Canada already 'part of' missile defence: McKenna

[CHIMO]

OTTAWA - Canada's next ambassador to the United States set off a storm Tuesday by saying Canada is already taking part in the controversial U.S. missile defence program because it has agreed Norad can monitor the skies for incoming missiles.

"I believe that we've given in large measure what the Americans want, which is the ability to use Norad and their intercept information in order to be able to target weaponry," said the former New Brunswick premier.

McKenna told reporters he believes the U.S. now has much of what it needs to operate a "modest ballistic missile defence program."

"There's no doubt, in looking back, that the Norad amendment has given, has created part – in fact a great deal – of what the United States means in terms of being able to get the input for defensive weaponry," he said.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/02/22/mckenna-missile050222.html

Now we know what Paul C. was so happy.
Seems to confirm what others have been saying about the NORAD agreement.

[whistle]

1. NORAD has always been there to do that along the northern

...boundaries of Canada, but he may not have said it, but his statement infers it, Canada may already have entered into a secret agreement that allows the U.S. to fight the missile battles in the airspace above Canada, something that has been prohibited by treaty since the early cold war days.

[CHIMO]

3. Norad: continental defence

"It is very likely that Norad not only was given a new lease on life for its existence following the attacks because of the creation of a threat, but second, and probably more lasting, that you will see Norad having a central role in the national missile defence system of the United States," he says.

Missile defence and Norad

In August 2004, Canada signed an amendment to the Norad agreement to allow the organization to share its information with U.S. commanders running that country's missile defence system.

Defence Minister Bill Graham said the agreement didn't mean Canada is joining the missile defence program. "We're a long way from making any such decision," he said.

But the decision to share information had to be made, said Graham, because the Americans were on the verge of building an airspace defence system that would have made Norad obsolete.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/cdnmilitary/norad.html

[Amonester]

5. note the quote

because of the creation of a threat


B.S. hasn't got enough tax-money as is: they want our loonies too.

[CHIMO]

6. Lying Is Not Allowed

In Parliament.

Looks like the writing is out there as to why the Conservatives are gearing up for a possible election.

[Amonester]

2. too bad there was no-norad on nine-eleven

as a matter of fact, where were they??????????????


"They don't want to tell the population that we've got our arm in the wringer of the washing machine and it's sucking us in," charged Bloc Québécois MP Michel Gauthier.

Triste, mais bien dit...

[Wat_Tyler]

4. McKenna's on the Carlyle Group board.

And now he's Ambassador to the US. Coinsidink?

[Maple]

7. Martin will say 'no' to U.S. missile shield in surprise announcement

Martin will say 'no' to U.S. missile shield in surprise announcement

By ALEXANDER PANETTA

OTTAWA (CP) - Prime Minister Paul Martin will deliver a firm 'no' to Canadian participation in the U.S. missile-defence plan and break a lengthy silence that fomented confusion on both sides of the border.

The announcement will come in the House of Commons and end a streak of obfuscation where Martin refused to state Canada's position, a report suggests. The end of that silence - scheduled for Thursday - will also come as an about-face for a prime minister who had repeatedly stated his support for missile defence when he was a Liberal leadership candidate barely a year ago.

Martin had promised a new era of Canada-U.S. relations after bitter divisions over the war in Iraq. But American officials had warned it would be an inauspicious start to any new era if Canada refused to join a missile plan.

Opposition to the plan inside and outside the Liberal party made it impossible for Martin to move forward, said government officials.

The U.S. was informed of the Canada's plans at a NATO summit in Brussels, attended by Martin and President George W. Bush, and the news was also conveyed Tuesday through diplomats in Ottawa and Washington.

"(The Americans) were told we will not participate," a federal official, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Canadian Press.

More at
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/02/22/939137-cp.html