Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin stated that if the United States had to pick between Ottawa and New Delhi, it would undoubtedly select the latter because the relationship is “too important,” adding that Justin Trudeau’s accusations have put Canada in “greater danger” than India.
India, the former Pentagon official claimed, is far more significant strategically than Canada, and for Ottawa to engage in conflict with India would be like “an ant engaging in conflict with an elephant”.
Rubin stated that Justin Trudeau is not likely to remain as prime minister given his low support ratings and that the US may improve relations with Canada when he leaves office.
“I suspect that the United States doesn’t want to be painted a corner to choose between two friends. But if we have to choose between two friends, increasingly we’re going to choose India on this matter, simply because Nijjar was a terrorist, and India is too important. Our relationship is too important,” Michael Rubin said while speaking to ANI.
“Justin Trudeau probably isn’t long for the Canadian premiership, and then we can rebuild the relationship after he’s gone,” he added.
Michael Rubin is a former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Specialisation in Iran, Turkey, and South Asia.
Responding to the possibility of whether the US will publicly intervene in the matter, Rubin said, “Frankly, there’s a much greater danger for Canada than India. If Canada wants to pick a fight, frankly, at this point, it’s like an ant picking a fight against an elephant and the fact that matter is India is the world’s largest democracy. It’s far more important strategically, arguably than Canada is, especially as concern grows with regard to China and other matters in the Indian Ocean basin, and in the Pacific.”
After Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that India was responsible for the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, relations between India and Canada became much worse. Following this, a top diplomat was expelled by both nations in retaliation.
However, India has categorically refuted these claims, labelling them as “absurd” and “motivated.”
Notably, the Canadian PM has not offered any supporting proof for his assertions. Despite being questioned about the specifics of the accusations numerous times, Trudeau kept to repeating that there were “credible reasons” to think that India was involved in Nijjar’s passing.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a khalistani terrorist who was supposedly assassinated by his former allies, is not a model to utilise for “human rights,” the former Pentagon official further criticised Trudeau.
“Justin Trudeau might want to make this a case of human rights. The fact of that matter is, that Nijjar isn’t a model one wants to use for human rights. Nijjar may have been involved in the assassination of a rival Sikh leader, just a year ago. At the same time, he has blood on his hands through multiple attacks. He entered Canada with a fraudulent passport. And the fact of the matter is this is no Mother Teresa, we are talking about.
Rubin added that many of the US security community and even from Canadian security understand that Trudeau has gone “too far”.
The former Pentagon officer claimed that Trudeau was very “short-sighted” and was simply behaving as a “politician” in response to the question of whether Trudeau turned a domestic political impediment into a foreign policy issue.
“Yes, I absolutely do think that that is the case. Justin Trudeau was playing domestic Canadian politics because as he struggles in his re-election campaign, many Sikh activists are in crucial swing districts. But again, this isn’t something unique to Canada…I think Justin Trudeau was acting as a politician. He was very short-sighted, and no one should trade their short-term political convenience for the long-term relationship with the world’s largest democracy,” he added.
