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From the Editor

Canadian U.S. ambassador tries to nuke Newt

by Judi McLeod
Thursday, april 21, 2005

You'd think new kid on the block, Canadian ambassador to the United Nations Frank McKenna, would want to keep his head down until the smoke clears on oil-for-food allegations against some of his closest his ivy-league cronies.

It was only on Wednesday when McKenna's fellow Canada Privy Council colleague Maurice Strong was offering to suspend his service as Kofi annan's special Korean envoy until investigators check out his relationship to "Koreagate Man" Tongsun Park.

On the same day, McKenna went into fax overdrive, rushing a tell-off letter, to the attention of prominent U.S. conservative Newt Gingrich.

No way Gingrich was going to get away with citing Canada as a passing ground for terrorists enroute to Uncle Sam, as far as the on-the-ball McKenna was concerned.

Take that, Newt.

There's no fiercer sanctimony when one politician finds himself in a position where he can tell off another one --on official letterhead.

Gingrich, whose name is bandied about as a could-be candidate for the 2008 presidency had seemingly antagonized McKenna, a former New Brunswick premier, by stating on Fox News that "far more of the 9/11 terrorists came across Canada than from Mexico."

Canada's newly appointed ambassador to the UN was requesting a retraction.

He "deeply regrets the error," said spokesman Rick Tyler.

For certain, Gingrich apologized a good deal more quickly than did McKenna when the about to be appointed ambassador incorrectly stated that Canada was already participating in the U.S. missile defence program. This boo-boo made came hours before boss man Prime Minister Paul Martin got around to straightening out his latest blooper.

"I believe that we've given in large measure what the americans want, which is the ability to use NORaD and their intercept information in order to target weaponry," said McKenna in the opening chapters of his diplomatic posting.

Easy to see how mistakes happen in political circles. Only 16 months before, Martin who rejected Canadian participation in the U.S. missile program, was signaling the opposite during the Liberal leadership race.

Switching horses midstream is enshrined in the Liberal Red Book, and no one should know that better than Frank McKenna, another Liberal.

In going after Gingrich's head, McKenna claimed the former Republican speaker in the U.S. House of Representatives was perpetuating an urban legend that could take on a life of its own.

"Canadians and americans are great friends and great friends can tell it like it is," the ambassador wrote in his letter.

Like many Canadian Liberals, McKenna seems to think that claiming to be someone's friend goes a long way in cementing the friendship.

Until taking up his Washington post, McKenna was a corporate Pooh-Bah with ties to Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., the company that brokered the release of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911 for Canadian viewing days before the June 28, 2003 Canadian federal election.

Three days before the election, Moore came out with comments equating Progressive Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper with President George W. Bush, and pleaded with Canadians to stop Harper from being elected.

It was a mission never accomplished, as Canadians impervious to Moore's 11th-hour advice, left the Martin-led Liberals in humiliating minority status.

a definite player in the Old Boys' Network, McKenna is not merely connected to UN officials under oil-for-food investigation by sheer virtue of his new job.

Before going diplomat, McKenna's portfolio included a bevy of corporate boards with Strong and Montreal-based Power Corporation Inc. heavy Paul Desmarais, whose ties to Saddam Hussein's favourite bank brought him into the investigation net.

Shooting from the lip may be kosher for small-time provincial politicians, but it's the proverbial stiff upper one that McKenna's going to need as a Manhattan diplomat.

Meanwhile, scandals at the UN will long outlast tell-off letters sent out on the impressive letterhead of the newest kid on the block.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


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