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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: abuelita who wrote (8396)	3/1/2005 9:16:15 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 361512

Not a bad idea, eh? Maybe my state leg will do the same, and she will stay out of California :-) Rice feels burned over missile issue: official CTV.ca News Staff Displeasure with Canada's decision to opt out of the U.S. missile defence program is indeed why Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice deferred a visit to Canada, says a Bush administration official. That official spoke to The Associated Press in London on Tuesday on condition of anonymity. Rice met briefly with Pierre Pettigrew, Canada's foreign affairs minister, in London on Tuesday. They discussed the issue. The two were attending a one-day summit on helping the Palestinians. CTV News reported Monday that Rice postponed a planned visit to Ottawa in mid-April because she was displeased by Canada's decision. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli took a softer line on Tuesday, saying there's still discussion going on about the timing of the meeting, and that "it'll happen when the stars are all aligned in the right way." CTV's Tom Clark said that's just "diplomatic speak." Clark said while the Americans were upset and a little astonished about Canada's decision to opt out of the program, what annoyed the Americans the most was the way the decision was made. Prime Minister Paul Martin and other cabinet minister have been sending public signals for months suggesting Ottawa was going to participate in the program, Clark said. "I think our sovereignty depends on our being at the table when discussions are taking place about the defence of North America," Martin said about a year-and-a-half ago. Then last fall, Defence Minister Bill Graham made statements indicating it would be a serious mistake for the government not to be at the table with the Americans on the issue of missile defence. Even Canada's new ambassador to the United States, Frank McKenna, said Canada was already participating in the U.S. missile defence program through Norad. But on Thursday, Martin announced: "BMD is not where we will concentrate our efforts. Instead, we will act both alone and with our neighbours on defence priorities outlined in (the) budget." "Bush felt blind-sided by that. There was no phone call in advance, there was no way of managing the message. It's the way the message was delivered," Clark said. Rice's planned visit to Canada's capital was supposed to be a follow-up trip to another meeting. The White House has confirmed with CTV News that there will be a summit between Martin, U.S. President George Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox in Mexico City on March 23. But with no follow-up, says Clark, "it begs the question: how seriously are Canada's concerns going to be taken at that summit? "Bush is very frustrated with Canada and the way Canadians are making their decisions, about everything from Iraq to missile defence," says Clark, adding that consequences of Martin's decision could impact trade areas such as softwood lumber. This wasn't the first time that Canada has angered the U.S. in recent years. Two years ago, then prime minister Jean Chretien decided Canada would not join the American-led coalition to invade Iraq. Bush promptly reacted by cancelling a visit to Ottawa, saying he was too busy with the war in Iraq to address a planned joint session of parliament in May, 2003. With a report from CTV's Tom Clark and files from The Canadian and Associated Press ctv.ca