Gee - what a shock.. .our Socialist "friends" to the north letting the rats in...
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1098304821428_93714021/?hub=TopStories
The U.S. Ambassador to Canada thinks it is inevitable that terrorists will use this country to attack the United States.
Any such attack would be "catastrophic" to the economic relationship between the two nations, he told a small audience at an Ottawa business luncheon on Wednesday.
"I have to tell you this co-operation is now more important than ever. Another attack could be catastrophic to our economic relations. The threat has not receded. The threat is real," he said.
"Our shared geography alone makes it inevitable that the terrorists will consider using Canada as a potential launching pad into the United States. ... For us, the simple fact is that we cannot defend our homeland without Canada's help."
Once such attack has been attempted: Ahmed Ressam was caught by U.S. border officials in December 1999 trying to enter with a carload of explosives.
Ressam, the so-called Millenium bomber, was intending to attack Los Angeles International Airport.
The Algerian-born man had been residing in Montreal. He had trained in Al Qaeda terrorist training camps run in Afghanistan by Osama bin Laden.
No similar attempt has been thwarted in the intervening five years.
When he visited Ottawa last week, Tom Ridge, the U.S. director of homeland security, said improved border security was working.
While he said people with terrorist linkages were being turned away every day, Ridge didn't specify how many of those were trying to enter through Canada.
Other issues
Cellucci, who said he won't be seeking a second term as ambassador in the new year, was generally sounding upbeat on Canada-U.S. relations.
"I believe this is the most important relationship that the United States has in the world, particularly if you consider the impact this relationship has on the day-to-day lives of United States citizens,'' he told a small audience of francophone business leaders.
Cellucci -- a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, appointed ambassador by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2001 -- had publicly expressed disappointment with Canada's refusal to take a military role in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
However, he said it wouldn't be a "deal-breaker" with respects to NORAD -- the join Canada-U.S. air defence network -- if Canada didn't participate in the continental missile defence plan.
"That may cause a strain, but it doesn't take away the fact that we're interconnected, dependent on each other and it's in each of our national interests to work together."
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1098304821428_93714021/?hub=TopStories
The U.S. Ambassador to Canada thinks it is inevitable that terrorists will use this country to attack the United States.
Any such attack would be "catastrophic" to the economic relationship between the two nations, he told a small audience at an Ottawa business luncheon on Wednesday.
"I have to tell you this co-operation is now more important than ever. Another attack could be catastrophic to our economic relations. The threat has not receded. The threat is real," he said.
"Our shared geography alone makes it inevitable that the terrorists will consider using Canada as a potential launching pad into the United States. ... For us, the simple fact is that we cannot defend our homeland without Canada's help."
Once such attack has been attempted: Ahmed Ressam was caught by U.S. border officials in December 1999 trying to enter with a carload of explosives.
Ressam, the so-called Millenium bomber, was intending to attack Los Angeles International Airport.
The Algerian-born man had been residing in Montreal. He had trained in Al Qaeda terrorist training camps run in Afghanistan by Osama bin Laden.
No similar attempt has been thwarted in the intervening five years.
When he visited Ottawa last week, Tom Ridge, the U.S. director of homeland security, said improved border security was working.
While he said people with terrorist linkages were being turned away every day, Ridge didn't specify how many of those were trying to enter through Canada.
Other issues
Cellucci, who said he won't be seeking a second term as ambassador in the new year, was generally sounding upbeat on Canada-U.S. relations.
"I believe this is the most important relationship that the United States has in the world, particularly if you consider the impact this relationship has on the day-to-day lives of United States citizens,'' he told a small audience of francophone business leaders.
Cellucci -- a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, appointed ambassador by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2001 -- had publicly expressed disappointment with Canada's refusal to take a military role in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
However, he said it wouldn't be a "deal-breaker" with respects to NORAD -- the join Canada-U.S. air defence network -- if Canada didn't participate in the continental missile defence plan.
"That may cause a strain, but it doesn't take away the fact that we're interconnected, dependent on each other and it's in each of our national interests to work together."
