Too often, governments like our own resort to rhetoric when faced with intractable crises, such as the Syrian imbroglio. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird have made ample use of this formula. But their statements inevitably reflect a certain sameness as tragedies in the Middle East reinforce and perpetuate themselves. Hence one of Mr. Baird's favoured headline makers: "Canada is outraged."
So what can be done about it?
To be fair, the Harper government has gone far in imposing sanctions that bite at the Damascus regime: travel restrictions, frozen assets and a prohibition on new investment, to name a few. These measures, when compounded by the efforts of our like-minded allies, could be significant were it not for the fact that Bashar al-Assad's regime, sitting in the bunker, is unlikely to respond as long as Russia and Iran prop it up.
Incessant castigation of the United Nations Security Council's inaction may be emotionally satisfying, but it misses the point. The council is not a sovereign entity but, instead, represents the often clashing views of its member states. The proper targets for our discontent are Russia and China. Demanding more from the Security Council vents frustration but does little to help those in need on the ground.
There's some indication that, if military action were politically feasible, the Prime Minister would want to look seriously at it, given our success in Libya. The government needs to recognize that belligerent rhetoric risks inflaming the situation by implying that armed force is a realistic alternative. But military intervention is not feasible, and not only because of the barriers thrown up in the Security Council. The United States is rightly leery of stepping into the quicksand that overwhelmed it in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There are limits to what Canadian power and influence can do in ousting the Syrian regime. At the same time, there's room for substantial involvement in trying to alleviate the consequences of the regime's brutality.
The next few months will see dramatic increases in the outflow of Syrian refugees to Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Winter in the region is cold, wet and windy, and the misery afflicting the displaced will be enormous. The situation in the muddy, unserviced tent camps adjacent to Syria's borders will be acute by January. For starters, we should ensure that the relatives of Canadian Syrians who end up in refugee camps have an opportunity to join their families in Canada.
Turkey is better able to cope with the refugee crisis that's spilling over its borders. Lebanon is battlefield turf. Jordan, however, is perched precariously. It's no democracy, but its regime is benign compared with other Middle Eastern governments. It's currently subject to potentially serious internal unrest, but its geographic location makes it central to regional stability. Jordan is a critical foreign policy player and, to this end, maintains de facto alliances with both the United States and Israel.
Few want the Jordanian monarchy to succumb to economic or political collapse in the face of humanitarian disaster. That's why the Americans now have a task force of some 150 experts on the ground in Jordan, facilitating the delivery of basic commodities and training the Jordanian military in refugee relief.
Ottawa is also rethinking its involvement with refugee relief, although Canadian input has so far been modest. When we have acted in the past, the government's instinct has been to transfer funds to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the Red Cross, both having proved very experienced and reliable partners. But this does little to satisfy the emotional need of Canadians to directly alleviate the suffering they see daily through the media.
When the crisis in Haiti arose, we chose a national role, demonstrating the effectiveness of our military, aid agencies and NGOs in partnership. Few have forgotten the images of Canadian medical teams, engineers, logisticians and Disaster Assistance Response Team on the spot.
The government doubtless continues to ponder Canada's contribution. We don't know what's under consideration right now because opacity trumps candour, but how else to explain Mr. Baird's recent visit to Jordan and Lebanon? Canadians need to know what's happening.
The government should immediately send a joint expert assessment mission to Jordan to identify what needs to be done and how we can deploy Canadian skills and resources to maximum effect. We need a Team Canada approach to the Syrian crisis, more than ever.
Mike Molloy is a former ambassador to Jordan and chair of the Refugee Working Group on Palestinian refugees. Michael Bell is a former ambassador to Jordan and chair of the donor committee of the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq.