When pushed to explain hawkish writings, Ignatieff goes personal: Knowledge Driven Revolution

Pounded by his rivals over allegedly hawkish writings on the war on terror, Michael Ignatieff got personal at a Liberal leadership debate Saturday.

Attempts by the other contenders to force the front-runner to explain his views on torture, pre-emptive war, targeted assassinations, and open-ended detentions were drowned out by boos from his supporters.

When Bob Rae raised his writings to suggest his ideas contradicted the Charter of Rights, Ignatieff chided his longtime friend and talked about his mom.

"Listen carefully, my friend," Ignatieff replied curtly.

"You knew my mother, who was engaged to be married to a man who was killed through (Nazi) torture at Buchenwald.

"So you can be very sure that as a prime minister, as a party leader, I oppose torture."

The two former university roommates then walked off the stage, walked towards their seats in the audience, and crossed paths without looking at each other.

Ignatieff supporters later drowned out Stephane Dion when he said the onetime academic will have to answer - either now or in an election campaign - when pushed to explain his writings.

Dion scolded audience members for their response to Rae's attack on Ignatieff.

"Don't boo Bob. He did his job today," Dion said.

If Liberals don't push Ignatieff to explain his controversial writings, the NDP and Conservatives will do it in the next election campaign, Dion said.

Then he raised a 2002 column from a British newspaper and suggested Ignatieff is even more hawkish than President George W. Bush. In the Guardian piece, Ignatieff suggested the president should use military clout to impose the creation of a Palestinian state.

The piece was titled "Why Bush Must Send in His Troops - Imposing a Two-State Solution is the Last Chance for Middle East."

In that piece, he said the time is past for "endless negotiations" between Israel, the Palestinians and the international community.

He said the UN should establish a transitional administration to help the Palestinian state on its feet, and "most of all, the U.S. must then commit its own troops, and those of willing allies, not to police a ceasefire, but to enforce the solution that provides security for both populations."

Dion said the leadership front-runner sounded like more of a military interventionist than even Bush.

"This week Michael criticized President Bush by saying he was a disaster. But Michael pushed him in the back. He went even farther than him," Dion said.

Dion was forced to pause momentarily by a loud chorus of boos raining down from the pro-Ignatieff camp. The front-runner's supporters offered the same treatment to Rae, and one heckler taunted the former New Democrat premier of Ontario with chants of "NDP! NDP!"

Dion noted the irony of being booed by Ignatieff supporters while reading from Ignatieff's own writings.

"You don't want to hear from your own candidate? That's not Liberal," he told the crowd.

Ignatieff has backed away from his early position on Iraq and his supporters say he has never endorsed torture.

In a 2004 piece in the New York Times magazine, he wrote: "To defeat evil, we may have to traffic in evils: indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, targeted assassinations, even pre-emptive war."

But while the piece in question may raise the issue, Ignatieff says he has never actually endorsed measures such as torture.

The Times piece in question, for instance, concludes with a warning against human rights abuses.

"Even terrorists, unfortunately, have human rights," the piece concludes.

"We have to respect these because we are fighting a war whose essential prize is preserving the identity of democratic society and preventing it from becoming what terrorists believe it to be."

"We have to show ourselves and the populations whose loyalties we seek that the rule of law is not a mask or an illusion. It is our true nature."

Ignatieff has been under fire in recent weeks, first for saying that he wouldn't lose any sleep over the lives lost when Israel bombed a Lebanese village during its summer offensive against Hezbollah, then for characterizing the Israeli attack was a war crime.

Ignatieff's reference to his mother and his long friendship with Rae was similar to his response in the last leadership debate, when Rae suggested he had flip-flopped on the Lebanon conflict.

Ignatieff replied that the charge was untrue and that Rae should have known better, considering they had known each other for decades.

To which Rae responded that the debates were not supposed to be a tea party. He took issue with Ignatieff's response again Saturday.

"I don't think he answered," Rae said.

"The first thing I've learned in life, is don't take it personally. . . .

"I didn't intend it personally, and it shouldn't be taken personally."

Ignatieff saw it otherwise.

"I wanted the room to understand that sometimes these things are personal," he said of his response Saturday.

"I am proud of a lifetime of careful, thoughtful public commentary. I'm an open book - literally an open book," he said, noting that he had written 15 of them during his academic career.

"I have nothing to hide. I am extremely proud of what I have written. I'm a proud Canadian. I'm a proud defender of human rights.

"Always have been, always will be."

