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Canada in the Crossfire
by Heather Wokusch
www.dissidentvoice.org
January 13, 2004
Canadian
Prime Minister Martin is due to meet George Bush today at the "Summit of the
Americas" in Mexico. While missile defense, terrorism and trade issues will
no doubt top their agenda, an equally crucial matter will be hidden from the
headlines: the raging Franco-US battle and its troubling implications for
Canada.
Last year, France's strong opposition to the war in Iraq angered the U.S.,
and since then there's been a sharp jump in transatlantic tensions. Six
Christmas-time flights between Paris and Los Angeles were halted because
the
FBI said it had found "suspicious" names on passenger lists. It later
turned out none of suspected passengers had presented any security risk
whatsoever - one was a Welsh insurance salesman and another was a young
child. France immediately accused the FBI of sloppiness, and US officials
shot back by saying Air France was infiltrated by Islamic extremists.
Then political fires were stoked when a prominent
French judge threatened to take US Vice President Cheney to court over
allegations of bribery and money laundering. It concerns a time when Cheney
was CEO of the energy giant Halliburton, which was negotiating a lucrative
deal in Nigeria. These charges will not sit well with the White House -
especially in an election year.
But the Bush Administration is fighting back. Pentagon adviser Richard Perle
just released a book entitled, "An End to Evil: How to Win the War on
Terror," which claims, among other revelations, that France should be
treated as an enemy and, "We should force European governments to choose
between Paris and Washington."
And this is where the new Canadian Prime Minister steps in.
Former Prime Minister Chretien had angered the White House by refusing to
send troops to Iraq, and in response Canada got the cold shoulder from Bush.
In contrast, Martin has pledged to improve the relationship between Canada
and its southern neighbor, but he's walking on thin ice.
If Pentagon advisers publicly warn Europe to choose the US over France, what
about Canada? The Bush Administration's "You're with us or against us"
policy leaves little room for maneuvering.
Perle's book also calls for aggressive action against Syria and North Korea,
and of course, the White House would love Canadian troops to participate.
So Prime Minister Martin, and indeed every Canadian, has a choice: either
support the United States in its "pre-emptive" wars or instead, choose the
path of international diplomacy. Either risk the lives of Canadian troops in
Bush's ongoing battles or simply refuse.
Because ultimately it isn't a choice between the United States and France,
but rather a choice between perpetual war and sustainable peace.
The bottom line: a strong and opinionated Canada is a powerful
counterbalance to US intransigence, and one that will be ever more crucial
in the years ahead.
Heather Wokusch
is a free-lance writer with a background in clinical psychology. Her work as
been featured in publications and websites internationally. Heather can be
contacted via her website:
http://www.heatherwokusch.com
Other Recent Articles by Heather Wokusch
*
From
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