Claymore,

It is not your scholarship that is in question. It is the wisdom of voting for Bush that is in question. Military credentials for a C in C are not necessary. IMO, the Presidency was meant to be a job for civilians, anyway.

Two of my university profs were military people. One was an historian (Lt. Col., Royal Marines, Ret'd) and he taught The History of Human Conflict. The other was a Lt. Commander, RCN, and still on the active reserve list at that time. He taught Shakespeare to both undergrads and grad students. Military people are not 'stupid'. That is a given to me.

However, I do not think it is anything Bush did that has prevented another terrorist attack in the USA. I do think that is a matter of time, and time only. And there is, as you are aware, very little that can be done to 'harden' a whole country, particularly one as large as the US. IMO, Washington does not understand its enemy. Their plan spans a long period of time, and whether it takes days, weeks, months or years, time is meaningless to Allah. They can afford to wait. The US cannot. But the terrorists were not in Iraq.

I agree with you that this should have been handled by Stormin' Norman years ago. I am also aware that soldiers hate taking the same ground twice. But times have changed. The money connections in Washington have changed. The players have changed. And the geopolitical friendships have changed.

The error the US made was in receiving no UN sanction. It was a grim picture seeing the US, UK, Spain and Bulgaria trying to present a 'Coalition of the Willing' on international TV. It was transparent and sad.

The economic punishment that my country received as a result of refusing to participate because UN sanction for the war was not in place has done serious damage to the friendship that once existed between the governments of our countries. We supported the operations in the Gulf War, but not this one. We paid a heavy price for that refusal. Canada has been a staunch NATO member and the existence of NORAD speaks of our ability and willingness to be participants in what we deem to be 'just' wars. We just didn't think this one is.

It may or may not be known to you, but the cruise missile was tested in Canada's north (in fact, one crashed in Alberta) because the climate and terrain is much like that of the old USSR. Despite a protest from many Canadians, our government helped with the testing because we saw the need for that type of deterrence. What is happening in Irac is not deterrence.

The bin Laden family leaving the US without being questioned; the less-that-clear explanation of the events surrounding 9/11; the MONEY being made by big business in and from this war; the jobs that have been lost in your country as a result of Bush's policies, both foreign and domestic--these are things your countrymen/women are wondering about.

The attempt to bully my country into following the US lead--such is not the action of a friend or a friendly nation. Canada has provided good troops for the Afghanistan war, including some special warfare troops. There is never mention of that when the US talks about what IT is doing. So tell me, are we only allies when it is convenient for the US? Tell me that. And tell me why, when I read books on the Gulf War, Canada is a minor footnote, despite providing CAP and ships for the Persian Gulf. No, my friend, piss on that.

The US is pursuing its own agenda and interests in Iraq. It has little to do with your national security or the establishment of a democracy in Iraq. IMO, it has to do with military positioning to secure oil in the surrounding areas.

Additionally, you have treated your old friend to the north like dirt. We are not an appendage of your country, and neither is the rest of the world. The day will come when you invade us, and we will be defeated. And we know that. Because we know that is what the United States does to those friends who don't do as they are told. And what it does to its enemies is precisely the same thing.

I realize that you don't set your country's foreign policy. Speaking as someone who goes to bed at night wondering if there will be American tanks in our streets the next morning, I wonder why people like you think we should appreciate Bush? He scares the shit outta the world because he is following the advice of people who do NOT know what the hell they are doing, and the sickness is that they are doing it to make big businesses richer (and themselves along with them).

We know the US is on the verge of bankruptcy. What happens, Claymore, when COUNTRIES go bankrupt? From whom do they borrow? Who has that kind of money? NO ONE. Extrapolate: to prevent that, one would establish a New World Order, and isn't that what we are seeing? A NWO in the making? Are we not looking at the Fourth Reich? And do you think that civilization will go gentle into that good night? Voting Bush out would demonstrate to the world that at least the American people still care about Democracy. IMO, that is what is at issue and what is at stake in this election. Many of us around the world DO wonder, and I think the results of the November vote will determine much for a long time to come: much about everything in the world, and much about our fates and our futures--or if indeed we will have futures that leave us free to pursue our lives in peace.