Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman published an OpEd in today’s New York Times titled “The Moose That Roared”. Nice little article referring PM Carney ordering his negotiators to walk away from the US trade negotiators and come home to Canada. Dr Krugman (alluding to the movie where a small European Duchy declares war on the US) boldly predicts that Canada will come out ahead in this dispute and I think he’s right.

I don’t see it in comical terms; I see it in tactical terms. Allow me to explain.

On December 23, 1944, the Wehrmacht surprised the US Army and broke out by coming through the Ardennes forest and broke the US lines. The Americans were Poorly equipped for winter warfare, almost out of ammo, malpositioned to fight and facing a panzer force that was both skilled and desperate. Reputedly, PFC Martin got sick of falling back, threw his bayonet into the frozen ground and declared: “I’m the 82nd Airborne, and this is as far as the bastards are going.”

His buddies wouldn’t abandon him and they started creating a delaying position. When US tankers showed up, they stayed and before anyone knew it, the American rout had been stopped, and they ended the German advance.

That is how I saw what our PM did to the Americans. Yes, this might be painful and yes perhaps it is not the best solution based on all economic theory. But Canadians have rallied to support the PM and the US president has been given a well-deserved slap.

There is a reason that Canadian farm boys, fishermen and lumberjacks were known in two world wars as the “Storm Troops of the Empire”. The ignoramus who Americans elected twice is about to find out why.