Our World

Gun Boats on the Great Lakes

I have just finished reading a very interesting article that relates to what we have been talking about in class. It has to do with the border between Canada and the United States. Earlier this year, the US Coast Guard started training on the Great Lakes with machine guns on small boats. This is starting to worry Canadians.

The United States started this practice because of the events on September 11th. We think that we need to control this border more. In this article, it said that the weapons are there to secure nuclear power plants, security zones, and missions that need to be conducted. The Canadians are upset because they think that this is violating a treaty that both the US and Canada signed after the War of 1812. The they also both signed an agreement in 2003 that said it was okay to have armed boats on the Great Lakes, as long as we didn't invade Canadian waters.

As I was reading this, I could see both sides of this situation very clearly. I agree that we need to defend these borders more in case of terroristic threats, but I also can see how and why Canada would be worried. What do you think? Do you think that the United States should continue training on and guarding the Great Lakes?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/09/28/armed.boats.ap/index.html?section=cnn_topstories

posted by Anonymous @ 10/04/2006 07:31:00 PM