Bush snub no oversight

U.S. President George W. Bush's non-mention of Canada in his historic speech last night may have been much more than a thoughtless oversight.

It just might have been deliberate -- a highly noticeable-to- Canadians way of indicating he is not getting the kind of all-out cooperation from Prime Minister Jean Chretien that he feels the present crisis demands.

For starters, Chretien has been dithering about including Canadian fighting soldiers in a U.S.-led force to go after international terrorists. And U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci got a kind of brush-off Wednesday by Immigration Elinor Caplan when he urged the U.S. and Canada work out a common system of handling visitors, immigrants, refugees or terrorists at our border. Caplan mumbled something about Canadian "sovereignty" possibly being threatened.

Perhaps Bush was trying to send a wake-up jolt to Chretien, despite Canada's contributions of help after last week's disaster and the loss of Canadian lives. His message: We are in a tough, real war against international terrorism and we want you to be with us 100%.

For instance, in contrast to Chretien, Canada's far-off sister Commonwealth nation, Australia, has promised full military support, including fighting troops to back the U.S.-led forces.

"There is no point in a situation like this, being an 80% ally," declared Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

He contended that an all-out effort had to be made at this time or people in free and democratic societies such as Australia (and Canada) will be forced to live in an increasingly fearful and threatened world.

Now, that's the kind of determined attitude Bush was talking about last night when he declared: "Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

Bush made it very clear that the enemy in this war will be terrorists like Muslim terrorist Osman bin Laden and his global network of mass murderers.

"The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends; it is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them," said the president.

"We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence and every necessary weapon of war -- to the disruption and defeat of the global terror network."

However, Chretien keeps hanging back in making a commitment of fighting troops to the cause despite a national opinion poll this week that showed 79% of Canadians want a full military effort to disable the armies of countries that give safe haven to such terrorists. And 77% said Canada does a poor job of preventing terrorists from operating here.

However, Chretien may be afraid of offending the leftist, anti-American voters that have voted for him or the increasing number of Muslim voters.

If so, maybe that's why the federal government has been so zealous in not releasing the names of the estimated up to 60 Canadians killed in the attacks. And why Chretien didn't go to New York to view the disaster area -- or to Washington to see Bush as such leaders as British PM Tony Blair.

The foreign affairs department says their identities are "private" and media inquiries are referred to the U.S. government. So far, the names of only 11 of the Canadian victims have been filtered out by the media.

You get the feeling that the Chretienites don't want them known because media coverage about so many individuals and their suffering families might infuriate their fellow Canadians -- and increase demands for full military support.

And, on another front, Chretien is looking worse daily -- especially when he made the nutsy statement that there were no terrorists in Canada. That flew in the face of his own Canadian Security Intelligence Service that reported 50 terrorist groups and 350 individuals existed in Canada.

Now we have the report yesterday by Sun reporter Tom Godfrey that revealed a Middle Eastern man by the name of Nabil Al-Marabh lived in Toronto until six weeks ago and is believed to be the same man that the FBI agents arrested in Chicago in connection with last week's attacks. Unfortunately, Canada's longstanding reputation as "sucker nation of the world" in running a sieve-like immigration and refugee system is still intact.

But the heat is on to get with it 100% in going after bin Laden. And also in toughening our weak immigration system.

The blood of the 6,333 killed in the American attacks demands it. So does the blood of those nameless, anonymous Canadians.

Ok, I feel I gotta speak up here. I'm a died-in-the-wool, flag waving, FIERCELY proud Canadian. One of my uncles, whom I never had the reward of meeting, died in Italy in WWII fighting for this great country. I could walk around all day wrapped in the Canadian flag, and have said that, if I have my way, my next born will be sired on a bed draped with The Maple Leaf. That said, even so, I would just as readily also equip myself with The Stars and Stripes...Old Glory, and hold it high, and wave it proudly, because I believe in what it stands for--FREEDOM; just because Canadian cities are saturated with backstabbing, traitorial leftist leeches, bent on taking our hard-earned freedom and rights away from us(our firearms, for example), doesn't mean we AGREE with them--far from it! Oh, so far... I must apologise for my prime minister's--I sure as heck didn't elect him--complete, head-up-his-butt foolishness. We, as a whole, are NOT like him, and are shamed, embarrassed, and humiliated to the core by his mindless rhetoric. To hear the angry, frustrated talk in the diners and shops around here would quickly convince anyone. There are American flags flying all over the place here, some at half mast in grief, and others full mast, billowing with pride. You can't find a US flag for sale anywhere. Not for over a week now.

