Why wasn't Canada Mentioned?

[tracer]

<South Park movie>

Blame Canada,
Blame Canada!
They’re not even a real country, anyway.

</South Park movie>

[Northern_Piper]

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Milossarian *
**

If I am recalling correctly, Bush mentioned only one ally specifically - Great Britain. Whose prime minister was in the audience.**

Nope. He mentioned several:

And on behalf of the American people, I thank the world for its outpouring of support. America will never forget the sounds of our National Anthem playing at Buckingham Palace, on the streets of Paris, and at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate.

We will not forget South Korean children gathering to pray outside our embassy in Seoul, or the prayers of sympathy offered at a mosque in Cairo. We will not forget moments of silence and days of mourning in Australia and Africa and Latin America.

Nor will we forget the citizens of 80 other nations who died with our own: dozens of Pakistanis; more than 130 Israelis; more than 250 citizens of India; men and women from El Salvador, Iran, Mexico and Japan; and hundreds of British citizens. America has no truer friend than Great Britain.

So, he thanked the three major Euoropean allies; key players in the Middle East and southern Asia; Australia; all of Africa; Mexico; and all of Central and South America.

Guess Canada got lumped in with Russia, China and Iceland.

[dave99]

Check this thread.

If there’s any truth to these reports, then the SAS is already on the ground and fighting in Afghanistan, and have been in country for five days.

So while Bush was making his speech, he knew that British soldiers were already laying it on the line for the USA.

As a Canadian I hope that we will offer any help the Americans need. I agree with grienspace that we tend to take America’s defence of our freedom for granted, and I was not at all offended when we were not mentioned, as we have not yet done anything of tangible military value.

[xanakis]

The reason the SAS are in Afghanistan before anyone else is tied in with the fact that this part of the world was a part of (or close to) the British Empire for 300 years.

The British have fairly good relations with many former colonies around the world through the Commonwealth and still keep an eye on them if they have problems.

Witness the recent British involvement in Sierra Leone - a former colony that got into trouble with civil strife.

As a result of the Empire the British still feel the responsibility to go and do what they can to help out people with whom they feel they have ties.

There are very close ties between Britain and the Indian sub-continent.

A great many Indians and Pakistanis live in Britain and many British people live in or visit India and Pakistan.

Add to this the fact that British people see themselves (to some extent) as a warrior nation and you can see why they would be up for a fight if they think it will help a troubled nation in the Indias.