Canada Will Sign On To Missile Defence: Ambassador

[Gloria]

From the new World Media Watch up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanaltical

Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com


1//The Toronto Star, Canada Jan. 9, 2005. 04:51 PM

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1105272065017&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968705899037



CANADA WILL SIGN ON TO MISSILE DEFENCE: AMBASSADOR

Robert Russo, Canadian Press


OTTAWA — The United States is optimistic Canada will sign on to President George W. Bush's missile defence plan before the end of March, Ambassador Paul Cellucci has told The Canadian Press.

Cellucci, who is scheduled to leave his post this spring, said he expects the issue will be resolved before he returns to the U.S.

"We've been told that it will be dealt with over the next couple of months," he said during a brief conversation.

Asked if, based on his discussions, he anticipates that Canada will take part in the controversial missile shield, Cellucci replied: "Yes."


(SNIP)

Participation in missile defence represents a potentially explosive issue for the federal Liberals and could conceivably bring down their minority government.



(MORE)

[Rose Siding]

1. Canada's new envoy to DC is a Carlyle Group board member

http://www.canada.com/news/world/story.html?id=eb679f3b-1073-43c9-bd7f-af3dd1b4cf4c

I hope Cellucci is blowing smoke.

[0007]

16. Frank C. Carlucci is a Carlyle Group member for sure.

But the article is talking about Paul Cellucci


I'm sorry, I thought you were confused when it was I.

McKenna, 57, has been practising law and sitting on numerous corporate boards since he left office in 1997, including the international advisory board of Carlyle Group, a huge private equity firm based in Washington with close ties to the Bush family.

[Rose Siding]

17. The article I linked is about the new Canadian envoy to DC, McKenna

McKenna, a Canadian, is on the Carlyle board too.

[0007]

20. Your correct!!

[LynnTheDem]

2. What does the USA NOT UNDERSTAND about "HELL. NO."

Good luck trying to convince the 96% of Canadians who are AGAINST this.

[Telly Savalas]

22. Since the other 4% consist of Paul Martin and his government...

they don't need to bother with that 96%.

[CHIMO]

3. Really Funny

Statement at this time.

Paul Cellucci has stated that he will be leaving his post and wants to move on. Is he trying to raise a flag to Washington that he still exists?

The Conservatives are to have a convention in March, I believe. Is this to take some pressure off their convention or an attempt to create an issue to bring them together.

The PM, in the end of the year interview, seemed to make his case pretty clear. Is he going to have to go back on the impressions that he has created, as he is doing in Newfoundland and Labrador?

Maybe Paul wants Homeland Security?

Like I said. Seems really funny.

[Hand]

4. One caveat...

The author of this article, Robert Russo, is seriously slanted to the right in everything he produces. You'd expect him to be Cellucci's poodle, which this article he sure as hell is. During the Clinton presidency, he did hatchet jobs on the big dog at every possible opportunity. Basically, he sucks.



Interesting that Frank McKenna will be the new ambassador to the US. He was previously premier of New Brunswick (Province of Swine), and looked like quite the golden boy at the time. Unfortunately, he hitched a lot of the province's progress to the IT boom of the 90's, and... well, you know what happened.

I wasn't aware of his recruitment into the Caryle Group or his friendship with Poppy Bush. :puke: Still, what else would you expect from the premier of New Brunswick (Province of Swine)?

:hi: from Nova Scotia (much better than New Brunswick, Province of Swine)

[GHOSTDANCER]

5. Someone should pass this little tidbit of 411 to the new guy.

If the US missle defense shield does work it will become every Canadian's worst nightmare. Imagine nuclear weapons being detonated over Canada by anti-missile defences from the US or even worse from Canada controlled from the US. Do we really want this war conducted in Canadian air space with all its resulting nuclear fallout?

[madrchsod]

9. the idea is to see the heat signs

from the launch and target the missle in the first few minutes of flight. but the problem is whether or not large fires would trigger the system. plus as i posted the russians have mobiles.

[GHOSTDANCER]

13. ya ya the lasers in space and attached to 747's have done it so well

in the past.. Right now we got missile on missile action, o ya baby!!! Fallout would end up in Canada and the NW or even if they did, Are you saying is it fair to those people that it would affect near the launch site? I mean isn't that kinda not taken whats coming to you? At least it wasn't me mentality? Just some more civilians?? Fuq we have missiles embedded all over the mid-west. You know how many civilians would get fuqed up? What about when we sale this technology to other so called "friendly nations" you know the "Axis-of-Freedom" and they use it on us? The whole things a fuqin nightmare powered by stupid humans.

[Massacure]

14. Just because you blow up the missiles means you blow up the warhead.

Nuclear weapons have to go through a series of events to blow up. If you take out one step, it cannot detonate.

[bemildred]

6. No, it won't. nt

[daleo]

7. It goes from "Canada will sign on" to "he is optimistic that"

A pretty big jump. But the Bushies are used to big jumps in "logic" - it pretty well sums up their foreign policy.

