to a slight degree as well. The Army has your research here at Queen’s focused on? been experiencing more than a decade of "free spending" JN: I came to be working at Queen’s through a U.S. Army and that will come to an end. Some of the biggest challengPartnership program with Queens and the U.S. Army War es on the ground will be adapting to training more personCollege. Each year a select few officers (356 total) from the nel with fewer resources.

U.S. Army are selected to attend the U.S. Army War College. Of those officers, even fewer are selected to attend QIO: Much has been written about so-called “American colleges and universities throughout the world, such as Declinism”, and that the United States is increasingly Queen’s, to represent the U.S. Army, spread the word and do unable to maintain its security commitments abroad. research on strategic issues for the Army. My research while What do you make of this? here at Queen’s is the Strategic Guidance document SusJN: The United States recognizing its position, or shorttaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century falls, may be the most important step the nation could have Defence. The document outlines America’s defence prioridone to prevent its decline. Acknowledgement of America’s ties and spending over the next decade. The reprioritizing or own economic status and the shift in security focus towards rebalancing of U.S. forces to the Asia Pacific region, while Asia-Pacific may serve to set expectations throughout the turning the focus away from other regions, has the potential globe. The United States now has an obligation to rethink to affect relationships with U.S. allies, including Canada. its security commitments abroad and determine if the miliQIO: Your talk on October 10th is entitled, “The American Soldier: Perceptions and Misperceptions – From the Perspective of a Commander.” Why did you choose to speak on this topic, or how did you choose the title?

JN: My talk is titled “The American Soldier: Perceptions and Misperceptions, from the Perspective of the Commander”, because I have trained these men and women and know them like no other. The news often portrays soldiers as hardened killers or undisciplined kids (think Abu Ghraib, Marines urinating on dead Afghans), but does the world really know what the soldiers have been asked to do? Does it matter what is asked of a soldier in the line of duty? Perhaps offering a different perspective will help other perceptions. I perhaps can't change a perception, but I can challenge someone's assumptions.

tary is the right approach, or perhaps a diplomatic approach may fit. There are more ways to deal with issues than a heavy fisted military approach.

QIO: How do you view the deepening security integration between Canada and the U.S.?

JN: This is an extremely complex and seemingly controversial issue. From the outside, it would look to be an easy question to answer - of course it would be great. However, there could be drawbacks to any deepening security solution. Policies that are put in place come at a cost to someone or perhaps some freedom, especially when it comes to security. How much invasiveness are the people of Canada willing to endure in the name of security? The people of the United States have given up a little freedom of privacy in the name of security, and it seems that is the biggest issue and protests that Canadians have (and rightly so). Canada QIO: As the US Army’s first female combat commander, and the U.S. are indeed integrated; you can see it at border what challenges did you face in adapting to this role? crossings, at airports and also in cyber security, to name a JN: It wasn't about me adapting to the role - it was male few. These systems do perform critical security functions soldiers adapting to me in the role. Gender doesn't make a for both countries. But there is a certain level of mistrust difference; it's the perception of a person in power’s gender implied on both sides. A terrorist – home-grown or one that that makes the difference. Ego is a powerful thing in both flies in –can come from either side, and both countries have genders, and overlooking stereotypical gender roles is a very the right to want to protect their citizens. Citizens of both difficult thing. Perhaps that was the most challenging thing countries, though, must realise that security may come at a I had to overcome. There were many men that didn't believe price. in me every day and a lot of energy was spent in proving

12

Queen’s International Observer

FISHING FOR MEANING: A SEARCH FOR THE ANTI-TOURIST EXPERIENCE

by

Devin McDonald Volume 9 Issue 1

13

I have an odd relationship with being a tourist: when I am one, I spend the whole time attempting to avoid being one. By “tourist”, I mean the caricature-esque sense of the term: fanny pack-sporting, “its just like the brochure,” culture commoditizing, middle aged people who think that the absence of their mother tongue is a reversal of gravity. My approach is simple: avoid anything even remotely tourist oriented. I am guided by an unspoken mantra of, “the harder it is to attain, the better it must be.” I do this all because I think by avoiding tourist hotspots, I will somehow blend into the foreign culture and get the true experience. In essence, I want to be a cultural wallflower. Unfortunately, given that I am six foot tall, blond, and stand six inches above the average Asian crowd, my attempts at obscurity end at the overt.

