-Caveat Lector- Date: Thursday, July 08, 1999 2:31 PM Subject: Toronto Star: `NAFTA' for military proposed - July 7, 1999 >Subject: Toronto Star: `NAFTA' for military proposed - July 7, 1999 >Exclusive >http://www.thestar.com/back_issues/ED19990707/news/990707NEW01b_FO-ARMY7.ht ml >U.S. war college report urges joint command with Canada, Mexico > >By Linda Diebel >Toronto Star Latin America Bureau > >MEXICO CITY - A United States military report advocates a joint command for >American, Mexican and Canadian forces, in the same way the three countries >are united under free trade. > >The report, by Lt.-Col. Joseph Nunez for the U.S. Army War College in >Carlisle, Pa., also suggested a North American peacekeeping force, >headquartered in the U.S., with deputy commander positions rotating between >Canada and Mexico. > >``Moving from bilateral arrangements to a (military) organization that >reflects regional economic and security concerns is a better strategy, >particularly considering our burgeoning trade through NAFTA (North American >Free Trade Agreement) and the growing threat of terrorism that can >penetrate through our borders,'' the report said. > >The war college study is the first to publicly advocate the sensitive issue >of integrated military command - a matter of sovereignty in Canada and >Mexico, as well as countries throughout the hemisphere. > >Such a command would co-ordinate military action on terrorism, insurgency, >security threats and drug trafficking. >---------- >`It's an important issue and it's time to take a good, hard look at how we >currently operate. If we fail to change our current strategy, the country >could become less stable . . . . ' >- Lt.-Col. Joseph Nunez, >for the U.S. Army War College >---------- >Nunez said the joint command would replace, for example, NORAD (the North >American Aerospace Defence command) which ``is getting pretty out-of-date >when it comes to drugs, terrorism and other threats.'' > >``The U.S. does not have the kind of working arrangement with Canada and >Mexico that it should.'' > >Nunez admitted the proposed unified command ``may be a U.S. defence >arrangement, but a lot of things would evolve to the benefit of Canada and >Mexico - that would be my hope.'' > >Most major initiatives in Canada in recent years - from free trade with the >United States to the ongoing initiative of a hemisphere-wide economic pact >- began with reports from think-tanks or academia. > >The report comes during debate over other controversial free-trade issues, >such as whether Canada should adopt the U.S. dollar as advocated in a >recent report by the C.D. Howe Institute, a conservative think-tank in >Toronto. > >---------- >`A lot of the geographic considerations are a bit out-of-date' > >---------- > >Canadian nationalists have seen free trade as the tip of an iceberg that >put Canada at risk in other areas, from culture to monetary policy. > >``A lot of the geographic considerations are a bit out-of-date and do not >reflect current realities,'' Nunez, 43, a former West Point instructor, >told The Star yesterday. > >He said his report, which carries a stamp saying it does not necessarily >reflect the views of the U.S. Defence Department, has garnered a lot of >attention in recent days. > >The war college has received requests for copies from the Canadian and >Mexican governments, as well as several U.S. government departments, >including state and defence. > >``It's an important issue and it's time to take a good, hard look at how we >currently operate,'' he said. > >In Ottawa yesterday, Lt.-Cmdr. Denise Laviolette, defence department >spokesperson, said she had never heard of the study, adding it was not an >ongoing concern of the Canadian Forces. > >She added the report would carry more weight if it had come from the >Pentagon, rather than the war college, a teaching institute that focuses on >strategic perspectives. > >Nunez, a 22-year army veteran, said a joint North American command would >expand as free trade involved more countries in the hemisphere. If, for >example, the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas becomes reality, the >military command would stretch from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. > >Asked whether he foresaw the joint command leading to an integrated armed >force, with everyone marching under one flag, Nunez said: ``I see it >growing, with all of the change and integration of new ideas . . . what it >achieves depends on the types of missions it is assigned.'' > > >---------- >`It's time to take a good, hard look at how we currently operate' > >---------- > >The report has created a stir in Mexico since it was published by the >Mexico City daily, El Financiero. > >Nunez' report is called ``A New United States Strategy for Mexico,'' and >details current revolutionary movements in Mexico and the threat to U.S. >national interests here. > >``If we fail to change our current strategy, the country could become less >stable, thus jeopardizing the viability of NAFTA and the Free Trade Area of >the Americas,'' it said. > >Nunez said yesterday a joint peacekeeping force could be deployed wherever >it was needed, ``without people thinking the United States - or any other >country - was trying to influence things too much.'' > >U.S. intervention is a touchy subject in Latin America. Because of the >history of U.S. involvement in the region, any kind of military >co-operation, or shared duties with the U.S., is viewed with suspicion. > >Whenever the Mexican government approves joint manoeuvres with the U.S., >for example, there is a storm of opposition and media criticism. > >Recently, the U.S. has been criticized for taking a stronger military role >in Latin America after an apparent cooling-off period. > >In his report, Nunez said a new North American peacekeeping force - which >might be funded 60 per cent by the U.S., 25 per cent by Canada and 15 per >cent by Mexico - would be used for everything from human rights work to >hurricane disaster relief. > >Sincerely, >David E. Parsons >Denver, CO > >Home Page >http://members.tripod.com/~DAVIDPARSONS/index.html > >ICQ# 7869261 >ICQ - World's Largest Internet Online Communication Network >http://www.mirabilis.com/ > >Watch the UN rag burn! >http://azwest.net/user/slim > >Do you remember what William Wallace said to the rag-tag army that gathered >the first time, in the first battle scene in the movie, Braveheart? He said >this when the army began to retreat: > >"Sons of Scotland, I am William Wallace and I see a whole army of my >countrymen here in defiance of tyranny. You have come to fight as free men >and free men you are. What will you do without freedom? Will you fight?" > >One of the men said, "Fight, against that? No, we will run and we will live." > >To which Wallace replied: "Aye, fight and you may die, run and you'll live, >at least awhile. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be >willing to trade all the days from this day to that, for one chance, just >one chance to come b ack here and tell our enemies that they may take our >lives but they'll never take our freedom?" > >---------- >eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/texas_net >www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications > > DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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