Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin even surprised a few here by rejecting the U.S missile defence plan.
http//www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/02/25/wcanada25.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/02/25/ixworld.html
I should add this link
http//www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/02/24/missile-canada050224.html
I think the Telegraph one eventually expires if you're not a subscriber.
was reading this yesterday on the various sites, noted how on American ones they referred to it as 'Canada opts out of missile defense' - as if Canada was Vermont or something, rather than a sovereign nation that wasn''t going to be brow beaten into toeing the line.
Even better was Paul Celluci (US Ambassador to Canada) - he was 'perplexed' - as it wasn't obvious whay Canada didn't want to be involved (costs billions, promotes arms race, doesn't work etc). :roll:
Ambassador Celluci seemed genuinely annoyed in general at Canada's hesitance to sink billions into defense, as his own country (often wastefully) does but I know which I think higher of.
I smiled at his reference to what Canada will do now when a missile is flying over Canada and figure they will probably just wave as it heads south of them.
I'm actually quite surprised at this.
Only a few weeks ago, both the Canadian Prime Minister and the defence minister were both making noises as if they were going to sign on. The problem for Martin is that he's in a minority government and the public are solidly against Canada's participation in the missile defence shield.
But the problem for Canada by being outside the loop is that the U.S will go ahead anyway and Canada will have zero influence on the U.S. or any say in their own defence for that matter since they are completely dependent on the U.S.
Even Pierre Trudeau, the most peacenik Canadian PM of all allowed Reagan to test cruise missiles in the Canadian arctic, because he pragmatically felt it was better to be involved and have influence than be completely cut out of the picture.
Are the Canadian people wrong though?
Factually, it is expensive, it doesn't work and is quite possibly simply an extension of the dire "Star Wars" program which seemed more about jobs for the boys than actual defense.
Are the Canadian people wrong though?
Factually, it is expensive, it doesn't work and is quite possibly simply an extension of the dire "Star Wars" program which seemed more about jobs for the boys than actual defense.
Not to mention that any missiles will be aimed at the slightly bigger target to the south... will most likely be coming from Korea or China (i.e. the South/West) and are more likely to fall short than overshoot.
Other than not pissing off the Americans, what's in it for Canada? And pissing off the Americans may not be universally regarded as a drawback :roll:
Yes and maybe they figured they have no influence anyway, at least with the Bush administration.