During my recent trip to Japan, I developed a yearning for a Japanese antitourist experience. My desire was nearly satisfied in Tokyo when one of my fellow travelers suggested we visit Tsukiji fish market. The market is home to one of Japan’s largest tuna auctions. This fit the bill, as it involved two things white people are apparently allergic to: waking up early and smelly fish. After a late night out, we agreed to wake in a few hours and get to the market by 5 am. I fell asleep with the same state of mind I imagine Indiana Jones adopts before raiding a lost ark.

Our dreams of the genuine were scuttled when the tyranny of powerless elevators and alarmed escape exits trapped us in our eighteenth floor hostel. Stuck until the elevators electrified, I sank, defeated, into my curtained bunk bed.

I assumed my chance to experience the true nature of Japanese commerce had all but faded until I found myself visiting the southern most major island of the archipelago, the volcanic city of Kagoshima, for an internship. Browsing through a 14

Queen’s International Observer

tourism brochure with my internship partner Max, I was reminded of my tightly held dream. We planned to wake at 3:45 am on Friday morning to pursue the Eldorado of fish.

We wound through the streets of Kagoshima in a taxi, and arrived at the Kagoshima Fish Market well before the auction’s start at 6:30 am. We perused through aisles of fresh fish and intent shoppers, while I conspicuously wore down the charge on my camera. I was clearly gaijin. Foreigner. I had never been further away from achieving my objective of cultural wallflower.

I stood aside as the tuna that lined the market floor were auctioned off one by one. Packs of merchants shuffled through the limp bodies, momentarily pausing to appraise the subjected carcass, followed by a flurry of bids. I watched keenly as a rubber-aproned man carved up an elephantine fish into sizable chunks of tuna.

The morning was capped off by a sashimi breakfast at a restaurant near the edge of the market. This was likely both the best breakfast and best sashimi I have ever had. I am at a loss to describe it anyway but proverbially melt in your mouth. With a few “oushi desu, arigato gozaimasu,” (It is delicious, thank you) to the matron of the restaurant, my quest for the Japanese fish market concluded.

I am not sure if there was much of a point in anything I have written here besides that I am particularly selfconscious about sticking out in foreign lands, or that everyone really ought to try fresh sashimi at 6 o’clock in the morning. Perhaps there is difficulty in the way in which westerners articulate their relationship to the world. This is an age in which we are aware of a colonial past, and we are striving to understand cultures rather than fetishize them.

So how do we reconcile our interest in the cultures of the world while avoiding making them the subjects of our commercialism?

It seems that my awkwardness while traveling is an expression of my own discomfort or uncertainty of the dynamic between tourists and their host countries.

Volume 9 Issue 1

15

Featuring: c nomi

Eco

Crisis

Small Arms and s Chemical Weapon Natural

disasters and crisis commu nication

16

Queen’s International Observer

SINK OR SWIM: Canada’s Place in the Global Financial Crisis

by Deborah Chu

“Doing the best of the G7 is like winning a race against six very slow racers.”

- Don Drummond, Fellow at Queen’s School of Public Policy

points to the resultant job loss that Canada experienced, which hit hardest in the automobile industry.

Drummond names the U.S. housing bubble of the early 2000s as one important distinction that has set the two countries apart economically. Compared to the nosedive that Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller price index registered as the largest price drop in history, Canada’s decline has been gentler, with housing prices only just beginning to fall in Toronto and Vancouver. Drummond also cites an altogether different banking culture in Canada, in particular an aversion to high-risk loans.

“We had well-capitalized banks. We weren’t running really high leverage ratios, meaning they weren’t lending out a lot of money relative to the capital that they had.”