[madrchsod]

8. it won`t work

the Russians just lit up a new mobile launcher that makes the whole missile shield worthless. in fact bush encouraged Russia to design and build this new system to counter his abms...remember potato head tore up the abm treaty.

[fearnobush]

10. The idea is for it to never work. Missle Defense is a cash cow for the MIC

Military Industrial Complex. It's all about US the tax payers giving billions of dollars to the MIC.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tuvor]

11. Where's Cellucci getting this idea? Doesn't he read the newspapers, either

Canada won't fund missile shield: PM

Windsor Star

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Canadian Press

Prime Minister Paul Martin said Tuesday he does not believe the U.S. ballistic missile shield will succeed in shooting down incoming rockets, as he threw up new roadblocks to counter President George W. Bush's strong appeal for Canada to join his continental defence plan.

Canada will not put any money into building the missile shield and it will not allow Washington to station rockets on Canadian soil as the price of participation in the multibillion-dollar program, Martin told Global National in a year-end interview.

In another issue that could cause friction with Bush, Martin said Canada was prepared to accept U.S. citizens who do not want to serve in the war in Iraq.

"In terms of immigration, we are a country of immigrants and we will take immigrants from around the world. I'm not going to discriminate," said Martin, when reminded that former prime minister Pierre Trudeau opened Canada's doors to draft dodgers and deserters during the Vietnam War.

'AN ILLEGAL WAR'

When asked whether the prime minister was referring to ongoing attempts by Jeremy Hinzman, a 26-year-old U.S. deserter, to gain asylum in Canada after refusing to serve in what he calls "an illegal war," Martin spokesman Scott Reid said the prime minister "was not commenting on any individual case and certainly was not sending a signal to the immigration board."

Martin was emphatic Canada's participation in the missile defence program would depend on a key decision-making role in the U.S. command and control structure that operates the shield.

"The decision as to whether or not we participate in the ballistic missile defence system is going to depend on whether, in fact, Canada can have a voice in the structure," Martin said in the interview, to be broadcast Christmas Day.

"I'm not going to put money into it. I'm going to put money into our priorities ... Having missiles on our territory is not one of those priorities."

The conditions laid out by Martin are the clearest indication to date the Liberal government is increasingly disinterested in the missile defence program despite Bush's public appeal during his visit to Canada on Dec. 1.

Martin has been under heavy pressure from the Liberal caucus and the party's grassroots to reject the defence shield, which he admitted may not even work to knock down incoming missiles from rogue states or global terrorists.

"Do I believe it could work tomorrow? I suspect there are very few people out there who testify that it could. Do I believe eventually technology could bring it to that point, in all likelihood, but I'm not a rocket expert," he said in another TV interview.

Martin said Canada is not even close to negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on missile defence, but added any document must include guarantees that it would not lead to the weaponization of space.

Canada would immediately pull out of the defence shield if it were to join and the U.S. subsequently put missile weapon systems in space.

"I don't believe space belongs to any country," Martin said. "We will not engage in the weaponization of space."

Martin acknowledged for the first time that next year's budget will pump money into Canada's hard-pressed military, including funds to allow the Armed Forces to recruit 5,000 more troops over the next five years.

Martin admitted he struggled over his personal belief in the traditional marriage but finally decided same-sex weddings were a right entitled to all citizens regardless of their sexual orientation.

© The Windsor Star 2004

[Telly Savalas]

23. No shit?

Paul Martin has been waffling on this for the longest time, and this is the first I've seen of him actually standing up to George Walker Bush on the issue. Maybe he's feeling the heat from the NDP and the Bloc, and is worried they'll try to force an election if he doesn't get his shit together.

[glitch]

12. Celluci of the "we create our own reality" clique. Trying to get that buzz

going, gonna ride that wave. I think drug abuse explains them better than anything else. I mean, what else explains their constant, unrelenting spewage?

[Spazito]

15. Celluci is so full of crap, he reeks every time he opens his mouth....

this is not the first time he has spoken in total ignorance of the facts and ANY understanding of the role of an Ambassador. I am glad the piece of cow manure is going, wish it had been sooner.

FYI, Martin was asked about this today at his news conference and his response was very short, "There have been NO SUCH assurances". His tone indicated Celluci has pissed off the PM mightily, lol.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Gloria]

21. You know the recent deal about letting Canadian beef in?? Is

support Canada's payment?

[Dudley_DUright]

24. Oh Canada

Don't give into BushCo blackmail! NMD is a joke and if you would listen to some reputable scientists like Ted Postol at MIT, you would not even be considering dumping money down this rat-hole.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1213-27.htm

[mediaman007]

25. Good, Maybe it won't cost me so much!

We've been paying for this thing for almost 20 years, it will be great to someone else pay part of my share. (/sarcasm)