Majority of Canadians oppose missle defence: poll

[Lautremont]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/11/04/poll_missile041104.html

Well, duh.

[iverglas]

1. yeah, duh; but

I think it's just about time that we each started telling the people who need to be told, directly.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/mpscur.asp?lang=E

Myself, I'll be making the point that not only do I oppose the idea in principle, I specifically do not wish to facilitate the imposition of the Bush administration's will on the world by providing any assistance whatsoever for the acquisition of any means it could use for that end.

[Lautremont]

2. Excellent adivice. I'm going to take it.

Thanks for the link. I'm going to hold on to that one and be a vocal bastard.

[Mother Jones]

3. Brilliant Iverglas!

Instead of sitting around feeling helpless, isn't it great to know we DO have ways of sending our own message to the chimp.

[Pierre Trudeau]

4. we need to rebuild our OWN defenses

I also oppose the crackpot missile-defense pipe dream, but we need to start shoveling money back into our own defenses pronto.

Before anyone accuses me of being a warmonger, consider these points:

- the Canadian Armed Forces have a good reputation but are underfunded and poorly-equipped, yet they are often needed for UN peacekeeping duties which are supported by 90% of Canadians (same survey as above).

- Canada is not a warmongering nation; in most cases we have picked our fights carefully, and although war is never pretty, we have usually accomplished something positive when we've gone to war. Just ask the Dutch.

- Our country is huge, with an enormous coastline that must be patrolled against illegal fishing, not to mention threats to our sovereignty. Having a solid navy and coast guard is a necessity, not a luxury.

- Our armed forces are needed for many purposes, such as search-and-rescue operations, protecting merchant shipping and responding to natural disasters like the Red River flood (and heavy snowfall in Toronto LOL).

- In case you've forgotten, we invented peacekeeping. In Pearson's day we actually had a respectable armed force, and we used it, in the Suez crisis and countless other incidents. That's how we were able to back up our diplomacy and develop our "soft power" which has declined ever since.

- No less a Liberal icon than Lloyd Axworthy has spoken at length of the dire need to reconstitute our armed forces. We don't need an invasion force or high-tech missiles or other crazy toys. We need a variety of highly-trained, specialized and quickly-mobilized units for various purposes.

- Above all, we need to be able to defend ourselves without relying on the US to do it for us! If we hadn't let our forces dwindle away, we'd be able to say to the US today, "Sorry, we don't need your ineffective missile defense scheme, we can protect ourselves and you too".

[LiberteToujours]

5. Who supports it?

Stephen Harper? Stockwell Day? I guess that makes two. :P