hamburger wrote:i don't think this disagreement is just going to fade away. u.s. ambassador wilkins probably didn't receive much instruction in the fine art of diplomacy.
he would have done well to take a few lessons from henry kissinger before starting his assignment. henry knew how "to talk to the enemy". hbg
Trust me, to the extent that this issue resonates, it does so only in Canada.
Canadians are a fine bunch of folk, but thy spend too much time defining themselves not by what they are, but by what they aren't : Americans.
The Canadian relationship with America approaches that of a group of mice with an elephant. The elephant hardly acknowledges that the mice exist and will from time to time step on one without thinking. The mice muster all sorts of righteous attacks against the elephant but never manage to do more than cutting a cuticle.
Nationalistic pride is, I believe, a good thing (within reason) and if I were Canadian, I probably would have a few choice words to say about America, but Canadians need to develop a national identity that has nothing to do with America.
This issue of who owns the Northwest Passage is meaningless. If it ever becomes a matter of crucial national interest to America, Canada will not be able to thwart the desires of the US. Hopefully such a level of disagreement will never be necessary, but at some point the mice have to realize that there is not a whole lot they can do to direct the elephant.