It’s good to see our politicians honouring a spiritual leader. There are cynics who would sneer that Stephen Harper’s high profile embrace of the Dalai Lama is just one more stunt, a maple-leaf middle finger extended toward China, whose growing manufacturing sector and military are pissing off Messrs. Bush and Harper these days.

But let us be charitable and assume that Mr. Harper’s respect for the Dalai Lama is sincere. I assume the PM will therefore be acting soon on the Dalai Lama’s view that the Western invasion of Afghanistan is a tragic mistake, an act of violence that simply begets more violence.

The Dalai Lama is, oddly, less quoted by URQs on Afghanistan than he is on human rights, just as the late Pope was less quoted by URQs on Iraq and the death penalty than he was on abortion. Inconvenient truths, indeed.