Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
Go back and read the history of that event. The American's didn't want Canadian Soldiers there at least in terms of conbat roles. Our military was eroded to its furthest point and we would have been a drag on the allies there. Chretien actually sent several senior officers down to a meeting in Florida with members of the U.S. strategic Planning Group to see how Canada could help and we were effectively rebuffed.
America would have been content with materialor even verbal support from Canada for the war on terror or back field logistical support for the war on terror.
Lets not make this out that Chretien knew that we had something to offer and sternly refused it, Chretien was a slick politician who took a negative (Canada's shattered military) and turned it into a positive for him (Heroicly saying no)
|
So you're saying the Americans and their "Coalition of the willing" didn't want Canada's assistance, but did accept assistance from countries such as El Salvador, Estonia and Moldova? I agree our military was already stretched thin in Afghanistan, but the Americans would take any "willing" country it seems. Simply put Chretien, and every other smart country in the world, didn't want to go without UN approval. As it turns out, pretty brilliant call on that one. Imagine how much worse our country might be with the lives and dollars that would have been wasted there.
Stephen Harper, as evidence from his comments at the UN this year, will gladly fight for Israel, but obviously only if America is there to do most of the heavy lifting. It would indeed be political dangerous (likely suicidal) to go to war with Iran, but at some point Harper will use his majority to make an unpopular decision. Something tells me a Romney victory means this will be that unpopular decision. Romney has 20 or more Bush administration advisors working for him. If it looks like the GWB foreign policy, and it sounds like the GWB foreign policy, well....