Canada has significant forces in the war on terror in Afghanistan, fighting and dying to protect the West.  On 9-11 Canada hosted tens of thousands of marooned international airline passengers, who had to land outside the US as we sorted out what was happening on that fateful day.  Canada had a front row seat to the attacks that day.

So it is no surprise that they do not see the global war on terror, of which they are a participating member, as the war in Vietnam.  And it is no surprise that they do not equate the American draft dodgers from Vietnam with the deserters of today’s all volunteer military forces.  With their own sons and daughters in harms way on the battle, it is not a surprise that Canada today is not the haven for deserters it was during the Vietnam days – as Ed Morrissey notes today:

During the Vietnam War, Canada gave refuge to as many as 90,000 draft dodgers and thousands of deserters from the United States, treating them as immigrants and refusing extradition requests from the US government. When the Iraq War began, scores of deserters traveled across the border, expecting a similar reception. Yesterday, the Canadian government gave them a rude awakening:

Canada is set to deport in June the first of possibly hundreds of American soldiers who sought asylum to avoid military duty in Iraq, a group backing the US deserters said Wednesday.

Those deserters are clueless to how much they look like the classical Ugly Americans over this.  To think they would be welcomed as some sort of heros for their cowardly acts as the sons and daughters of the Canadians risk their lives in far lands is a sign of incredible self-absorption.  It is like having someone come unannounced into your home and decide to take over your kid’s room while raiding the kitchen for something to eat.  

As Ed says, these people will be facing a well deserved 5 year jail term for basically not keeping their word when they signed up.  No wonder the Canadians don’t want them.