COLD FRONT BARRELS NORTH TO INVADE CANADIAN BORDER

For once, let's hear it for the good guys. If every country in the
world fought terrorism as aggressively as the USA and Great Britain,
the truly bad guys would be beaten down, perhaps forever.

But hoping that the nations of the world will respond cohesively to
the savagery and potential mass destruction of modern terror is a lost
cause. We live in a world of denial and self-interest. You have as
much chance of finding the Wizard of Oz as you do persuading some
timid and misguided countries to join the fight against the
Islama-fascists.

Even countries like Canada are no longer dependable allies. According
to a Maclean's poll, 38 percent of Canadians say their attitude toward
the USA has worsened since Sept. 11. Almost half of our friends to the
north see America as arrogant, bullying or dangerous.

The Bush administration's non-compromising stance in Iraq and
insistence that terror-enabling states be confronted have put off many
foreigners who embrace a far more passive approach toward terrorism.
But the Canadian situation exemplifies what is truly going.

Over the past two decades, Canada has become committed to secularism
and government entitlements. Subsidized medical care,
decriminalization of marijuana, gay marriage, extensive welfare for
newly arrived immigrants and an aggressively liberal Canadian
Broadcasting Company have all become part of the culture. The eastern
Canadian press is especially anti-American and delights in hammering
their more traditional American neighbors. Now, however, our Canadian
ally has a serious situation on its hands.

Last January, Army Pvt. Jeremy Hinzman deserted from 82nd Airborne
Division and fled to Canada. In March, he was followed by another 82nd
Airborne private, Brandon Hughey. Both voluntarily enlisted in the
U.S. military and split after their unit was ordered to Iraq. They
have been granted temporary residence in Canada, and hearings will be
held on their cases this summer.

Here's the salt in the wound: The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC)
and the Toronto Globe and Mail have reported on the deserters and put
them in a sympathetic light. The CBC reporter, Gillian Findlay, said
Hughey wanted no part of "George Bush's war." Her words, not Hughey's.

Canada has an extradition treaty with the USA, and its law says that
political asylum can only be granted to those who could be executed or
persecuted if returned to their home countries. Since Iraq is not a
declared war, Hinzman and Hughey cannot be executed and, if returned
to the United States, they would most likely face five years in prison.

Most Canadian observers believe the two will be extradited to the USA,
but if they are not, a serious situation will erupt. A country
harboring deserters would undermine the U.S. war on terror and
demonstrate outright hostility toward America.

These deserters should have been detained and their cases quickly
heard. Instead they have Web sites, media sympathy and a forum in
which to bash their country. This circus is insulting to America, and
especially to those American soldiers who have lost their lives
fighting terrorists and supporters of the brutal dictators Mullah Omar
and Saddam Hussein.

On my television program I have advised the Canadian government that
if the deserters are not returned post-haste, I will no longer buy
Canadian products or visit the country. I believe many Americans will
take the same stance.

A true friend does not hurt you even if he or she disagrees with
something you do. Canada may reject the Iraq strategy, and we respect
its dissent. But actively undermining the U.S. military is quite
something else. Ottawa should best remember that cold fronts can
originate from the south as well.