Canadian Leader Criticised For Cracking Joke On Iraq Mission

Canadian politician Justin Trudeau said that his joking remarks had given his opponents an opportunity to counter him. He said that he would show greater restraint while making "off-the-cuff" remarks in future.

The Liberal leader accepted that his jokes allowed his critics to use those against him. Ottawa Citizen reported that Canadian people would like him to put his arguments in a more "balanced" manner. Trudeau said that "discipline" would be his weapon in the 2015 election. He said that it was his "hard-learned experience" that would help him show more restraint. "When I am trying to say something clever that tickles my own wry sense of humour, all too often it gives material for my opponents to drag us off track in the direction that is unhelpful," he said.

Trudeau has often been criticised for using light-hearted remarks while talking about serious issues. The most recent incident which put him in trouble was when he talked about Canada's decision to go to war in the Middle East. According to him, Canada should focus more on humanitarian aid rather than "trying to whip out" the CF-18s and "show them how big they are." His joking remark on a serious issue like that helped Conservatives claim that Trudeau was not fit to be the next prime minister of the country. Trudeau's critics also complained when he made another light-hearted statement about Russia's invasion in Ukraine. Trudeau said that Russia might invade Ukraine because it was angry over its poor performance at the Winter Olympics.

Montreal Gazette's Grace Batchoun, on the other hand, found nothing wrong with Trudeau's take on Canada's role in the Iraq situation. He said that the Liberal politician should be appreciated for talking about the consequences of the 2003 Iraq war. Batchoun said that Trudeau was correct in saying that the 2003 war in Iraq had been based on "flawed intelligence" and "false pretences." Batchoun said that there was nothing wrong in saying "no" to war. He admired Trudeau for looking back at history.

Trudeau earlier said that the 2003 Iraq mission was responsible for destabilising the region, sowing further conflicts, costing Canada's allies $3 trillion and costing hundreds of people their lives. "The world is still dealing with the consequences of that mistake," he said.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au