If President Bush didn't mention us purposely in his speech, I'd have to say the snub was directed at Cretien, and he darn well had it coming.

Enough with the Dieselfumes...

We conservative Canadians(there are two right wing parties in Canada: the Reform Party, and the Alliance Party) are 100% behind the US and the war effort, and don't think otherwise!

Trudeau? Trudeau? Our current Prime Minister was one of Trudeau's henchmen when Trudeau was PM. This situation reminds me of the last stay we had in Branson, Mo. We met a lot of great people from Ark. Branson is a town where all the old farts spend some time as we are waiting for the Grim Reaper. Every time the name Clinton was mentioned they would turn red with embarassment. THIS is OUR reaction when an 'Amurican' mentions the name Cretsh---n. How do a lot of us old rednecks feel. Allow me to post my response to this Canadian tragedy as I posted it on a Canadian site. ***I was with my brother last night watching President Bush's speech. He turned to me and said " I'm ashamed to be a Canadian!" My brother is not a political person but he was quick to recognize that that piece of DOG S--T, our Prime Minister has brought SHAME on our nation. I posted a letter to that piece of DOG S--T that is supposed to be the leader of Canada on another line but I realize it should have been posted here. I can only hope that our true friends south of our border can find it in their hearts to forgive us our choice of leader. I think back to the 60's and I think of a few of the local boys that joined the US Army and went to Vietnam for a tour of duty. It is quite possible that the fighting men of Canada will have to take this course of action once again. I'm too old a fart to join. Maybe it is for people my age to take out personal ads in US newspapers apoliogizing for our Prime Minister. Let us show all Americans that the Ottawa Moron DOES NOT SPEAK FOR CANADA! Dear Prime Minister Chretien: Stay your present course. The U.S. can learn from Canada how to treat terrorists. Print up a book for George Bush - call it a " RED BOOK " as no other name could be more fitting. Give Mr. Bush the Canadian game plan for the FLQ terrorists - that'll show them 'Amuricans' how tough we are. Tell the U.S. President that Canada had terrorists that killed a Cabinet Minister and kidnapped a British diplomat- right down in your province, Quebec, Prime Minister Chretien. Show the U.S. that we Canadians are so damn tough that we REFUSED to fly these terrorists directly to France. We are tough. We made these criminals fly to Cuba. It was inhuman but the terrorists were forced to hitch hike from Cuba to France. Put that in your " RED BOOK ON TERRORISTS". Tell the 'Amurican' President, Mr. Bush, that these terrorists had to make their way back to Canada ON THEIR OWN. Tell the 'Amurican' President, Mr. Bush, that when these kidnapping killer terrorists returned to Canada their tough treatment was far from over. Tell the 'Amurican' President, Mr. Bush, that these terrorists , now back in Canada and living in Quebec, have to WORK- government jobs, media etc. Hell Prime Minister Chretien, get our Canadian terrorists to write your damn book. Stay the course, you big piece of dog s**t. Show those 'Amuricans' what a Canadian is made of.

Here's another editorial. Same sentiments. My own comments will follow.

Friday, September 21, 2001

Canadians shocked by no nod from U.S.

Chretien gets blame from many Canucks irate over Bush speech snub

By LAURA BOBAK AND ROB GRANATSTEIN, TORONTO SUN
Canadians were feeling Bush-wacked by a presidential snub last night.

Dozens of irate callers flooded The Sun's switchboard after U.S. President George W. Bush thanked countries around the world for their support, but ignored Canada.

"I was very upset, terribly upset," said Clinton Curtiss, 71. "After all, we're partners, the U.S. and Canada."

Curtiss blamed Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien for dropping the ball and not offering enough support to the U.S. after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last week.

