Doggedly searching for the crux of the biscuit.
So we have this missile defense system that has been rushed into deployment despite the fact that it has never, ever worked. Not surprising, really, given the firm grasp of science never once demonstrated by the current administration. But if you want to get really surreal, check this out:
Canada's announcement that it won't join the U.S. missile shield provoked an immediate warning that it has relinquished sovereignty over its airspace. From now on, the U.S. government will control any decision to fire at incoming missiles over Canadian territory, declared the top U.S. envoy to Canada.
"We will deploy. We will defend North America," said Paul Cellucci, the U.S. ambassador to Canada. "We simply cannot understand why Canada would in effect give up its sovereignty - its seat at the table - to decide what to do about a missile that might be coming towards Canada."
The response came just moments after Prime Minister Paul Martin ended months of ambiguity Thursday by announcing that he would not sign on to the controversial missile-defence program. The warning was no slip of the tongue: Cellucci repeated several times that Canada's decision had in effect handed over some of its sovereignty to the United States.
You should read the entire article to get the full effect, but the notion that Canada has relinquished part of its sovereignty by refusing to play host another country's (non-functioning) weapons system is just bizarre. Suggests that perhaps these guys don't really consider any country aside from the United States a sovereign nation. Then again, sovereignty has always been a very slippery concept for these clowns.
TrackBackwhat's worse, I'm afraid they'll get a lot of support for this maneuver.
Posted by: Michael at February 24, 2005 04:47 PMSuggests that perhaps these guys don't really consider any country aside from the United States a sovereign nation.
That is part of NeoCon doctrine, no? New state of global Empire, individual nation-states no longer matter. America leading the way, the new beyond-imperial power. Force, economic or military, will be used to make other nations comply because no longer can any nation act independently of another; it's all cause and effect, and so the US should be in control of those effects. Friedman's "golden straightjacket" is a brazenly honest analysis (even if wrong).
I'm too sick to write coherent sentences.
Posted by: Michael at February 24, 2005 04:52 PMI saw Canadian Bacon too many times to think that we can make Our Neighbors To The North our biotches just by saying so.
Posted by: diddy at February 24, 2005 04:53 PMAs a Canadian, I feel immensly proud that our jack-assed Prime Minister has finally said no to participating in such a horrible waste of funds like missle defense.
It would be foolish for the U.S. government to think that they have any right to decide what will happen in Canadian airspace. Not to be smug, but since we are not in the habit of telling other countries how to handle their affairs, or dropping bombs and troops for the sake of hegemony, I don't really think anyone would be looking to nuke us.
Time to go and write my MP.
Posted by: Andrew at February 24, 2005 06:18 PMI particularly like Cellucci's statement than now the US would have no choice but to shoot ICBMs down over Canada. As opposed to the other option -- the part where, you know, they would have let them hit their US targets to save Canadian lives.
What will happen now is exactly what would have happened before -- US missiles will be fired over Canadian soil -- except we Canadians won't have to pay for it.
Did someone say we were fighting missiles in Canada so we don't have to fight them here?
Canada - the new Iraq.
Posted by: Tripp at February 25, 2005 09:26 AM