Canadians have been presented with two rather contradictory economic realities as of late. Media outlets tout an image of a stalled market, an economy mired in a “soft patch” and assailed by new, impending crises each day: a double-dip recession, “Dutch Disease,” fading economic diversity, a six-month low in the growth of Canadian manufacturing, skyrocketing household and government debts – the list goes on. The Financial Post has taken to affixing an image of a tattered and tiredlooking Canadian flag to their doom-and gloom head- Whether Canadians like it or not, how well the Canalines, as if this pessimism could not be voiced clearly dian economy performs on the world market remains enough. hinged on the United States’ fiscal performance. “Even if Canada were in a completely different fiscal position, Yet the picture that Canada’s Finance Minister Jim Fla- markets don’t tend to look at us terribly differently,” says herty paints is quite a different one. At a recent press Drummond. “If we look back to the banking crisis, the conference, Flaherty announced that Canada has expe- American banks were in deep, deep trouble – the Carienced the best economic growth of the G7, and the nadian banks weren’t, but the cost of raising funds was release of recent numbers have allowed for a modicum almost the same for Canadian banks as it was for the of cautious optimism. However, Don Drummond, the U.S. banks. If you look at historically the interest rates former Chief Economist for TD Bank and current Mat- that the government of Canada pays, [its] never been thews Fellow at the Queen’s School of Public Policy, is very far away from the interest rates the U.S. governquick to put Flaherty’s optimistic statement into per- ment pays.” spective: “Doing the best of the G7 is like winning a race against six very slow racers,” he says, as many members Should the United States fall off the fiscal cliff, Drumof the G7 – particularly the European countries and the mond warns, there will inevitably be consequences United States – were far more affected by the recession. for Canada. Data released by the United States Census Undeniably, Canada emerged from the economic downturn that felled many other nations in relatively good shape. Taking into account our close-knit economic and political ties to the United States, why is this the case?

Drummond is again quick to separate fact from fiction; “In terms of [Canada’s] loss of output,” he says, “it was virtually identically the same [to the United States].” He

Bureau named Canada as the United States’ top trading partner in 2011. A stricter regime of fiscal austerity would weaken American imports, and as the United States traditionally receives the majority of Canadian exports, this could potentially damage the growth of the Canadian economy and trade ties with our neighbour to the south.

Volume 9 Issue 1

17

However, with emerging economies – especially China – currently accounting for more than half of global output, it is clear that there are new star players on the world economic stage. With traditional developed markets drying up, Minister Flaherty urged Canada’s top business leaders to strengthen ties with developing markets in order to ensure stable, long-term fiscal growth.

Drummond agrees with this plan of action, forecasting that emerging economies will likely account for twothirds of the world’s economy before 2030. “Over the next ten or twenty years the United States will probably grow by about 2%, but the emerging economies will grow by at least 4%, so we should really look at extending our trade ties with parts of the world that are going to grow the fastest. We should never forget about the United States,” appends Drummond, “but it’s not going to be a leader in growth in the world.”

It is clear world economic developments can no longer be analyzed simply by looking at developed economies; however, while international trade is essential to economic growth, there are still balances that must be struck between the powers of national governments and international bodies. In his recent Donald Matthews lecture at Queen’s University’s School of Public Policy, Drummond asserted that while international cooperation is increasingly necessary, synchronizing policies runs the risk of sending all countries on the wrong track. If every country abides by their own national policy, thriving countries will be able to come to the aid of other nations who stumble. This situation is currently playing out in the Euro Zone, as heavyweight Germany works to bail out Greece’s flagging economy.

But does Drummond believe there can be a balance made between national and international policies? “I think this will be the most interesting political economy question over the next ten or twenty years. After all, most of these countries have democratically elected governments, so to what extent are they going to cede central fiscal responsibilities?” Drummond cites existing advisory bodies such as the G7 and the G20 whose purpose is to coordinate fiscal policies amongst countries, but who are lately moving closer to exercising more input in domestic policy. “The big question would be to what degree you retain the right to not go along with what they’re saying,” suggests Drummond. “I suspect countries like the United States will fight very ferociously to not have to align their policies along with other bodies.”

