WEEK TWENTY THREE OF FRIENDS OF FRIDAY FORUM

4 Years too late ... This past week, my boring little conservative town of Ottawa was rocked by President Bush's first official visit to Canada. Traditionally, when a new president comes to office, the first official visit is to Canada. Nothing special, the usual ass-kissing photo-op to make sure everyone is still on the same page. But, as we all know, Dubya does things his way. In 2000 he opted to go to Mexico instead. In 2001 after 9/11, Dubya opted to leave out Canada on the long list of “thanks” to countries that had given aide or helped out during the ordeal. A slap in the face? Maybe. You see, Jean Chrétien, the Prime Minister of Canada at the time, along with many other world leaders, said whoa cowboy, slow down. Dubya made it clear; you're either with us or against us.

Fast forward to 2004, Dubya must have had some time to kill, or an agenda because he finally decided to make his official visit up north to "mend the tension". With a new Prime Minister maybe he was hoping that this one would be a little more "with him". Since Dubya was heckled in the Australian parliament, one of his few "allies", the Bush camp decided it would be best for him not to speak in ours. On the agenda was a visit to Ottawa's parliament, a short little Q&A with the media, a visit to the Archives and a formal dinner. The next day he would go out to Halifax, Nova Scotia for a three hour visit to thank them for their hospitality during the 9/11 crisis. All planes in the US on that day [9/11/01] were diverted to Canada. Approximately 33,000 passengers were stranded in Halifax for a few days and residents took them in.

Everywhere Dubya goes, there are protesters there to greet him, and Canada was no different. Even though the visit was announced on short notice we have been waiting for our chance for a long time. The protests started on November 20th, where a few hundred people showed up and made some noise. It was a nice little warm-up of things to come. Bush brought his cronies with him and had more security and armored cars than Canada probably has altogether, it was quite the display. Most routes downtown were blocked, helicopters were in the air his whole visit and sharp shooters were on the roof. The media started their “fear campaign” a few weeks before saying that since Canada was a safe haven for terrorists that an attack here was sure to happen. News to us. Lots of dignitaries and presidents visit Ottawa, there is most likely heightened security when they visit but it doesn't affect our day to day lives. For Bush, the snipers were on the roof and they wanted everyone to know. It was such an arrogant display of power, it was clear that he rules with fear. It gave me a little more insight as to why so many people in the US back him. Despite all that the protesters came out in great numbers. It started at around 10am and went on until late in the night. Where Bush went the protesters followed. Bush was in a chatty good mood, cracked some jokes, and denied that there was any tension. I really think that he likes all the hype; he seemed to thrive on all the attention. It made me think that he's a lost cause; he's not a man of the people. I think it would have been more effective if nobody showed up. Being at a protest with a bunch of like-minded people is a beautiful thing, if anything, we showed our own leaders that they are doing the right thing by staying away from Bush's foreign policies.

Nothing was solved during his visit. The Prime Minister was hoping to get talks going about some trade disputes with beef and lumber. Bush said he'd love to help, but it's up to the bureaucracy. Bush was asked about relations with his allies and he simply said he will consult with his neighbors and allies, "But I'm the kind of fellow who does what I think is right, and will continue to do what I think is right". It made me wonder, why are you here George? What's the catch? I thought that maybe they had a little trick up their sleeve; they were going to open up the border to Canadian beef in exchange for Canadian troops, but no, on his second day out of the blue, Dubya brought up missile defense. Ah, arms in space. Three years later he thanks the people in the Maritimes then backs it up with more fear. I feel a lot safer now that he's gone. Josee [Ottawa, Canada]

QUOTE OF THE WEEK ... Americans have been taught that their nation is civilized and humane. But, too often, U.S. actions have been uncivilized and inhumane. Howard Zinn