CHRETIEN UPDATE: Tom Nichols of the U.S. Naval War College writes:

To be sure, Americans are used to hearing this kind of bloviation from European intellectuals, but Canada was once a country that could boast common sense among its many virtues. In fairness, Chretien’s foolishness has drawn fire from some Canadian politicians on the right, including former prime minister Brian Mulroney, who called his successor’s comments “false, shocking and morally specious,” and “dangerous intellectual nonsense.” Canada’s National Post was even more blunt, asking: “did Jean Chretien have to choose the subject of Sept. 11 as an opportunity to make a Royal Canadian ass of himself?” Still, too many Canadians are drawn to Chretien’s attempts at neo-appeasement, indulging in a reflexive anti-Americanism that takes as an article of faith that the downtrodden of the world hate the United States because they have every reason to. . . .

Given Chretien’s inane comments prior to the meeting, Bush can hardly be faulted for not trying to lay out a case to his Canadian colleague. Indeed, given the lack of substance in their meeting and the clear Canadian aversion to shouldering the burden of the fight against terror — an aversion, by the way, that does not seem to be shared by the brave and able men and women of the Canadian armed forces — September 2002 might well be the date affixed by future historians to Canada’s last days as a world power.

Yes, it’s hard to take statements like Chretien’s — or the government that issues them — seriously.