In a time of rapid and intensifying economic globalization, with the U.S. economy still sluggish, and with no end yet in sight for the Euro Crisis, what can a small, open economy such as Canada’s do to protect itself?

Drummond puts his faith in the Government of Canada and the fiscal conservatism policies that helped keep Canada afloat during the worst of the recession.

Drummond does caution that households must not become too indebted. A recent article in the National Post reported that household debt currently sits at 152% in Canada – something TD economists point out is close to the 160% threshold that American and British consumers experienced right before the outbreak of the 2008 financial crisis. Yet he is again confident that the market will be regulated appropriately. “The government and the Bank of Canada has been exercising moral suasion on that front, [by making it] it difficult to take riskier mortgages.”

Ultimately, Drummond says, the reality is what it is.

“We tend to go where the world economy, particularly the U.S. economy, goes. That’s good for Canada when these economies are growing, but there’s not too much we can do to extricate ourselves when the world economy is going to weaken.” As economic globalization intensifies, and with recessions and political instabilities the world over, it’s up to Canada to adapt to new international conditions that lie ahead, while maintaining the national integrity that has allowed us to weather the storm thus far.

18

Queen’s International Observer

Dialling in Adaptation: Using Cell Phones to Facilitate Solutions to Climate Change and Natural Disasters

By Félix Grenier, University of Ottawa and Stephen Roddick, University of Ottawa “We all know that information and communications technologies (ITCs) have revolutionised our world... ITCs are also very vital to confronting the problems we face as a plantet: the threat of climate change.”

- UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, 5 October 2009

In Kenya, bloggers and activists responding to postelection violence in 2008 developed a web-based project called “Ushahidi” (Witness) to amalgamate email and text message reports of violent incidents, and then post the locations of dangerous areas on Google Maps in real-time. In Haiti, the Red Cross sought to contain a 2010 Cholera outbreak by sending targeted Short Message Service (SMS) messages to cell phone users in affected areas, dispensing valuable information on how to prevent transmission of the disease. In Bangladesh, a new public-private partnership aims to issue ‘flash alerts’ that warn cell phone users in vulnerable regions of imminent floods, typhoons, or other natural disasters.

In 2011, we responded to a public challenge from the World Resource Institute that asked participants to come up with a communications platform that could connect communities vulnerable to climate change impacts with external sources of goods, services, and public and private capital. This article outlines some of the ideas that emerged from our proposal that explored the exciting potential of ICTs to address the challenge of climate change and natural disasters in developing countries.

How can ICTs help developing states adapt to climate change?

In the years ahead, developing countries will be disproportionately affected by climate change. This will predominantly occur in two ways: through increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters; and through slow-onset impacts such as sea-level rise and changing weather patterns. The scale and diffusion of cellular technology in these countries, however, presents a unique opportunity to map and coordinate adaptive responses to the impacts of climate change.

These are just a few examples of how Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) are transforming the way we manage and respond to disasters and emergencies. Across the globe, organizations and individuals are learning to leverage communication networks to share critical information with at-risk populations and to aggregate data generated by individuals located in disaster areas. New approaches to connect those in need and those with the capacity to respond can generate Mobile technology is by far the most widespread comtremendous benefits. This is especially true in develop- munication technology in developing countries. In Afing countries, which are more vulnerable to natural di- rica, mobile subscriptions outnumber Internet users by sasters, but also more connected - particularly through over 4 to 1 and land-line subscribers by almost 40 to 1. mobile phone technology.

19 Volume 9 Issue 1

While the proportion of cell phone subscriptions to total population remains significantly higher in developed states, uptake has been faster in the developing world, where total subscriptions have more than tripled since 2005. Given this rate of proliferation, mobile phones present a promising new medium to address a myriad of social, health, environmental, and socioeconomic issues through “crowdsourcing”: the outsourcing of tasks, such as gathering information, to an undefined, unlimited (and unpaid) community. In this article, we present a few practical ideas that combine crowdsourcing and mobile technology to assist populations in less developed countries in adapting to the impacts of natural disasters and climate change.

