As if there wasn't enough of Janet Napolitano's flak from last weeks DHS report still sparking political debate and pundit material, Napolitano managed to aggravate Canadians and their diplomats by bringing up the Canadian border myth, and myth is what it is. Yet Napolitano doesn't weigh her words before she speaks. The comments Napolitano makes are of the caliber of Joe Biden. They have to learn that being in the position levels they now have, they can't get away with the cheap political blab that most of us can get away with on a daily basis. In fact, Napolitano and Biden are simply careless.
Here's the most recent problem caused by Napolitano when she said in an interview that 'terrorists have routinely entered the U.S. by way of the Canadian-U.S. border'. This is absolute nonsense, and the 9-11 Commission did its best to dispel that cultural myth.
Michael Wilson, the Ambassador to the U.S., is someone known for being very calm and reserved. Yet upon hearing of Napolitano's careless comment, he said at the Border Trade Alliance meeting in Washington, the following as reported by CNS: "Unfortunately, misconceptions arise on something as fundamental as where the 9-11 terrorists came from," he went on to say,"As the 9-11 commission reported in 2004, all of the 9-11 terrorists arrived in the United States from outside North America. They flew to major U.S. airports. They entered the U.S. with documents issued by the United States government and no 9-11 terrorists came from Canada." end quote~
Napolitano is getting a reputation for not fully apologizing when she makes a snafu. Her latest apology to Canada had a big BUT in it. As Napolitano reassured Canadians she understood that the 9-11 terrorists had not entered the U.S. via Canada, she had to add: "There are other instances, however, when suspected terrorists have attempted to enter our country from Canada to the United States."
After all this seemed to be finally settled, what does Napolitano say? "The fact of the matter is that Canada allows people into its country that we do not allow into ours," she told a Canadian participant who asked her to explain why the Canada and Mexico borders should be treated equally. "That's why you have to have a border and you have to have border policies that make sense."
Big Mouth
Ambassador Wilson is accepting her "apology" for now, but does want a face-to-face meeting with her very soon.
It seems we are doing our best to extend our hand to "enemies" while lambasting our own citizens as radical terrorists, while insulting old allies.
