Pentagon strafes America's allies

Being strafed by an ally is never pleasant. But U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates picked an especially bad time this week to air the Pentagon's view that some of America's staunchest allies just aren't up to the job of fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Gates delivered his unguided missile as Canadians are losing faith in a mission into which we have poured $1.2 billion in aid since 2001, and 2,500 troops. Canada has lost 77 soldiers, three times the rate of U.S. combat casualties; hundreds more have been injured. Now we have cause to wonder whether the Pentagon values our effort.

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True to character, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government took no public umbrage at these insulting comments. Defence Minister Peter MacKay was trotted out to observe feebly that Gates hadn't singled out Canada by name for criticism and to suggest his American counterpart had been misinterpreted.
:puke:

Elsewhere, the reaction was stiffer. One British parliamentarian rightly condemned Gates' comments as "bloody outrageous," and the Dutch called in the U.S. ambassador for an explanation.