Segnosaur
Penultimate Amazing
Ok, I'm not sure how much coverage this got in the U.S., but yesterday our Liberal Prime Minister Jean Cretien officially stated that they would not support the U.S. in a war in Iraq that was not sanctioned by the U.N.
Fair enough. I strongly disagree with the decsion, but I have to live with it (and I don't want this to turn into another "should we attack" debate). Afterwards, however, our Prime Minister made great efforts to stress how he didn't think this would affect Canada/U.S. relations at all.
This got me thinking: Canada has been anything but a good friend to the U.S. for a long time:
- During the 'Trudeau' years, our Prime Minister was more interested in hanging out with Castro and dancing behind the queen's back than improving relations with the U.S.
- Our military is incapable of pulling its own weight, thanks to years of neglect, the U.S. basically provides our defence
- We've had people in the government call Americans "b*stards" and Bush a "moron". (Whether you agree or not, its not a good thing to call the leader of your closest ally a moron)
- Our ambassador to the U.S. made comments on how he wanted Gore to win the election (its generally unacceptable for the govenrment of Canada to show preference during an election in the States, as well as U.S. leaders to show preference to Canadian politicians)
- Our support to the U.S. after 9/11 was lukewarm, with our leader missing some meetings in the U.S. that other world leaders attended
- We begged the U.S. to let us help in Afghanistan (in fact we needed their help to get our troups there), and then when we performed well, we withdrew them even though the U.S. asked us to keep them there (Yes, we did loose some to a 'friendly fire' incident, but other countries have lost soldiers the same way and have not abandoned responsibilities)
Following 9/11, Bush made a speech, where he thanked all of the friends of the U.S. He included many countries (such as the U.K.)but left Canada out. The U.S. later gave the explanation that Canada was such a good friend, they didn't need to mention us explicitely. That was far more than the U.S. should have done.
I personally find the Canadian acts to both treat the U.S. badly, then demanding to be acnowledged as "good friends" to be rather annoying. If our governemt is so interested in standing on its principles over the Iraq situation, then our leader shouldn't be talking about how we'll stay 'good friends'; instead, he should be saying "We're doing what we want, and will take the consequences, even if it harms relations". To do less is to lie.
To the American people, I have a question: Why do you bother to show the Canadian government the curtesy that you do? Frankly, I think our politicians need a good smack upside the head. I'd appreciate it if you did the honours.
Fair enough. I strongly disagree with the decsion, but I have to live with it (and I don't want this to turn into another "should we attack" debate). Afterwards, however, our Prime Minister made great efforts to stress how he didn't think this would affect Canada/U.S. relations at all.
This got me thinking: Canada has been anything but a good friend to the U.S. for a long time:
- During the 'Trudeau' years, our Prime Minister was more interested in hanging out with Castro and dancing behind the queen's back than improving relations with the U.S.
- Our military is incapable of pulling its own weight, thanks to years of neglect, the U.S. basically provides our defence
- We've had people in the government call Americans "b*stards" and Bush a "moron". (Whether you agree or not, its not a good thing to call the leader of your closest ally a moron)
- Our ambassador to the U.S. made comments on how he wanted Gore to win the election (its generally unacceptable for the govenrment of Canada to show preference during an election in the States, as well as U.S. leaders to show preference to Canadian politicians)
- Our support to the U.S. after 9/11 was lukewarm, with our leader missing some meetings in the U.S. that other world leaders attended
- We begged the U.S. to let us help in Afghanistan (in fact we needed their help to get our troups there), and then when we performed well, we withdrew them even though the U.S. asked us to keep them there (Yes, we did loose some to a 'friendly fire' incident, but other countries have lost soldiers the same way and have not abandoned responsibilities)
Following 9/11, Bush made a speech, where he thanked all of the friends of the U.S. He included many countries (such as the U.K.)but left Canada out. The U.S. later gave the explanation that Canada was such a good friend, they didn't need to mention us explicitely. That was far more than the U.S. should have done.
I personally find the Canadian acts to both treat the U.S. badly, then demanding to be acnowledged as "good friends" to be rather annoying. If our governemt is so interested in standing on its principles over the Iraq situation, then our leader shouldn't be talking about how we'll stay 'good friends'; instead, he should be saying "We're doing what we want, and will take the consequences, even if it harms relations". To do less is to lie.
To the American people, I have a question: Why do you bother to show the Canadian government the curtesy that you do? Frankly, I think our politicians need a good smack upside the head. I'd appreciate it if you did the honours.
