GIVE CANADA THE RESPECT IT DESERVES:

In praise of straddling, uh, dithering (Rick Salutin, Globe and Mail, 3/21/2003)

The late Herb Denton, the Washington Post's reporter here, had a different take: "The day Canada finally stands up to the U.S. is the day the U.S. will finally respect it." He was talking about the free-trade deal, but this war would serve as well. I'd add, from my observations, that it may not happen instantly, but if you stick to it till they know you're serious, then eventually, grudgingly, respect will come.

And if not now, when? All previous postwar U.S. military eruptions, however you judged them, were one-offs: Vietnam, the 1991 gulf war, Kosovo etc. This one is avowedly the first in a limitless chain of assertions of U.S. power. It means destruction of the frail system of global order that the UN represents. Even scarier: In earlier conflicts, only Westerners in the military were at direct risk; now we all are, and our families, not from Iraq, but from small, crazed, outlaw groups that learned on Sept. 11 how much damage they can do, with little or no state support -- and that are being consciously provoked by U.S. policies.

So I'd call this Jean Chrétien's finest hour.

Mr. Salutin's theory seems to be: persistent Canadian error has not led to U.S. respect, but if Canada can err with stubbornness and militancy, respect will surely, if grudgingly, follow.

The reality is that Canada's persistent unwillingness to help us has led to U.S. indifference toward Canada. Were Canada to become militantly and stubbornly hostile, that indifference would turn to contempt.

Posted by Paul Jaminet at March 21, 2003 11:14 AM