North American Military Agreement Signed by US
and Canada
by Jim Kouri, NewsWithViews, March 11, 2008
NORTHCOM logo
While
Americans are being bombarded with large doses
of presidential primary news coverage, the US
entered into an agreement with its northern
neighbor that may have an impact on future
internal military action.
In a political move that received little if any
attention by the American news media, the United
States and Canada
entered into a military agreement on
February 14, 2008, allowing the armed forces
from one nation to support the armed forces of
the other nation during a domestic civil
emergency, even one that does not involve a
cross-border crisis, according to a police
commander involved in homeland security planning
and implementation.
It is an initiative of the Bi-National Planning
Group whose final report, issued in June 2006,
called for the creation of a "Comprehensive
Defense and Security Agreement," or a
"continental approach" to Canada-US defense and
security.
The law enforcement executive told
Newswithviews.com that the agreement -- defined
as a Civil Assistance Plan -- was not submitted
to Congress for debate and approval, nor did
Congress pass any law or treaty specifically
authorizing this military agreement to combine
the operations of the armed forces of the United
States and Canada in the event of domestic civil
disturbances ranging from violent storms, to
health epidemics, to civil riots or terrorist
attacks.
"This is a military plan that's designed to
bypass the Posse Comitatus Act that
traditionally prohibited the US military from
operating within the borders of the United
States. Not only will American soldiers be
deployed at the discretion of whomever is
sitting in the Oval Office, but foreign soldiers
will also be deployed in American cities," warns
Lt. Steven Rodgers, commander of the Nutley, NJ
Police Department's detective bureau.
In Canada
the agreement paving the way for the
militaries of the US and Canada to cross each
other's borders to fight domestic emergencies
was not announced either by Prime Minister
Harper's administration or the Canadian
military. The agreement met with protests and
demonstrations by Canadians opposed to such
treaties with the US.
"It's kind of a trend when it comes to issues of
Canada-US relations and contentious issues like
military integration," claims Stuart Trew, a
researcher with the
Council of
Canadians.
"We see that this government is reluctant to
disclose information to Canadians that is
readily available on American and Mexican
websites," he said in a press statement.
The
military Civil Assistance Plan is seen by
critics as a further incremental step toward
creating a North American armed forces available
to be deployed in domestic North American
emergency situations. According to the NORTHCOM
press release, the plan "allows the military
from one nation to support the armed forces of
the other nation during a civil emergency."
NORTHCOM (This pictures was not included in the
original article, editor's note)
The agreement was signed at US Army North
headquarters, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, by US Air
Force General Gene Renuart, commander of NORAD
and US Northern Command, or USNORTHCOM, and by
Canadian Air Force Lt. General Marc Dumais,
commander of Canada Command.
"This document is a unique, bilateral military
plan to align our respective national military
plans to respond quickly to the other nation's
requests for military support of civil
authorities," Renuart said in a statement
published on the USNORTHCOM website.
Lt. Gen. Dumais seconded Renuart's sentiments,
stating, "The signing of this plan is an
important symbol of the already strong working
relationship between Canada Command and U.S.
Northern Command."
"Our commands were created by our respective
governments to respond to the defense and
security challenges of the twenty-first
century," he stressed, "and we both realize that
these and other challenges are best met through
cooperation between friends."
"It's hard to believe that Americans and
Canadians will go along with this agreement,"
opines conservative strategist Michael Baker.
"That's why [there's] all this secrecy. Has
anyone heard Clinton, Obama or McCain complain
about this significant policy shift? All three
of these presidential hopefuls are in the US
Senate, yet not a peep from them about a foreign
army being called to 'police' US neighborhoods
under the guise of an 'emergency,'" he said.
The
statement on the USNORTHCOM website
emphasized that the plan recognizes the role of
each nation's lead federal agency for emergency
preparedness, which in the United States is the
Department of Homeland Security and in Canada is
Public Safety Canada.
The US Northern Command was established on
October 1, 2002, as a military command tasked
with anticipating and conducting homeland
defense and civil support operations where US
armed forces are used in domestic emergencies.
Meanwhile, the Canada Command was established on
February 1, 2006, to focus on domestic
operations and offer a single point of contact
for all domestic and continental defense and
securities partners.
While Americans are being kept in the dark about
this treaty, Canadian citizens are being totally
ignored by their government. The extent of
military integration called for by the BNP is
unprecedented and has received absolutely no
public debate in the House of Commons. If they
wish to read about the details of this military
agreement, Canadians must go to the Northern
Command website to see any
evidence of
the new agreement.
"Once the Canadian people discover they can be
[legally invaded] by US troops, they will take
to the streets and protest and use the very
effective weapon of civil disobedience.
Canadians will not stand for occupation by a
foreign army same as Americans won't," said
conservative columnist and commentator Rachel
Marsden.
"I'm surprised that the Canadian people haven't
already displayed their opposition to such a
treaty. Economics is one thing, but military use
of force is quite another. We have our own
police, security and military forces, thank you.
We don't been Americans coming into Canada with
weapons," she said. "And Americans don't need
Canadian soldiers.
Wes Penre is a
researcher, journalist, the owner of the domains
Illuminati News
and
Zionist Watch and is the publisher of the
same. He has been researching Globalization and the New World
Order and exposed the big players behind the scenes for more
than a decade now. He has published his research on the Internet
at the above domains, which are currently updated to keep people
informed what is going on. You can also find his articles linked
up, discussed and republished all over the Internet.
This
page may contain copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been
specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available in my efforts to advance understanding of environmental,
political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice
issues, etc. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted
material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In
accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.