Collecting data on localized issues and conditions The ability for people in remote regions of the world to transmit information directly and cheaply through SMS messaging has enormous potential for those researching and implementing projects and programs to address climate change adaptation. While there are a wide variety of approaches, our proposal focused on soliciting information through a four-digit regional/local shortcode “SMS hotline.”

This service would provide an outlet for individuals to voluntarily submit SMS messages detailing specific local environmental and climate-related issues affecting their lives and livelihoods. Furthermore, sending automatically generated responses back to these individuals tailored to key words in the original message, could allow for the collection of more detailed information.

For example, a rice farmer near Satia in northwest Bangladesh experiencing drought related crop failure might send a message that reads: “Drought has destroyed over half of my crops in Satia. There is not enough water.”

Based on the word “drought” or “water” in the original message, an automatic response might be generated to request what crop(s) the farmer grows, his or her current source of water, the date of the last rainfall, or any other relevant data.

Establishing partnerships with regional cellular providers could also enhance participation through two key mechanisms: broadcast SMS messaging to promote the service to people in affected areas; and enabling the transfer of mobile credits, as an incentive, to those who submit information.

20

Aggregating and synthesizing data The information generated from these SMS messages could be analyzed using specially developed computer software that receives, aggregates, and sorts these texts by keywords and other data. For example, it would be possible to filter messages containing the words “water” or “drought” submitted within a specific time frame and in a specific geographic area (with location indicated by the cellular tower that received the SMS message).

This information could be used to facilitate a detailed analysis of climate change impacts and how individuals cope with impacts over time, to infer patterns that inform adaptation projects and programs. It could also be used to monitor specific regions or issues in real-time, allowing for rapid response to emergency developments and delivering customized adaptation solutions based on specific needs.

Sharing and disseminating information To stimulate action and improve how the impacts of climate change are addressed in practice, it is necessary not only to collect this data, but to ensure that it reaches those public and private players with the resources to help affected communities adapt to these impacts.

Luckily, there are a variety of technological solutions to facilitate the transfer of information.

Our proposal focused on the development of an opensourced, web-based platform that would provide public access to available data in real-time, allowing users to sort through SMS messages – anonymized to protect the identity of the source – and extract information relevant to their specific interests.

Facilitating collaboration and partnerships In addition to providing an accessible system that allows people to browse and analyze available data, the web-based platform could also invite visitors to become registered users, gaining access to a host of features that enable them to connect and discuss the data with other users.

While our proposal did not explore potential structures of interaction between users in detail, there are a wide variety of options that can be employed to allow users to connect. For example, by indicating an interest in specific geographic or issue areas, users can be provided with an opportunity to join a web -page or group that allows them to connect with others who share their interests. It would also be possible for users proposing

Queen’s International Observer

the development of specific projects or programs to create an online “discussion room” around this solution, and collaborate with others who share their approach, and who may be able to provide financial, assistance, or knowledge-based resources. Finally, allowing users to create wiki-style pages about specific areas or issues would enable for an organic growth of collected knowledge on best practices in adaptation. More specifically, these wiki-style pages could be created around climate change impacts such as "soil salination," and would allow users to create, edit, and comment on content -with links to research and analysis -- related to areas and populations affected, impacts on agriculture, agricultural coping techniques, and beyond.

Establishing two-way communication for locally-appropriate solutions Beyond providing an information outlet and collaborative space for public and private actors involved in climate change adaptation, the level of connectivity presented by ICTs can also allow for direct collaboration between project or program implementers and affected communities.

assistance based on keywords in the text and the location from which it was sent.

Conclusion We believe the ideas and concepts discussed in this article illustrate the value of ICTs in addressing the impacts of climate change for two key reasons. First, they provide feedback mechanisms that are driven from the bottom-up, have the potential to provide a high volume of data in real time, and come directly from individuals in affected areas. By leveraging the scale and diffusion of mobile devices in the developing world, it may be possible to overcome a key weakness plaguing many development projects: insufficient participation of local actors in defining local needs.

