Checkpoint America?

I find it interesting that the current militarization of the U.S/Canadian border is viewed by many Canadians as a post 9-11 phenomenon and that it is still characterized by Canadian officials and the media as the “longest undefended border in the world.” This is evident in the general reaction to the stationing of Predator drones along the border in 2009 in what many saw as a challenge to the border's distinction as being undefended. Most people tend to think of a militarized border as a border divided by razor wire and concrete walls, defended by soldiers armed with military grade weaponry. However, just because the 49^th parallel doesn’t resemble the 38^th parallel, doesn’t mean that the U.S/Canadian border has always been open and undefended. The numerous cross border agreements between the two countries concerning everything from security and trade to intelligence sharing and the militarization of customs officials on the U.S side (U.S. Customs agents are armed as well as any militarized urban American police force) were all in place prior to 9-11. Moreover, the U.S. Coast Guard has always patrolled the waterways between the two countries and despite the flap over the use of live ammunition during training exercise’s, their ships have always been armed. Hence, our border with the U.S. has always been defended and our security apparatuses have always worked together to a certain degree. 9-11 only brought these realities into focus.