Canada, U.S. agree to share troops in civil emergencies

[Widow]

Canada, U.S. agree to share troops in civil emergencies
David Pugliese, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, February 22, 2008


Canada and the U.S. have signed an agreement that paves the way for the militaries from either nation to send troops across each other's borders during an emergency, but some are questioning why the Harper government has kept silent on the deal.

Neither the Canadian government nor the Canadian Forces announced the new agreement, which was signed Feb. 14 in Texas.

The U.S. military's Northern Command, however, publicized the agreement with a statement outlining how its top officer, Gen. Gene Renuart, and Canadian Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais, head of Canada Command, signed the plan, which allows the military from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a civil emergency.

The new agreement has been greeted with suspicion by the left wing in Canada and the right wing in the U.S.

The left-leaning Council of Canadians, which is campaigning against what it calls the increasing integration of the U.S. and Canadian militaries, is raising concerns about the deal.

"It's kind of a trend when it comes to issues of Canada-U.S. relations and contentious issues like military integration. We see that this government is reluctant to disclose information to Canadians that is readily available on American and Mexican websites," said Stuart Trew, a researcher with the Council of Canadians.

Trew said there is potential for the agreement to militarize civilian responses to emergency incidents. He noted that work is also underway for the two nations to put in place a joint plan to protect common infrastructure such as roadways and oil pipelines.

"Are we going to see [U.S.] troops on our soil for minor potential threats to a pipeline or a road?" he asked.

Trew also noted the U.S. military does not allow its soldiers to operate under foreign command so there are questions about who controls American forces if they are requested for service in Canada. "We don't know the answers because the government doesn't want to even announce the plan," he said.

But Canada Command spokesman Commander David Scanlon said it will be up to civilian authorities in both countries on whether military assistance is requested or even used.

He said the agreement is "benign" and simply sets the stage for military-to-military co-operation if the governments approve.

"But there's no agreement to allow troops to come in," he said. "It facilitates planning and co-ordination between the two militaries. The ‘allow' piece is entirely up to the two governments."

If U.S. forces were to come into Canada they would be under tactical control of the Canadian Forces but still under the command of the U.S. military, Scanlon added.

News of the deal, and the allegation it was kept secret in Canada, is already making the rounds on left-wing blogs and Internet sites as an example of the dangers of the growing integration between the two militaries.

On right-wing blogs in the U.S., it is being used as evidence of a plan for a "North American union" where foreign troops, not bound by U.S. laws, could be used by the American federal government to override local authorities.

"Co-operative militaries on Home Soil!" notes one Web site. "The next time your town has a ‘national emergency,' don't be surprised if Canadian soldiers respond. And remember -- Canadian military aren't bound by posse comitatus."

Posse comitatus is a U.S. law that prohibits the use of federal troops from conducting law enforcement duties on domestic soil unless approved by Congress.

Scanlon said there was no intent to keep the agreement secret on the Canadian side of the border. He noted it will be reported on in the Canadian Forces newspaper next week and that publication will be put on the Internet.

Scanlon said the actual agreement hasn't been released to the public as that requires approval from both nations. That decision has not yet been taken, he added.

Ottawa Citizen

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada ... ?id=327869

[CD]

Hmmmmm... life imitating art again?

H2O: The Last Prime Minister

[LH]

This definitely is serious. Canadians have a habit of supposedly 'helping' Americans anyway and own 55 of their Medals of honor for bravery since it's inception. The Americans also own a number of Victoria Crosses for gallantry also. Why even the Commissioner of the RCMP at one time was the nephew of the President of the USA. There's also the 160,000 Canadians who fought in the Vietnam War for them and it was to one of them that the last Medal of Honor was awarded. We should also be nervous of the 650 American born Members of the RCMP also because they could be considered a possible 'Fifth Column' in a take-over of Canada by the USA. There might be a problem with all this though becaue 160+ members of the present day US Armed Forces are Canadian. No, not Americans that were Canadian born, but still 100% pure Canadian now serving in all Services of the US Armed Forces. Ooops, even more serious,,,,,,,I almost forgot to mention the 4,000,000+ people who call both Canada AND the US their home because their blood ties run deep in both countries.

This all better be watched very closely and one would think that CSIS would be on alert now.

[Nark]

Awsome, a free trip to Canada.

[WJflyer]

This agreement is many years old. It is merely a renewal of the agreement that allows either side to ask for additional help if needed. Both the US and Canada have requested and been granted additional help from each other.

[mellow_pilot]

mutual aid doesn't always work, a restaurant in NY burnt to the ground cause the canadian firefighters (who were the closest) got stopped at the border cause they didn't have passports...

[ottawa,kan]

Since when is NATO a secret??? Who's more North Atlantic than you all??

