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President Joe Biden is vowing that the U.S. will never again use its military to impose regime change abroad, as he sought to slam shut the door on the Afghanistan War a day after pulling out his country’s last troops.
In a defiant White House address Tuesday, Mr. Biden defended the chaotic retreat from Kabul – arguing that prolonging the withdrawal would have put American troops in unacceptable danger – and lamented the enormous cost in lives and money of a failed war.
In future, he said, the U.S. will only take part in “targeted, precise” military operations to protect its own immediate interests, such as using air strikes to kill accused terrorists. Costly, open-ended occupations have served only to weaken the country against adversaries such as Russia and China, he contended.
Opinion: Canada must do more to help the Afghans we left behind
Read more: Fearful Afghans rush for banks and borders as Taliban takeover creates administrative vacuum
Canada urges 1,250 Canadians in Afghanistan to hide until it can negotiate their safe exit
A banner of President Ashraf Ghani remains up at the closed airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. Hundreds of U.S. citizens and potentially thousands of green card holders remain stranded after the U.S. military ceased evacuation flights.JIM HUYLEBROEK/The New York Times News Service
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Erin O’Toole promises to balance budget ‘without cuts’
Erin O’Toole said a Conservative government would balance the federal budget within 10 years “without cuts,” reiterating the party’s notion that it can shrink the deficit by growing the economy instead of trimming government spending.
At a campaign event in Ottawa, the Conservative Leader blasted what he called the Liberal government’s “reckless deficits” and said federal spending “must be brought back under control.” He added, however, that his party has no plans to curtail spending on existing government programs.
“We will grow the economy so that we can get back to balance in a responsible and equitable way without cuts,” Mr. O’Toole said.
Opinion: Both Trudeau, O’Toole have been showing no signs of fiscal restraint this election campaign
Read more: Priorities for next government should include recovery of burial sites and climate leadership, AFN says
Poll tracker: Follow the latest Nanos-Globe-CTV numbers
Explainer: Latest updates and essential reading ahead of the Sept. 20 vote
Ontario races to refine COVID-19 vaccine passport policy
The Ontario government is expected to announce a vaccine certification system as early as this week after sources say Premier Doug Ford rejected an initial plan amid mounting pressure from medical experts, business groups and political opponents.
The province’s Progressive Conservative government had been aiming to announce a new system on Tuesday. But two sources with knowledge of the government’s decision-making said that on Monday Mr. Ford and some of his senior advisers rejected the proposal that was to be put before his cabinet as overly broad and sent officials back to the drawing board. Cabinet met again Tuesday to discuss a modified plan. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources as they were not authorized to speak publicly about cabinet deliberations.
For weeks there have been calls for Ontario to implement a vaccine certificate system that would require proof of vaccination to enter certain businesses, such as restaurants or gyms – similar to systems announced in Manitoba, British Columbia and Quebec.
Opinion: People are embracing a dangerous livestock drug, while rejecting vaccines
Read more: Most major accounting firms in Canada to require vaccination for workers in offices
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Campaigns in social media, COVID-19 era pose evolving security challenges: Party leaders are contending with how to handle emboldened protesters on the campaign trail, where outdoor campaign events, designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19, have created security challenges.
Manitoba Tories choose new premier: Kelvin Goertzen will become Manitoba’s 23rd premier, replacing Premier Brian Pallister, who is scheduled to leave office Wednesday.
O’Toole respects Ryerson University name change: The Toronto university announced last week it would be renamed because of the legacy of its namesake, Egerton Ryerson, who contributed to the creation of Canada’s residential school system.
The Decibel: What the fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes could reveal.
Justin Trudeau stands by Liberal candidate facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour: The candidate, Raj Saini, said in a statement he has never acted inappropriately toward staff or constituents. He said he was only made aware of one allegation and the individual chose not to pursue a formal or informal complaint process.
About 30 per cent of global tree species at risk of extinction: According to a report published by Botanic Gardens Conservation International, 17,500 tree species are at risk of extinction, while 440 species have fewer than 50 individuals left in the wild. Overall, the number of threatened tree species is double the number of threatened mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles combined, the report said.
MORNING MARKETS
Global stocks shrug off growth worries: World shares climbed on Wednesday, shrugging off weak economic figures to start the month on the front foot, as the U.S. dollar struggled to move away from three-week lows. Just before 6 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.79 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.47 per cent and 1.01 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei ended up 1.29 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.65 per cent. New York futures were higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.32 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
“The rapid spiral of political collapse, military capitulation, insecurity, terrorist attacks, international exodus and chaos in Afghanistan have been staggering. Unsurprisingly, it comes up daily on the election trail, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers fend off criticism about Canada’s response, particularly regarding the many Canadians and those with close Canadian connections still trapped in the country.” - Alex Neve, senior fellow with the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs; and Djawid Taheri, Afghan-Canadian lawyer
“There were always going to be consequences that flowed from holding a federal election amid a pandemic that has fuelled a frightening rise in anger and hate in Canada. And we are beginning to see them playing out now.” - Gary Mason
“The disastrous retreat from Afghanistan is yet one more development that shows the U.S. has lost the primacy it once enjoyed in international affairs. Both Republican and Democratic presidents have demonstrated a faltering resolve for global leadership. America’s commitment to work with allies in upholding the international order is in question as never before.” - Lloyd Axworthy, federal minister of foreign affairs from 1996 to 2000; Jean Charest, premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012; Jennifer Welsh, director of the Centre for International Peace and Security Studies at McGill University; Jeremy Kinsman, once ambassador to the European Union, Italy and Russia, and the high commissioner to the U.K.; and Ben Rowswell, resident of the Canadian International Council
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Five new books on the language and reach of cults and conspiracies
Cult literature has been making a comeback in recent years, with numerous Canadian authors tackling the topic. Now, as the pandemic increases isolation and uncertainty, the draw of cults – with their seductive promises of community and connection and meaning – proves ever-more intriguing for readers. Here, a crop of new titles examine how cultish tendencies permeate our current culture, from exercise crazes to conspiracy theories and corporate hucksterism.
MOMENT IN TIME: Sept 1, 1939
Germany invades Poland, starting Second World War
German forces advance into Poland at the beginning of September 1939.ullstein bild via Getty Images
Britain and France could and should have stopped Adolf Hitler in 1936, when German troops occupied the Rhineland in contravention of the Treaty of Versailles. They could and should have stopped the dictator in 1938, when he threatened war unless he was given Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland. Finally, after Nazi Germany swallowed the last Czech remnant, the allies promised to protect Poland, something they could not do, for Germany was now too strong and Poland too far away. The French and British hoped to convince Russia to join them. But they botched the negotiations, and on Aug. 23, 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact while secretly agreeing to carve up Poland between them. A week later, on this day in 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Poles fought valiantly, but they were pitting cavalry against tanks. When Soviet troops entered from the east on Sept. 17 the Poles’ fate was sealed. Within nine months, the Nazis would bestride Europe. But Britain endured, with Canada and the rest of the Empire at its side, until the United States entered the war, guaranteeing Allied victory. In that sense, the day Hitler invaded Poland, he sealed his own fate. John Ibbitson
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