Senator Pamela Wallin Says It's All About the Military Contracts

Was anyone else surprised when Stephen Harper named Pamela Wallin as one of his senators?

I guess it kind of validated just how conservative CTV really is. Wallin and Duffy. Peter Kent an executive at Global and Peter MacKay engaged to an executive at CTV.

But what surprised me the most about Pamela Wallin was that I had no idea she was a redneck. I've watched her on television and she looked so normal. Who knew?

And who knew she was so pro-war and pro-corporation? Or let me rephrase that: So American pro-war and pro-corporation?

Her appearance on the Manley panel raised flags for Michael Byers.

Ms. Wallin, who served as consul general in New York, played a central role in persuading American opinion-makers that Canada was fully supportive of the "war on terror." She now works as a senior adviser to the Council of the Americas, a free trade-promoting organization that counts some of the largest U.S. corporations among its members.

She was also made an honourary colonel for her pro-war stance and well rehearsed rhetoric on our role in Afghanistan.

Our mission in Afghanistan has matured, and we are at the very heart of the allied effort. We are considered and acknowledged by our allies, including General McChrystal, who we had a chance to meet with, to be the brains of the operation. And they're all looking to put a little bit more Canada in their efforts. I remain convinced that we are in the right place for the right reasons. We chose to be there. Just as our allies had, we responded to the attacks of 9/11 that killed our citizens, and we joined the American-led operation Enduring Freedom. But because we continue to be threatened both here and there, as others try not only to kill us but to undermine what we believe in and what we stand for, we chose to stay in a very significant way. We sought out that Kandahar assignment for NATO in 2005, sending 2500 of our young men and women into the toughest part of a very tough neighbourhood.

But isn't the fact that she is an advisor to the Council of the Americas and a cheerleader for war, a conflict of interest? Because who benefits the most from this so-called "war on terror"? The short answer: The corporations that make up the Council of the Americas.