(Note: This article is public domain and may be distributed and/or reprinted freely.)
When the terrorist attack on the United States first occurred last week, people asked me, "What if the terrorists attack Canada next? Is it possible?"
I explained to them at the time that it's perfectly doable. It just isn't going to happen. The only people who have a serious beef with this country actually live here, and they're so marginalized that they can't really accomplish something of this scale. No one is going to spend the kind of resources required to strike a blow against the Great Canadian Satan, and certainly no one is going to willingly die in the attempt.
That has all changed forever. And we have Prime Minister Jean "Pepper Spray" Chretien to thank for it.
Yes, our heroic PM has been shooting his mouth off in the media. He has pledged his firm support for George W. Bush's war on terrorism, even if it costs the lives of some Canadian military personnel. And even the lives of Canadian civilians.
I am not exaggerating when I say that my reaction to this can only be described as rage. To understand why, you need to have some idea what really happened on September 11th.
The American mass media has been conveniently ignoring certain facts about the suspected perpetrators of this attack. They have not, for instance, mentioned that suspect Osama bin Laden received his training in terrorism from American agencies as part of the bogus war against Communism. (Read Who is Osama bin Laden? for a more complete report on this.) Nor have they mentioned the American government's direct support for the Taliban as part of the same "Islamic jihad" policy.
The most recent such support came a mere four months ago. Filmmaker Michael Moore explains:
Back in May, you [George W. Bush] gave the Taliban in Afghanistan $43 million dollars of our tax money. No free nation on earth would give them a cent, but you gave them a gift of $43 million because they said they had "banned all drugs."
Let me put that in perspective for you. The citizens of the United States of America paid taxes to their government. The government then gave that money to known terrorists who, if the accusations against bin Laden and the Taliban are true, used the money to kill those selfsame taxpaying Americans.
I want you to imagine being on the upper floors of the World Trade Center after the planes struck them. Imagine being trapped, knowing you cannot escape, and that it's only a matter of time before the building gives way. Fighting the rising panic and terror, you turn to the man next to you and say, "Oh God, we're going to die."
Now imagine that he says, "Yes, but on the up side, some people you never heard of on the other side of the world have promised not to smoke pot."
And now George W. Bush wants to drag the rest of the world into a war against these terrorists. This is akin to Dr. Frankenstein telling the villagers they have a duty to slay the monster he created, then sitting around at home while they all get killed doing it.
To strengthen support for his New Bogus War, Bush is offering incentives to certain countries. Like Indonesia. An Associated Press gives this chilling picture:
Indonesia and Jordan, both Islamic countries that have spoken strongly against the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States, may find heightened Bush administration interest in concluding proposed trade agreements. For Indonesia, there also may be the possibility of a renewal of military ties, suspended at the time of the upheaval in East Timor.
For those of you who skipped history class that day, East Timor is a small nation where the Indonesian military spent years carrying out an organized genocide. Because the Indonesians were buying their weapons from Americans, the mass media in North America refused to cover the slaughter. As a result, it went largely unnoticed over here until a couple of years ago. Once the Americans were caught with their pants down, they made a half-assed attempt to make amends, which included the aforementioned suspension of military ties. Bush feels the time is right to pick up where everyone left off.
This is the person Chretien feels we should be supporting. This is the system for which he is asking us to offer up our lives.
There are principles and people in this world for whom I would risk my life. For some, I would sacrifice it outright. But you can call me a conscientious objector to this war, because I refuse to die for it. Any of it.
I refuse to die so America can salve its conscience. I refuse to die for George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. And I absolutely refuse to die so that Jean Chretien can posture and swagger about like some imbecilic cowboy, thrusting his penis in the faces of every other nation because he knows that the single greatest war machine in the history of the universe is in his corner.
This is the new face of Canada, thanks to our Prime Minister. For the first time in my life, I am ashamed to be Canadian.