Second, the systems outlined in the above analysis can provide new opportunities for public and private actors to collaborate on the development of potential projects and programs to help affected communities adapt to the problem of climate change. More importantly, these ideas present the possibility of direct and large scale communication and collaboration with individuals living in areas impacted by climate change.

In the years ahead, ICTs will contribute to deeper, broader, more diverse connections between developed and developing worlds. Simultaneously, expected increases in global temperatures may lead to disastrous levels of climate change. Unfortunately, these impacts will be disproportionately felt in the developing world due to geography and a lack of resources and capacities to respond. In a globalized world, making effective use of advances in communications technologies to address the impacts of climate change is not only possible, but necessary.

One mechanism explored in our proposal enables individuals in affected communities to solicit advice on particular issues from users of the web-based platform by using special command words in SMS messages.

For example, SMS messages beginning with the command “HELP,” and listing specific problems -- ranging from insect infestations to rapidly rising flood waters -- would be redirected to a special page where users of the web-based platform would propose and vote on potentially helpful responses. Alternatively, it would be possible to send an automated reply listing specific organizations, cooperatives, or businesses that could be of Volume 9 Issue 1

21

It’s not the size that matters. It’s how YOU USE IT.

By Isaac Burger

Hiroshima: 170,000. Nagasaki: 80,000. The development of atomic weaponry through the Manhattan project involved over 130,000 personnel, cost today’s equivalent to $26 billion USD, took four years to develop, and gave birth to an entire doctrine of diplomacy warfare. The intensity of death and devastation in these Japanese cities illustrated the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war.

Throughout the Cold War decades, the threat of nuclear war plagued humanity. Even now, proliferation of nuclear armaments continues to fuel conflict in the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. Yet, nuclear Armageddon seems to be stillborn. No nuclear weapons have been detonated in war since WWII. The bipolar sun of the Cold War has set. The nights of unipolarity are calm. However, the light of a new world order reveals the dawn of a different kind of war. Man-made disaster continues to be most destructive.

An Avtomat Kalashikova, or AK47 is an assault rifle design that is over 60 years old. Production began in 1949, and since then over 170 million rifles within the AK47 family have been produced.

It has a range of only 300 metres on full auto, firing 7.62x39mm rounds at a rate of 600 per minute, or 10 per second. Magazines range from 10-100 rounds. One 22

bullet can penetrate and pass through in the possession of civilians. In two people to kill a third. Then you re- Mozambique, for a population of load.

15 million, there are 10 million small arms. In Mogadishu, a city AK-47’s are just one type of gun in the of 1.3 million, there is a gun for huge international exodus of death deal- nearly every man, woman, and ing devices. Small arms can include shot- child. One size fits all. guns, LMGs, HMGs, sniper rifles, RPG launchers, SMGs, carbines, battle rifles, Small arms are quite a bargain assault rifles, pistols, revolvers, and hand too. In Africa, the average cost of grenades. These kinds of weapons have an AK-47 is $6 USD. In Uganda, been more destructive to humanity than the price tag is one chicken. In nuclear weapons.