"Where is Chretien? Why is Chretien not there? He's not doing anything. He has not acted as a true partner of the United States," Curtiss said, noting British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was present for Bush's speech, has been more loyal to the U.S. than Canada has.

A PMO spokesman side-stepped the issue. When asked whether it was a slight that Bush had not mentioned Canada for its contributions, Duncan Fulton said: "The prime minister and the president have spoken twice now since the attack. The president has made it very clear to the prime minister how appreciative he is with everything Canada has done."

SLIGHT WAS REAL

When pressed again as to whether it was a snub, Fulton said: "I just refer you back to what I just said."

But former prime minister Joe Clark said the slight was real.

"It's almost more dangerous than a snub. It shows that we're not doing enough to be noticed," the Tory leader said. "When Canada doesn't make the list it's the prime minister who carries the blame for that."

In his speech to Congress last night, Bush referred by name to the contributions and losses of Britain, France, Germany, South Korea, Egypt, Austalia, all of Africa and Latin America, Pakistan, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Iran and even little El Salvador. Not once did he mention Canada.

"The basic message is: Canada, we're watching you baby, and we're expecting more out of you if you want to be counted in our good books," John Trent, a political science professor at the University of Ottawa, said last night.

Trent said Canada has been lukewarm in its support for the U.S. compared to Britain, which has gotten Europe and NATO on board. Canada also is perceived by other world powers as not pulling its military weight, Trent said.

But Stephen Newman, a political science professor at York University, said he thought Bush simply overlooked Canada.

"I think it was a stupid goof," he said.

_______________________________________________________

"I think it was a stupid goof,"
He must have been referring to "Da Moron", Mr. Chretien.

As many other conservative Canadians have said on this thread, Chretien a/k/a "Da Moron", does not represent the thinking and feelings of the majority of Canadians. Anti-American feeling is a minority viewpoint in Canada, and anti-Americans, though loud and visible, are a minority. They control the media, and the universities, the same as they do in the US, but, just like liberals in the US are reviled by most (over 78%) of Canadians.

'Not only neighbours, but family': PM tells U.S.

As a Canadian I subscribe to Free Dominion and wanted to find a site through which I could apologize to Americans for our slowness in "getting aboard". I wanted to comment too on President Bushe's slight to Canada. I was referred here. I am appalled and deeply hurt by some of the comments by posters on Free Republic. We are extremely embarrassed by our government's slowness, but be assured we will be aboard - fully. We always are. WWI - long before the U. S. WWII - long before the U. S. We were there in Korea, there in Viet Nam, there in Yugoslavia. It hurts to read how our efforts in Bosnia were so "pathetic" as termed by one poster. It hurts to be called by another - "a joke". We are only 10% of the U. S. population. How can someone compare our efforts to yours? We don't have much in the way of armed forces right now due {a} to our misterable small and capital "Liberal" government and {b} because we have thousands all over the d--n world on peacekeeping missions. Now I'm getting a bit carried away and for this I'm sorry - to an extent. We don't need others telling us our shortcomings, we are aware and are in the process of hounding our government to get going. I think the U. S. may have 1 or 2 shortcomings too - right? [joke]. Again, I offer my original intent. I'm truly sorry our government has been lukewarm. The first post to this discusssion was from our own Toronto Sun, highly critical of our government. But don't forget we lost close to 100 lives in the World Trade Centre too. I really wish some posters would just think a few moments before putting their keyboards and mouth where their minds ought to be. Anyway, hang on - we'll catch up. Luv Ya Yanks!!!