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HOME Canadians Should Pay NOT to be Poisoned: NDP V for Vendetta - R for Reality Canadian Bird Flu Pandemic Looming ? Shill of the Week: Stephan Harper Aspartame: The Sweetest Killer Chicken Little Terrorist of the Week: Creating Fake Terrorists Shill of the Week: Paul Martin The Number 1 Reason YOU became a Slave	When pushed to explain hawkish writings, Ignatieff goes personal CP October 23, 2006 Pounded by his rivals over allegedly hawkish writings on the war on terror, Michael Ignatieff got personal at a Liberal leadership debate Saturday. Attempts by the other contenders to force the front-runner to explain his views on torture, pre-emptive war, targeted assassinations, and open-ended detentions were drowned out by boos from his supporters. When Bob Rae raised his writings to suggest his ideas contradicted the Charter of Rights, Ignatieff chided his longtime friend and talked about his mom. "Listen carefully, my friend," Ignatieff replied curtly. "You knew my mother, who was engaged to be married to a man who was killed through (Nazi) torture at Buchenwald. "So you can be very sure that as a prime minister, as a party leader, I oppose torture." The two former university roommates then walked off the stage, walked towards their seats in the audience, and crossed paths without looking at each other. Ignatieff supporters later drowned out Stephane Dion when he said the onetime academic will have to answer - either now or in an election campaign - when pushed to explain his writings. Dion scolded audience members for their response to Rae's attack on Ignatieff. "Don't boo Bob. He did his job today," Dion said. If Liberals don't push Ignatieff to explain his controversial writings, the NDP and Conservatives will do it in the next election campaign, Dion said. Then he raised a 2002 column from a British newspaper and suggested Ignatieff is even more hawkish than President George W. Bush. In the Guardian piece, Ignatieff suggested the president should use military clout to impose the creation of a Palestinian state. The piece was titled "Why Bush Must Send in His Troops - Imposing a Two-State Solution is the Last Chance for Middle East." In that piece, he said the time is past for "endless negotiations" between Israel, the Palestinians and the international community. He said the UN should establish a transitional administration to help the Palestinian state on its feet, and "most of all, the U.S. must then commit its own troops, and those of willing allies, not to police a ceasefire, but to enforce the solution that provides security for both populations." Dion said the leadership front-runner sounded like more of a military interventionist than even Bush. "This week Michael criticized President Bush by saying he was a disaster. But Michael pushed him in the back. He went even farther than him," Dion said. Dion was forced to pause momentarily by a loud chorus of boos raining down from the pro-Ignatieff camp. The front-runner's supporters offered the same treatment to Rae, and one heckler taunted the former New Democrat premier of Ontario with chants of "NDP! NDP!" Dion noted the irony of being booed by Ignatieff supporters while reading from Ignatieff's own writings. "You don't want to hear from your own candidate? That's not Liberal," he told the crowd. Ignatieff has backed away from his early position on Iraq and his supporters say he has never endorsed torture. In a 2004 piece in the New York Times magazine, he wrote: "To defeat evil, we may have to traffic in evils: indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, targeted assassinations, even pre-emptive war." But while the piece in question may raise the issue, Ignatieff says he has never actually endorsed measures such as torture. The Times piece in question, for instance, concludes with a warning against human rights abuses. "Even terrorists, unfortunately, have human rights," the piece concludes. "We have to respect these because we are fighting a war whose essential prize is preserving the identity of democratic society and preventing it from becoming what terrorists believe it to be." "We have to show ourselves and the populations whose loyalties we seek that the rule of law is not a mask or an illusion. It is our true nature." Ignatieff has been under fire in recent weeks, first for saying that he wouldn't lose any sleep over the lives lost when Israel bombed a Lebanese village during its summer offensive against Hezbollah, then for characterizing the Israeli attack was a war crime. Ignatieff's reference to his mother and his long friendship with Rae was similar to his response in the last leadership debate, when Rae suggested he had flip-flopped on the Lebanon conflict. Ignatieff replied that the charge was untrue and that Rae should have known better, considering they had known each other for decades. To which Rae responded that the debates were not supposed to be a tea party. He took issue with Ignatieff's response again Saturday. "I don't think he answered," Rae said. "The first thing I've learned in life, is don't take it personally. . . . "I didn't intend it personally, and it shouldn't be taken personally." Ignatieff saw it otherwise. "I wanted the room to understand that sometimes these things are personal," he said of his response Saturday. "I am proud of a lifetime of careful, thoughtful public commentary. I'm an open book - literally an open book," he said, noting that he had written 15 of them during his academic career. "I have nothing to hide. I am extremely proud of what I have written. I'm a proud Canadian. I'm a proud defender of human rights. "Always have been, always will be." Read the full article here Broken Link? 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