Kenya, you can trade in your uncle’s goat for an AK-47. For others Modern conflicts result in approximately on the receiving end of the barrel, 300,000 casualties on average every year. the cost may be a leg, an arm, or From 1990-2000, around 220,000 civil- their life. ians were killed using small arms. Not ‘by’ small arms. Someone wielding these Humans are inherently politiweapons has to pull the trigger with in- cal creatures, and this has not tent to kill. Why? People are fighting over changed much in our species’ everything. Land, water, gold, diamonds, short history. Neither has war. timber, oil, even scripture written thou- War, is the violent expression sands of years ago by people they will of will. Opposable thumbs and never know. Chaos reigns supreme in big brains have turned us into a these ‘new wars’. very productive species, but not without also empowering us to The African continent knows chaos all too turn on one another. Small arms well. Innocent blood that has been spilled amplify the use of force between on the scorching Saharan sands seeps competing peoples. into the Nile, runs through the central basins, and pools in the south. In January In the days of our early ancestors, 2011, SIPRI estimated African countries it took some time to kill with a such as Sudan, Chad, Rwanda, Uganda, blade. In this age of geosynchronSomalia and the DRC, purchased billions ic-satellite-laser-guided-bunkerof dollars in arms. All have been ravaged busting-nuclear-ICBMs, humans in the past by ethnic violence or civil war, have the ability to threaten total and many continue to be. To illustrate the annihilation of our own species. scale of violence that small arms allow, Though the killing potential of from 2000-2003 in the DRC, the Interna- nuclear weapons will always intional Rescue Committee estimated that voke fear in the hearts of civilians approximately 2.49 million people were and leaders of states, small arms killed in the armed violence. kill more than nuclear weapons ever have. The most destrucThe market for these cheap tools of de- tive force threatening humanity struction is super-saturated with supply, remains our violent behaviour and demand is growing. In West Afri- equipped with the immortal maca, there are 7 million small arms in the chine of war, the AK-47. hands… whoever can afford one. In South Africa, there are 4 million small arms are Small arms. Mega death.

Queen’s International Observer

OBAMA’S RED LINE IN SYRIA Addressing the Threat of Chemical Weapons

by Idrees Ali

With civil war in Syria raging for the past 19 months and thousands of innocent civilians being killed in clashes with government forces, many people both in Syria and in the international community have questioned how long President Bashar Al Assad will be allowed to carry out such atrocities.

death.” Chemical weapons are routinely subdivided into “chemical agents” based on their effects. According to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, these chemicals are categorized as either choking, blister, blood, nerve or riot control agents.

So why are chemical weapons considered to be so terrible and why would President Obama declare their use to be crossing a line? Chemical weapons are unique among all kind of weapons; each of the chemical agents has a different, yet equally horrific, impact when used against humans. Chemical weapons provide their victims with little in terms of a warning, since many are colorless and odorless. For example, In late August, President Obama stated that there was sulfur mustard, more commonly known as mustard gas, is categorized as a “blistering and tissue-injuring indeed a “red line” in Syria, which Al Assad canagent.” It not only causes burns and blisters, but can not cross without consequences: the use of chemical also damage the victim’s eyes and respiratory system. weapons. Obama implied that if chemical weapons were used by the Syrian regime against its own people, Terrifying images of Iraqi-Kurd mothers caught by chemical weapons while clutching their young chilthe United States would almost certainly intervene.

Thus, there arises the question of why the red line has dren on the streets of Halabja remind us of the debeen drawn at chemical weapons. Within the context structive capabilities of these weapons. of Obama’s recent statement, this article will look at the history of their use in combat operations and how We live in an age where images of destruction caused the international arena has slowly changed its attitude by conventional weapons have become frighteningly commonplace. However, images of victims of chemitowards them. cal weapons are not so easily forgotten, and we are not so easily desensitized to them. If the Syrian regime The official definition of chemical weapons is lengthy and complicated, mainly because many of the chemi- were to employ chemical weapons against its own people, the Obama administration would be on the cals that are used for peaceful purposes can also be receiving end of sharp criticism for failing to prevent used as weapons. At a basic level, a chemical weapon their use. is “any toxic chemical or its precursor that can cause Volume 9 Issue 1

25

The way in which chemical weapons have developed and been used in the past plays an important role in the near universal consensus that using them is unacceptable. Their use dates back to 431 B.C. during the Peloponnesian War, when the Spartan army used arsenic smoke to subdue their enemies. However, since the turn of the 20th century, the first documented use of chemical weapons was during the First World War. According to the Canadian government, by the end of WWI, “125,000 tons of toxic chemicals had been used, causing more than 1.3 million casualties, including more than 100,000 deaths.” However, following the First World War, until the 1980s, chemical weapons were used only sporadically in combat. They were used to a certain extent by Egypt against Yemen in the1960s.

Chemicals such as Agent Orange were used by the United States in Vietnam in the same time period.

