The Ugly Canadian
Embracing the American Empire
by Jim Miles; June 06, 2007
Review of:
Whose War Is It? How Canada Can Survive In The Post 9/11 World. By J. L. Granatstein. (Harper Collins, Toronto, Ontario, 2007.)
The 'ugly American' - arrogant, ignorant, hubristic, militaristic - has in this instance a good Canadian counterpart. Whose War Is It?, to continue the image, is one of the ugliest books I have read about foreign policy in relation to the Americans and the 'war on terror'. It is similar in style to Michael Leeden, Charles Krauthammer, and Thomas Friedman, all writers who support the transcendence of America, and the use of the military to set right the world. They all support the Orientalist approach to the declared war in that 'we' are being attacked because they dislike our democracy and licentious freedoms without any consideration given for previous American actions around the globe that have created significant 'blowback' - the major and highly unexpected one being 9/11. It is perhaps uglier from my perspective in that as a Canadian military historian, Granatstein professes those same beliefs while writing a book containing many examples of patriotic military jingoism in relation to Canada.
The book is not all bad, given some decent thinking on Canadian sovereignty in Canada's Arctic territories, and valid concerns about Canada's citizenship regulations, but those are mainly internal matters. His views on foreign affairs, the military, the 'war on terror' are just as misinformed as his American counterparts. Throughout the work, there are many underlying premises that are not fully supported. The writing style is weak (again as with Ledeen, Krauthammer, and Friedman), using unsupported and somewhat fanciful conjecture, using such technically defined approbation such as "piss on", "twaddle", and "woolly headed thinking", and assuming the general foolishness of the reading public (ignorance can be overcome with education, foolishness is simply a trait).
The book starts with a conjectural story about an earthquake in Vancouver on February 12, 2008 with the 'big one' happening at 8:08. Along with all the other local scenarios, a terror group in Toronto has been waiting for just this kind of event to release anthrax in the Toronto area. The writing is a combination of Star Wars, End of Times, and Fear Factor rolled into one, setting the scene to support his subsequent arguments. It might seem a good start for some to begin with a conjectural rant of fiction and fear, and it sets the tone for the rest of the book.
