Dr. Janice Stein

But, you know, this is one of the most interesting stories that I think Canadians don't really understand now.

And why am I really saying this, Peter?

You're absolutely right.

He invented peacekeeping.

He said we need some kind of force to put in because that's the only way that Britain would withdraw.

And it became the foundation of peacekeeping in the United Nations.

But that's not why he did it.

And that's the story where Canadians have to dig a little deeper here.

He had no commitment to the idea of peacekeeping more broadly.

Lester Pearson looked at this and said, oh, my God, our two closest allies, the United States and Britain, are in the middle of a terrible fight.

That is not a good thing, and it certainly doesn't serve our interests.

He was focused on managing a conflict between Canada's two most important allies.

And subsequently, he himself was surprised how the rest of the world looked at this and what became of the concept of peacekeeping.

So, you know, as Canadians, we tell ourselves we're peacekeepers, right?

And I say, well, that's not what he thought when he started this.

Yeah, five of us.

United States, Canada,

United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Voices.

And you put your finger on a really dicey problem, frankly, Peter.