WASHINGTON — Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Friday said he believed some of the 9/11 hijackers entered the United States from Canada, triggering a new round of frustration and anger among Canadian government officials only days after a similar remark by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
McCain, an Arizona senator who has championed free trade ties with Canada, told Fox News Napolitano was accurate when she suggested the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington crossed into the U.S. across the Canadian border.
"Well, some of the 9/11 hijackers did come through Canada, as you know," McCain said when asked if he was worried Napolitano was misinformed.
The comment prompted the Canadian embassy in Washington to contact McCain's office to set the record straight — as it did with the homeland security secretary earlier in the week.
"We did ask the Senator to correct his comments at the earliest opportunity," said one embassy official.
When told of McCain's remark, Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty expressed exasperation at the persistence of the 9/11 myth despite years of efforts by Canada to inform U.S. lawmakers it is not true.
"It is unfortunate that what is a statement that is not true is repeated from time to time. It's just factually wrong," said Flaherty, who was in Washington for meetings of the G7 and G20 finance ministers.
"The secretary (Napolitano) the other day made clear she was mistaken when she said the same thing. So I would hope people wouldn't want to make statements that are inaccurate so we don't hear much of that anymore."
Napolitano, a former Arizona governor, has faced calls for her resignation from some Republican lawmakers for a series of recent gaffes as the new head of Homeland Security.
On Friday, Napolitano apologized to the American legion — the nation's largest veterans group — for a departmental report earlier this month that warned veterans returning home from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could be recruited to right-wing extremist groups.
She was subject to a public rebuke on Wednesday by Canadian ambassador Michael Wilson for the 9/11 reference, but also for telling an interviewer: "To the extent that terrorists have come into our country, or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it's been across the Canadian border."
She has also rankled Canadian officials by suggesting there be "parity" in security measures along America's northern and southern borders, despite vastly higher levels of illegal immigration from Mexico and the deadly drug war raging along the Mexico-U.S. border.
On that front, McCain rose to Canada's defence — saying the security conditions on the Canadian and Mexican borders with the U.S. could not be compared.
"The difference, obviously, is, with all due respect to the Mexicans, there's not corruption on our northern border," McCain said. "And, unfortunately, there is significant corruption, great corruption and drug cartels on our southern border."
Ottawa has been forced repeatedly in the years since 9/11 to combat the belief at the most senior levels of the U.S. government that the terrorists had a Canadian connection — even though several investigations into the attacks showed all 19 hijackers were in the U.S. legally and had arrived at airports from other countries of origin.
That a senator who could have been U.S. president still thinks the 9/11attackers came from Canada startled embassy officials.
The belief stems largely from erroneous reports in several U.S. newspapers in the days immediately following the attacks.
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