Uh, Oh, Not Again...!

In putting together the details and assigning the new principals in the new U.S. administration, the ruling Democrats and their new President Barack Obama, are fully focused on the hugely troubling and waning fortunes of what is ordinarily considered to be the most wealthy nation on the planet. Yes, it's a temporary and most unfortunate downturn in the economy, but one that requires attention at the highest level.

Also uppermost on the minds of Americans is their vulnerability to attack from viciously hostile forces, most particularly since it was brought home to them through 9/11 that disaster could be delivered directly to their doorstep and even inside the nation's living room. Paranoia ran rampant and on high alert for years since 2001; since subsided to a degree, but only to a degree. No further attacks have taken place, but Americans have been warned to take nothing for granted.

Another, new head of homeland security has been appointed, to round out the new administration's focus. And through Janet Napolitano agencies and offices that are designed to report to her as the new chief have been put on further alert. To carefully and closely identify current vulnerabilities to assist in the overall strengthening of the strategy for improved border security.

Border security. That means, the coast guard, the Transportation Security Administration, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Fearful of further attacks lest their guard be permitted to lapse, border security is to be increased even more strenuously than has previously been accomplished. There are two countries bordering the U.S.; to the south, Mexico, to the north, Canada.

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, all three countries have signed on to international trade agreements that have, over the years, inextricably interwound import and export between the three countries. A further stricturing of border access can have am immense, dragging impact on trade between all countries. Since 9/11 border access has already tightened notably.

For some really peculiar reason - Americans believe, led by their media and by many of their legislators who really should know better - that what they perceive as Canada's 'porous' border admits would-be terrorists into America, and they have identified Canada and the Canada-U.S. border as a weak link in the American defence against terrorist incursion.

Facts speak otherwise, however. The al-Qaeda conspiracy to attack the financial hub of U.S. enterprise, along with the seat of government, and in the process murder thousands of Americans using their own aircraft and their own flying public as deadly missiles had no need to surreptitiously enter the United States through Canada.

They were able to enter the U.S. directly, on temporary visas. Those dedicated to the long-planned and handily-executed task had no problems entering the country directly, nor were many questions asked when they attended flight schools within the country. Despite that the CIA had prior knowledge of them, and that appropriate communication was not undertaken between that department and the FBI.

Mohammed Atta, who conspired, and succeeded in leading a tiny crew to overtake and fly an American Airlines plane into the north tower of the World Trade Center to achieve his design of martyrdom; Ziad Jarrah who piloted the United Airlines flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania, and all the others of their eleven co-conspirators who managed between them to traumatize America and send their people into oblivion, did so quite directly.

Because they could; because there was a lack of attention to oversight and intelligence, and most certainly not because of an undefended border between Canada and the United States which permitted them entry. And even though it became well enough known that none of the 9/11 jihadists had entered through Canada, even Hillary Clinton was known to repeat that canard.

In the interests of 'taking responsibility' the U.S. still looks for scapegoats, and it finds a primary one most handily, casting an ever-jaundiced security eye across the border.

The frighteningly faltering U.S. economy - which has impacted so deleteriously internationally through the so-heralded mechanism of global finance - will not be enabled to recover too speedily with the Canada-U.S. border tightening even more, as is being planned. The simple fact is there are over a million jobs in the U.S. directly related to trade with Canada.

In total, Canada exported $20.433 billion worth of goods to the U.S. while $17.349 billion worth of goods were imported in the last year, according to data derived from the U.S. Census Foreign Trade Statistics Program. Impeding the free access to trade will not help the U.S. recovery. Not only will it directly damage the interrelated production of goods used on both sides of the border, it will result in job losses on both sides as well.

And the new "Buy American" clause revealed in the U.S. stimulus bill fashioned by the Democrats and reviled by the Republicans will go a long way to offending and harming trade relations not only between Canada and the U.S. but the United States and its European trading partners. This was done before, and it lead to a severe deepening of the Great Depression.

For a new administration in the United States claiming to be committed to forging stronger and more amiable ties with its neighbours and European partners in politics, and in global trade and finance, the Obama administration is off to a sorry start.