Posted on 04/21/2003 6:06:00 AM PDT by knighthawk
Oh, Canada, what the heck is going on? In a staggering display of in-your-face defiance, the Canadian government now says it will not turn over any members of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's crew if they show up in Canada, including the dictator himself! Canadian Defense Minister John McCallum says his government would give Saddam only to the World Court at The Hague. This unprovoked belligerence comes after Prime Minister Jean Chretien gleefully pilloried the Bush administration over fighting Iraq every chance he got. Chretien and his cohorts have made no secret of their disdain for President Bush, and the Canadian press generally has been brutal to America in portraying the war.
In response, Bush has canceled a trip next month to Ottawa, and it would be wise not to send him an autographed picture of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team. That's because Montreal fans recently booed the national anthem before a game with the Islanders.
But it doesn't end there. When a group of Boston kids went up to Montreal to play in a peewee hockey tournament, they were taunted not only by the Canadian kids, but also by the referees. Eh?
My question is this: Do the Canadian people have any idea how close they are to serious pain here?
Canada's economy is utterly dependent on the U.S. Americans pump more than $10 billion directly into it every year. Nine million of us cross the northern border more than 40 million times annually, and we buy lots of stuff that is heavily taxed by the tax-and-spend Canadian government. So what happens if we all emulate Bush and just say no to the land of snow? Canada's economy melts.
A loosely organized boycott of French goods has brought immediate pain to the wine and travel industries in that country. One analyst told me French wine consumption in the U.S. is down 10%, and travel to Paris is off by more than 20%, with almost record low bookings for the summer. If the same economic pressure were applied to Canada, the results would be much more intense.
And herein lies the problem. Most Americans are not mean people and don't want to hurt working-class Canadians. It is Chretien who's the problem, and he's out of office in less than a year. But there comes a point when enough is enough, and Canadians should understand that storm clouds are gathering to the south. Humiliating American kids in a hockey rink is simply not acceptable. Thumbing your nose at 127 dead Americans in Iraq by making defiant statements about where Saddam should be extradited is not wise.
Millions of Americans are beginning to realize their buying power is not only a democratic choice, but can be used as a weapon against people who are hostile to us. No American is under any obligation to buy any product, foreign or domestic. I'm sure the Molson beer people understand that Budweiser fits in the cooler as well.
So I am giving the haughty Chretien one more chance, because I have always liked and respected the Canadian people. I am not going to travel north this summer, but I'm not boycotting Canadian products as I am with France.
But hear this, Mr. Prime Minister: One more cheap shot, one more insult directed at the U.S. by you or your minions, and I'll give you a very accurate long-range forecast: It's gonna get mighty cold mighty fast west of the St. Lawrence.
There's no "may" about it.
Article hints that a re-establishment/alignment of allies is on deck. I would agree.
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