War and Allies in Defence

A word of warning from University of Toronto's Irvin Studen, in an essay published in the international affairs magazine Global Brief: The geographic isolation that has kept North America immune from having to cope with battles on the home front may be coming to an end. And, claims the author, Canada's standard of relying on the proximity and good-neighbourliness of the United States in helping to protect Canadian soil from enemy advance may be relegated to the past.

According to Mr. Studin's prediction, the United States "might very well raise the threshold beyond which it would be willing to directly defend or intervene to defend Canada in the event of attack. The U.S. of this new century - for better or worse - will let many sleeping dogs lie". Well, he certainly has a right to his opinion. And obviously his opinion is based on sound research, since he is involved in critical national security and international affairs.

But sometimes the obvious eludes even the experts. And since both countries occupy the upper two-thirds of a continent with lengthy contiguous borders it will remain highly unlikely - in their own self-interest - that the United States would ever stand idly by, speculating whether Canada might or might not be capable of defending itself against a hostile attack. The U.S., after all, would naturally view an enemy of Canada as a potential enemy of the United States.

Makes sense, since we share to a great degree, like values and societal mores and judicial norms. A direct threat settling in right across the border would be guaranteed to elicit defensive action on behalf of a neighbour, by the United States. Unless they were themselves, simultaneously attacked. In which case what would occur is that both countries, and perhaps with assistance from other allies, would mount co-operative defensive manoeuvres.

The only way in which collapse could occur is from within. And there is potential for that to occur. When any country permits its society's values to be diluted to a great extent by the introduction of a foreign and entirely polarizing heritage, culture, system of law and religion, the opportunity is there for a quiet and ultimately growing rebellion. It is the infiltration of society, its civil, security, judicial, educational and religious institutions that creates the weak link.

No country is immune to this; a steady surge of shifting populations emigrating and making passage to countries with a history completely unlike that of the great numbers of migrants coming to their shores. Who are susceptible to claims by those whom they hold in authority in their communities that their imported values and cultural traditions are vastly superior to those which exist in their host countries.

And who begin to work covertly, tirelessly, for the transfer and acceptance within a culturally sensitive background to gradually see their cultural traditions and their values finding a lawful place, and like an invasive plant or aquatic or land creature introduced to a new biosphere with no existing threats to their expansion, takes possession of that biosphere through the default of out-thriving the native species.

That, quite apart from the growing threats posed by xenophobic and belligerent regimes wanting to strike first against those whom they fear pose a danger to themselves, by launching long-distance aerial strikes through continental nuclear-tipped missiles. Fodder for thought, indeed.