[LH]

An oft quoted statement from an American Army General during the Vietnam War......"Thank you Canada for all your help, You sent us your very best and in return we sent you our worst". So settle down and don't get your panties in a knot because nothing untoward is going to happen. There's no book out there entitled "The Number of Times Canadians Have Cut and Run From a Fight".

[Wilbur]

Much ado about nothing, except in the minds of the anti-everything left wing Canadian paranoids, and the anti-everybody right wing American nutjobs. The two groups should get together. It would be a marrigage made in heaven. Continual telling of conspiracy tales, and a relationship built on suspicion.

[Hedley]

No one has any problem with the common soldier.

It's the politician ordering him that makes everyone nervous.

One a scale of 1 to 10, rank the performance of the US
political leadership during the Vietnam war.

Wilbur ridicules us for not trusting politicians. I guess he
has never heard of Brian Mulroney (Airbus bribes/Schreiber)
or Jean Cretin (Shawinigate, Quebec Sponsorship Scandal).

I really want to know, Wilbur. Have you never heard of
any of the above, are you in childish denial of them, or
are you smoking crack?

If I were an American, I too would be alarmed about
foreign troops in my country, being commanded by
the unsavoury ilk of Mulroney and Cretin.

[LH]

Hedley ------there already are American troops in Canada and have been for eons. There are already Canadian troops in the US military and have been since their Civil War and the largest Division of the US Army now has a 2nd-in-command who is a born, bred, and Canadian military trained General. We won't even go into detail about the 160+ Canadian nationals of the US Army now serving in Iraq nor the 650 American-born Members of the RCMP that exist at present. If you were going to get worried about all this or if some American was to do the same, then you both should have been worried a very, very long time ago because you've both 'missed the boat' badly. I say that because at one time not long ago the Captain of Air Force One was a Canadian from Hamilton, Ont, or when the National Security Adviser to the President was a Polish Canadian. I'll also remind you of the Canadian Presidential speechwriter who was the son of a well-known CBC personality.

[Hedley]

LH: have you always had difficulty with reading comprehension?

[Widow]

I simply do not like the way the US of A treats Canada, seeing as we are the closest neighbour and ally.

Remember the DEW Line?

[Wilbur]

Hedley, before, during, and beyond the Vietnam war era, US Airforce personnel were stationed in Canada and in control of the nuclear weapons we had. The evil doing US political leaders didn't nuke us and take over the government, even when that Castro loving Trudeauski was socializing Canada right in the US's own back yard. Our military's cross the border both ways on a daily basis, have hundreds of people stationed in the other country, use each other's training facilities, engage in joint training, attend beer calls, etc, etc. The deputy commander of that US Division LH mentioned isn't merely a Canadian trained officer, he is a CF General on exchange. Not that many years ago a Canadian warship steamed into a Florida port to assist, as a comletely autonomous foriegn military unit, with hurricane relief. Under NORAD, both country's have fighters patrolling and defending each other's airspace. It goes on and on.

[LH]

Hedley ----- no comprehension problem at all and now we'll address your concerns about each country's politicians. I won't even help you on this one because it's time you and others learned it yourselves. Take a little time and research how many political leaders on both sides of the 49th Parallel have marriage partners from the opposite side of the 49th. How many Govenors of how many States are Canadian born, educated, raised and bred? How many speech writers for American Presidents have been 100% Canadian when they were doing that writing? How many National Security Advisors and members of how many Cabinets have been Canadian born and raised. How many Commissioner's of the RCMP have been American born? My own present-day Premier has an American born and raised wife. So Hedley, if one country is going to invade or take over the other, they've both got some servere problems to deal with first, don't you think.......as in a very large and potential 'Fifth Column'. Lastly, if you are from Ontario, you have an American Mayor of one of your closest American cities and an American Govenor of one of your closest States who were both born and raised just over the border on Ontario.

[Sheila]

Hedley ----- no comprehension problem at all and now we'll address your concerns about each country's politicians. I won't even help you on this one because it's time you and others learned it yourselves. Take a little time and research how many political leaders on both sides of the 49th Parallel have marriage partners from the opposite side of the 49th. How many Govenors of how many States are Canadian born, educated, raised and bred? How many speech writers for American Presidents have been 100% Canadian when they were doing that writing? How many National Security Advisors and members of how many Cabinets have been Canadian born and raised. How many Commissioner's of the RCMP have been American born? My own present-day Premier has an American born and raised wife. So Hedley, if one country is going to invade or take over the other, they've both got some servere problems to deal with first, don't you think.......as in a very large and potential 'Fifth Column'. Lastly, if you are from Ontario, you have an American Mayor of one of your closest American cities and an American Govenor of one of your closest States who were both born and raised just over the border on Ontario.

