U.S.-Canada Military Plan Could Place Troops in Each Other’s Country

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.progressive.org/mag/wx111708.html

The militaries of the United States and Canada are wrapping up a seven-day exercise called “Vigilant Shield” on Tuesday. This marks the continuation of an ever-closer relationship between the two.

For instance, did you know that the United States military could go into Canada in times of emergency? And the Canadian military could go into the United States?

This extraordinary fact appears in a joint document of the U.S. Northern Command and the Canada Command. (The Pentagon established NorthCom in October 2002, and the Canadian military established the Canada Command in June 2005.)

The document is entitled “Canada-US Civil Assistance Plan,” and it is dated February 14, 2008.

David Pugliese of the Ottawa Citizen broke the story about this plan at the time, but it received little attention in the United States.

“The purpose of the Canada-United States Civil Assistance Plan (CAP) is to provide a framework for the military of one nation to provide support to the military of the other nation in the performance of civil support operations (e.g., floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and effects of a terrorist attack).” This framework is designed “to save lives, prevent human suffering, and mitigate damage to property,” the plan says.

The plan anticipates scenarios for using for using violence. “Opposing forces are not expected during the conduct of operations described in this plan,” it says. “However . . . commanders should consider the following Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection issues: (1) Terrorists organizations could conduct operations against the Canadian or US force, or in the civil support operations area; (2) State/provincial and local police capabilities could be severely degraded in the area of operations, allowing a corresponding rise in criminal activity that could affect the Canadian or US force; and (3) Environmental factors ranging from weather to contamination and disease could significantly affect the Canadian or US forces.”

[Subdivisions]

1. Three words...

North American Union.

http://www.spp.gov/