Canada is campaigning to determine the cause of death of Zahra Kazemi, who died in 2003, several days after being arrested for taking photos of a demonstration outside a Tehran prison. A spokesman for the Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry criticized Iran's decision, but said it was not surprising.
"It's consistent with the pattern of cover-up and lies," Sebastien Theberge said.
Hard-line authorities said she died of a stroke, but a commission appointed by Iran's president found Kazemi died of a fractured skull and brain hemorrhage that were caused by the impact of a hard object. Iranian reformists have said she was tortured to death.
A doctor who said he examined the 54-year-old photographer in the hospital, Shahram Azam, said her body bore injuries consistent with torture and rape. His allegation prompted Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew to demand an international forensic examination.
I know it is easier to work up a good northern sense of outrage at virtually anything the United States does, but would it kill Canada to be outraged at an actual crime by an actual thug regime against an actual Canadian citizen?
Canada can't very well fire up the punitive expedition to go and bombard the offending wogs (so to speak), but since we will deal with the mullahs, Canada should prepare to join us in overthrowing the mullahs.
Seriously. Canada has excellent troops even if their equipment is aging and sparse. Canada has been a stand up friend in Afghanistan. If Canada would outfit and train a brigade battle group with their fast-disappearing armored and mechanized forces, we'd be pleased I'm sure to plug it into an American division for the campaign to support the revolt against the mullahs that I'm pretty confident we are working on. (I have to believe this. It would be too demoralizing to think that we are going to let Iran go nuclear with nary a peep.)
Come on Canada. Be an ally. Don't just take torture and rape and issue hollow statements about the bleeding obvious that the Iranians are lying. Don't demand an inquiry. Demand regime change.
Remember what an ultimatum sounds like: "Kazemi alive. Or the mullahs dead." Canada can contribute a brigade to this endeavor. It will feel good to rejoin the ranks of the great. We've missed you.