Post 75? My God, it is the wonder of it all the way the grassroots of Canada & the grassroots of the U.S. forgive each other. Wahington, D.C. on Sept. 11, 2001 had not seen such carnage since August 27, 1814. On that date the troops that had sailed out of Canada and converged on Washington burnt the White House down. God Bless the 'Amurican' Braveheart, Dolly Madison. While the hubby was out on the nation's business she was prepared to face the Brits & Cajuns on the lawn of the White House. The fall and disgrace was so terrible that Prez James FIRED General Armstrong. The next target? Fort McHenry. What a bombardment. How did those Yankees remaining standing? The outcome? A song that has blessed every hockey and baseball fan on both sides of the border- The Star spangled Banner. A song sung on the battlefields of Europe as Canadians and Americans fought side by side in two world wars. Let's not forget that little skirmish at New Orleans. Oh God, how those frontiersmen could shoot! Yet when it was over IT WAS OVER. Our sons and daughters crossed the U.S. border and married the sons and daughters of the U.S. The sons and daughters of the Yankees crossed our border and married our sons and daughters. The bloodlines were already mixed when the United Empire Loyalists left the U.S. for Canada. Now with the marriages of our children the bloodlines have become so mixed that it takes an imaginary line on the ground, our border, to make any distinction between us. I think of Walt Disney. His father left a small town in Ontario and went to the U.S. Without this move where would the U.S. be - no Mickey, Pluto or Donald. Generations of kids with a little less childhood happiness! In the Second World War my father told me it was always a good day to be stationed close to the Yankees- good food, no mutton and rice he would say. Awaiting orders to sail from Europe to the Pacific and Japan he said it was a great day when two nuclear bombs were dropped. He got to go HOME. As I look back at our history and I consider our future from the bottom of my heart I say GOD BLESS AMERICA!

I just received this email from political pundit Howard Galganov. It speaks volumes.

_____________________________________

The President Thanked America’s Greatest Friend - Great Britain

September 21, 2001

By Howard Galganov

Thursday night, September 21, 2001, President George Bush delivered the speech of this new century. And amongst his many significant words, President Bush paused to praise Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain, who was a guest of the United States of America in the Capitol Building, while the President delivered a speech that was to spell out how the world as we knew it, was going to change.

The President of the United States of America thanked many countries by name; with the obvious exclusion of one. Canada. Canada — America’s immediate neighbor to the North, America’s single largest trading partner, America’s largest consumer of US culture. Canada — by any stretch, should be America’s closet friend and ally. But we were not even mentioned in his speech.

Last Saturday, September 15, 2001, I was invited to go on one of the largest and most listened to news/talk US radio stations to speak of our feelings towards this tragedy. And before I even said thank you for having me, I apologized for my country. I expressed great regret that our government did not come flying off the blocks to show complete solidarity with the USA in this incredible time of crisis.

This jerk in Ottawa made me ashamed to be a Canadian.

It took Tony Blair, literally seconds from the realization that a terrorist war was declared on the USA, to declare that Great Britain will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Americans. He then recalled Parliament and made no bones about where he and his country stood.

On the other hand, Canada took forever to respond, and in its response, its words were measured, anemic and cautious. Only after the mood of the Canadian people reached the government, did the Prime Minister finally come forward with more than a few platitudes. I have recently wrote that Canada Stands For Nothing. I might have been wrong if there is anything less than nothing.

I have a strong disdain for former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. But — at least he knew who his friends were. And he was loyal. Even as the USA and the rest of the world signed up to go to war against Saddam Hussein, Canada, through Mulroney was on-side at the speed of light. But Chrétien was not. Even then as leader of the opposition, it took quite a while for Chrétien to finally accept the need for Canada to join the world in its battle against Iraqi aggression, but only after he saw what rest of the world was going to do first.

This is not a new phenomena for a Federal French Québécois political leader. Trudeau set the stage as he pissed on our American neighbor and great friend to the south, in order to suck up to the likes of Castro and third world despots in the middle east. Chrétien is simply carrying on the tradition.

After the dust settles, which it will, whether it settles in a few months or years, Canada will pay the price for being a trollop. There is a difference between protecting one’s culture and social umbrella, and offering a lukewarm shoulder to lean on in a time of genuine crisis.

America is a big, brash, complicated and sometimes too full of itself country. But, there is also no other country on this planet that comes close to filling its shoes. America stands for freedom and courage, while Canada stands for nothing. I am truly ashamed that the President of the United States of America chose not to mention Canada in his speech, because Canada was indeed not worthy.

Chrétien and his entire ilk of ministers and backbenchers have got to go.
They have shamed Canada.

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