The use of chemical weapons resurfaced in the 1980s under Saddam Hussein. On September 22, 1980, Saddam Hussein’s forces entered Iran, triggering one of the longest and most destructive wars in the Middle East.

By 1982, Iran’s leader Allatoyah Khomeini had united the Iranian population to defend against Iraqi forces, pushing them back into Iraq, including some Kurdish 24

held areas. Since the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and the end of the First World War, the Kurds advocated for an autonomous Kurdistan stretching from Turkey down into Iraq. In the past, Saddam Hussein brutally quashed protests in the region. During the war with Iran, he perceived the presence of Iranian soldiers in Kurd controlled territories as a threat. In March 1988, Iraqi bombers swooped over Halabja in the Kurdish region of Iraq, which had a population of over 30,000 inhabitants.

Hussein had attacked Kurdish held territory before, but what made these bombs different were the chemical agents they contained. By the end of the day, 4000 civilians, many of whom were women and children, were been killed, unable to outrun lethal gasses. A UN investigation pointed towards the speed with which the victims were killed as a sign that some type of nerve gas had been used. This was the first time chemical weapons were used by a regime against its own people.

However, the international reaction remained muted at best.

The extent to which the United States was willing to look the other way was surprising. Donald Rumsfeld,

Queen’s International Observer

then the Special Envoy to the Middle East, made clear that while the United States was concerned about the use of chemical weapons, ensuring that the Iranian regime was not victorious and that Iraqi-US relations remained on track was of greater importance.

The United States was willing to overlook the massacre as long as it met its strategic goals in the region. Thus, the United States indeed shares some of the blame for failing to control the use of chemical weapons in the war between Iraq and Iran. Obama perhaps feels that he must prove that what the United States allowed to happen in 1988 was an exception and not the norm.

Additionally, people now have a better understanding of chemical weapons and the horrifying suffering they cause. Great strides were made between the Geneva Protocol of 1928 and the more recent Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). As President of the United States, Obama must support any restrictions on chemical weapons and prevent their use wherever he is able.

Moreover, even though Syria has yet to sign the agreement, the convention has near universal acceptance by over 165 countries, representing over 98 per cent of the world’s population. Furthermore, the implementation is overseen not by the squabbling United Nations, but by the independently run Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which allows for more transparent implementation of the convention.

While the UN Security Council has spent a considerable amount of time debating how best to handle the situation in Syria, President Obama made it clear that the use of chemical weapons would be unacceptable.

This is a welcome statement for the millions at risk of injury by chemical weapons in Syria, and a strong signal that key international players are closely monitoring the Syrian president’s brutal regime.

When the Geneva Protocol was signed, the main aim was to prohibit, “the use of chemical and biological weapons in war” and create an international standard by which to judge the use of chemical weapons. However, many states were not willing to give up their right to use chemical weapons as a tool in war. The Geneva Protocol was not enough to stop the use of chemical weapons, and further restriction was needed.

In September 1992, the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) agreement was submitted to the United Nations, and entered into force in 1997. The CWC builds onto the Geneva Protocol and rectifies some of its key errors. Its goals are more specific, as it calls for, “achieving effective progress towards general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control, including the prohibition and elimination of all types of weapons of mass destruction.”

Listen to Right of Reply, Kingston’s International Affairs Radio show.

Tune in every second Wednesday at 6pm on CFRC 101.9fm to learn about the Egyptian Uprising, War on Terror, Iranian Revolution, World UN Day, current events and more. @rightoreply | rightofreply.podomatic.com | facebook.com/rightofreply Volume 9 Issue 1

25

THE

QUEEN’S INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS ASSOCIATION AND THE

QUEEN’S MUN TEAM PRESENT

Opportunities to travel and compete in conferences at: McGILL

PRINCETON PENN STATE AND

WEST POINT MILITARY ACADEMY

BRASILIA, BRAZIL!

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY WEEKLY MEETING on THURSDAYS 5:30PM MAC-CORRY E229 visit us online at

www.qiaa.org/delegation

contact us at

delegation@qiaa.org