Considering that there has always been a large continent of people internationally who have an extreme dislike towards the United States, I was thinking that maybe this country should follow the example of Canada with regards to foreign policy. I’ve never heard opf an angry mob burning Canadian flags, threats of bombing the CN Tower, or widescale boycotts of Canadian beer. Canadian backpackers adorn themselves with maple leaf patches whenever trekking internationally, so they aren’t confused with us evil Americans.
Still, though, I wonder … does Canada have any enemies? Is there a country out there somewhere where its citizens and leaders just hate Canada and all things Canadian? If so, why?
Well I have never trusted Canadians since I saw some RCMP’s in what is now Thunder Bay and they didn’t look anything like Sgt. Preston or Nelson Eddy (for you older folks).
And besides that their damned snooker tables are too big!
Ever since Canadian women fought for, and won, the right to go topless in public, just like their male counterparts there really hasn’t been that much enemy activity.
I was at a very chilling talk recently regarding the role of emergency doctors in terrorist attacks. It was given recently to 400 emergency medicine doctors gathered at a downtown Toronto conference (the perfect target).
Canada is recognized, by CSIS, to have the largest number of active terrorist organizations of any country on the planet. Canada is attractive due to its multiculturalism, proximity to the US, large rural areas, mediocre security and traditions encouraging privacy.
Most Canadians, in surveys, do not see themselves as a terrorist target, and few could identify a terrorist threat in Canada since the FLQ crisis in 1970.
However, this is wrong. Al-Qaeda specifically listed Canada as a target in an April 2004 communication… along with Australia, England, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Spain.
So? If you consider the attack on Fiji to be an attack on Australia (via its tourists) then all the other listed countries have already had terrorist attacks.
Consider that the man from Montreal stopped at the Seattle border with a car full of explosives, who was planning a terrorist attack in the States and caught largely by luck, had a second plan to bomb the Jewish community in Montreal. So what makes Canada immune from terrorism?
Well, they got their Quebecois up there, that get uppity from time to time, and want to leave Canada. Of course, they’re French, so they aren’t much of a threat.
More seriously, Al-Qaeda has stated that Canada deserves bombing. Also, Canada has had a number of disputes over fishing rights with Spain and Portugal. And Canada and Denmark both claim ownership over Hans Island.
Three things: Al-Qaeda is not a monolithic, centralized organization. It is a loose organization of groups and cells deriving training and funding from a common source and having a radical islamist ideology. So the “training manual” found by CSIS is not as definitive as, say, a US Army doctrinal manual.
That said, Islamist extremists also consider any Jew anywhere a legitmate target, and Canada has a Jewish community, especially in Toronto. So a bombing there is certainly not out of the question.
Secondly, I’ve been to similar seminars. I sense a bit of alarmist rhetoric is aimed not at actual preparedness, but at increaing the profile, bureaucratic power, and funding of whatever agency the speaker heads. I don’t know how to separate the one from the other, and the actual existance of the threat means you can’t dismiss the rhetoric totally.
Thirdly, so far, the radical Islamist groups have been interested in Canada mainly as a staging base for attacks on the US, not at a target in itself. That could obviously change, but the organizations the CSIS is counting includes groups like the IRA and Basque separatists – obviously not directed at Canadian targets.
(sorry to tack on a serious post to what’s turned into a whimsical thread–)
IF people of one culture are going to hate another country, that country has to do something first.
Americans do things. Canadians don’t.
For better or worse, Americans are enormously proud of their country, and like to be a world leader.
John F.Kennedy stood at the Berlin Wall and said "ich bin ein Berliner. If a Canadian leader had gone there, he would have had to say it in French( to avoid squabbles in Quebec.)
After Sept 11, the American people proudly supported their troops in action.If it had happened in Toronto, the Canadian people would get a bit upset, but wouldn’t demand that their government retaliate with force.
Canadians have the best of everything–an easy-going society with all the benefits of American success, and none of the responsibilities. I envy 'em.
(Except for one thing—for god’s sake, how can you live where it’s so damn cold?)
I was watching a show on the Discovery Channel about sniper competition. Apparently the Canadian Snipers are so prolific worldwide, the cameras were forbidden to show their faces, or print their names. I would imagine that people like that had to have upset someone along the way.
