By Susan MartinukGiven this weeks turmoil in the Middle East, two seemingly unrelated events from last Friday may be quite significant to Canadas future.The first event was a news release from Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird stating that Canada had abruptly suspended diplomatic relations with Iran. Our diplomats had already turned out the lights and left the country; Iranian diplomats in Canada were given five days to get out.In some cases, such dramatic events are a precursor to war. An attack on Iran is always possible. After all, Iran has enough enemies that they would have to form a line to see who gets to take the first shot.But Baird said nothing to clarify Canadas position, only offering vague comments about Iran violating human rights, sponsoring terrorist groups and ignoring the UNs request to stop building nuclear bombs under the guise of generating medical isotopes. Since none of this was new, it further fuelled suspicions that something was up. Hmmm .The second event took place that night at the Toronto International Film Festival amid the Hollywood glamour crowd and Canadas entertainment elites. The movie Argo, starring Ben Affleck, debuted to huge accolades and plenty of chatter about it being a blockbuster and an Oscar contender.The storyline? The Canadian Caper the true 1979 story of Canadian ambassador to Iran Ken Taylor and his heroic efforts to shelter six Americans who had escaped from the U.S. Embassy when it was overrun by Iranian militants. More than 50 Americans were taken hostage; six who escaped made their way to the Canadian Embassy. Canada kept them safe, while generating Canadian passports for them and co-ordinating an escape plan with the CIA.It worked. Two months later, they flew out of Iran using Canadian identities. For obvious reasons, the Canadian Embassy closed that same day and diplomats quickly returned to Canada. The entire staff was later honoured by both Canada and the U.S.Argo opens in Canadian theatres on Oct. 12 and, in true Hollywood fashion, it focuses on the role of the CIA.But the story is purely Canadian and, decades after the fact, it remains highly relevant to the current situation in the Middle East. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran, and Canada and Iran, remain high and unresolved, to say the least.
Is the timing of Argos showing at TIFF connected to Canadas rapid recall of its diplomatic corps from Iran? Is it possible that Ben Affleck, a relatively low-key actor, could be the one to stir the pot of international terrorism and set the stage for the possibility of reprisals against Canada?There is likely no coincidence that Bairds actions transpired just days before Sept. 11 and the violent assaults on American embas-sies in Cairo and Libya. In Libya, four embassy officials were killed, including the ambassador, and the embassy was burned to the ground. American officials now say the events were a complex attack well planned and organized. At the time of writing, protests had spread to both Yemen and Iran.Supposedly, this is the Muslim response to a cheap, amateur film made in the U.S. that uses crude jokes to skewer the Prophet Muhammad, and portrays him as a womanizer, homosexual and pedophile.An insult to Islam, yes, but when new reports say the attacks were co-ordinated, it suggests that issues run much deeper than a farcical portrayal of Muhammad.It is far more likely that the film is a convenient excuse for radical Muslims to act on their hatred for America. Blaming the film also makes it easier for Americans who want to blame the attacks on something other than deepseated religious issues that wont be resolved until western culture and Israel are destroyed. Hopefully, that wont happen any time soon.So here is the question for Canadians: If a cheap, homemade film on the Internet can provide an excuse for all the death, destruction and violence of the past few days, then what will happen when a Holly wood blockbuster depicts Canadians deceiving and outwitting the Iranian government?Will it be like holding a red cloak up to an angry bull? Or will Canada still be seen as the kinder, gentler nation?Only time will tell. Susan Martinuk is a columnist for the Calgary Herald.
