Field Of Combat

Commenters on the Globe and Mail website seem to have an unrealistic notion that the Canadian government can just magically sweep down into the middle of the combat zone in Lebanon and pull out every Canadian in it.

Or that the combattants will lay down their arms long enough to clear the field of innocent foreigners, like some sort of rain delay.

Either way, they're showing a remarkable naivete about the nature of war and our government's responsbilities towards its citizens overseas.

Sylvia Wilson from Grand Bend writes:

Surely, now Canada now has to join other countries at the UN in support of a ceasefire 'til the rest of the civilian tourists can be evaculated. Changes are going to have to be made at the UN to stop countries from taking unilateral actions that threaten the security of the world.

Duncan Munro from Langley:

The Canadian gov't should be calling for a unconditional cease fire so our citizens can leave, either overland through Syria, or by sea.

Oh yes, Hezbollah will just drop weapons until all the infidel foreigners have gone home, and Israel will go along. Just like proper gentlemen.

To say nothing of the usual calls for Israel to conduct itself with a "measured response," as though it had to wait for Hezbollah's innings to end to determine how many runs it had to score to win the match.

People forget that the Canadian government is not there to bail you out of every scrape you might run into overseas. It's not there to pull you out of a war zone you went to of your own free will, or to get you out of jail for carrying a little weed in your backpack.

It has already sent two cruise ships to Lebanese ports for anyone who wants to leave and can get there. More than that, it cannot do.

War doesn't run on the rules of cricket.

And Dad can't always bail you out of trouble.