A stolen comment
I posted If every country had their own Dick Cheney at Open Source Politics. Got an interesting comment from Chris at Parking lot
Scary...one Cheny is enough. Too much actually.
Oh, and Germany doesn't have a permanent seat on the Security Council, and therefore no veto.
At any rate, I could never understand the USA's approach to its friends on this issue. I'm Canadian. After 9/11 the USA demanded our support on the war on terror. Fine, we said. Here have some troops in Afghanistan. Try not to bomb them.
Four months later the US bombs them and kills four of our guys, but hey these things happen.
USA says sorry and thanks a lot and then slaps what turns out to be an illegal 35% duty on one of our major exports, softwood lumber, devastating the economy of British Columbia. Okay. Thanks pal.
Next up Iraq...join us in Iraq. We say, hang on there pardner, we're not so sure Iraq is such a good idea unless you have the UN involved. We said it kind of like you would try to talk a drunk friend out of driving home. He drives home anyway and totals the car. We feel guilty so we say, look, we'll take over in Afghanistan (we are the largest troop presence there now) and we'll help you out rebuilding Iraq. Then Cheney says nothing doing, you guys didn't pony up for the war, you can't get any of the rebuilding action. Fine, we say. We'll just go back to trying to keep the lid on the half-finished job in Afghanistan (now we're actually in senior command positions there).
Soon things go off the rails in Iraq and the USA calls on our government to pony up some cash and troops and help bail out the US in Iraq.
Are you kidding me? What's the catch? Anyway, our tropps are busy mopping up that stuff you spilled in Afghanistan, so we're spread pretty thin.
So after thinking about it for, like, 15 seconds, we smell a rat and say no, we're still kind of keen on the UN thing. Then the US Ambassador tears a strip off our government for not being a very good neighbour.
Sigh. It's hard being a friend of the USA. It's like living next to a guy that plays his music too loud, yells at the kids on the street all the time and drives drunk. But despite all that you still like him and you still find yourself doing favours for him.
And every year you forgive him for not sending a Christmas card.
Posted by Chris at June 29, 2004 10:57 AM