I don't think you are understanding the dillema.

Nobody remembers those Canadians/Americans you are referring to. You are forgetting the world remembers Canadians like WWII soldiers, the peacekeepers. They were leaders.

This whole thing stinks. I suspect the war is being organized and planned to go into 2011, and this new agreement shows that. Many people don't believe this war either because Afghanistan is small country with little, small villages and we can't stop the Taliban? It sounds unbelievable to me.

They say one million Iraqis have now been killed by the war and here we are, planning not to help them.

I will be gone out of town after this.

[Hedley]

I will be gone out of town after this

You have no idea how much that concerns me.

[Nark]

Hedley after reading the depression thread, I truely enjoy your sense of humor.

Shiela:
What the hell are you talking about? Do we not have anymore leaders in the military? I hope we still do, because your reading what one just typed.

[Wilbur]

Sheila, take your medicine dear!

[WJflyer]

This whole thing stinks. I suspect the war is being organized and planned to go into 2011, and this new agreement shows that. Many people don't believe this war either because Afghanistan is small country with little, small villages and we can't stop the Taliban? It sounds unbelievable to me.

They say one million Iraqis have now been killed by the war and here we are, planning not to help them.

I will be gone out of town after this.

If I hear another one of these conspiracy theories, I going to loose it. Go crazy. Nuts. Insane. Bonzo. No longer in possession of one's faculties. Three fries short of a happy meal.... WACKO!

2011 is the date set by the Afghan Compact, an agreement that was signed between the government of Afghanistan and the United Nations. It sets realistic development and security goals that must all be achieved by 2011 or earlier.

[LH]

As of yesterdaay, I now realize that other than the US, Britain or Poland, Canada will now not get any help in the south of Afghanistan. France will send troops, but will be like the other 35+ ountries there and forbid the use of their troops or equipmment being put in 'harm's way' and 'hunker-down in the north. Up until now I was fully 'onboard' with Canada being in Afghanistan because she was honouring a commitment that she had signed a long time ago and a personal request of the Secretary-General of the UN.

I now expect that Canada will get the extra forces she has demanded from the US only and aerial support from Poland. I expect that she will stay until 2011. At THAT point, I expect Canada to withdraw all of her forces in their entirety. Once that is accomplished I will expect her and all Canadians to remember well how they were supported in Afghanistan and by WHO they were supported there amongst her NATO 'friends'. Should the occasion ever arise again, involving any of those nations, with the exception of the US, Britain or Poland, I expect Canada to state..."Yes we will honour our commitments to you and NATO, BUT we will not allow our military personnel or equipment to be put in harm's way nor to be transported by you in any of your airborne, sea or ground Forces".

Until that point in 2011, I support our personnel in Afghanistan 100% and with no reserve. When that date arrives in 2011 for their scheduled pull-out, I expect Canada will do exactly that. If they do not, then the government of the day will loose my vote and my respect and it will take them a very long time to ever get that vote back.

[Hedley]

other than the US, Britain or Poland, Canada will now not get any help in the south of Afghanistan ... the other 35+ countries there and forbid the use of their troops or equipmment being put in 'harm's way'

I guess the other 35+ countries are laughing pretty hard at
US, Britain, Poland and Canada for sacrificing their troops
for what they believe to be a worthless cause, while they
hide up north in safety.

Up until now I was fully 'onboard' with Canada being in Afghanistan because she was honouring a commitment that she had signed a long time ago and a personal request of the Secretary-General of the UN

Is this the same UN that brought us the Rwanda Genocide and the
multi-billion-dollar "food-for-oil" corruption scandal in Iraq that made
so many UN dignitaries wealthy?

LH: Ever heard that nice guys finish last?

[LH]

Hedley......THIS is what I understand. I understand that Canada has asked not once, but many times now for assistance from our NATO allies in northern Afghanistan. I also understand that they haven't received that assistance from any of them. I also understand that many of those same countries were defeated and Nazi-occupied countries at one time and were financally bankrupt. I also understand that Canada took-in and protected many of their peoples and government leaders at Canada's expense. I also undestand that there are many Canadian Military Cemetaries in those same countries, holding the bodies of many Canadian sons, fathers and brothers who died giving those countries their freedom once again. I also know that that number includes three of my uncles, who I never met and never came home again. I know that Canada did everything in it's power to aide those same countries to 'get back on their feet' financially after the cessation of fighting. I also understand that when it's now Canada who is asking for even a modicum of aide in the south, those above nations do not want to put their Focres in 'harm's way'. Perhaps....just perhaps.....if my three uncles and Canada would have had the same attitude once upon a time, I would have got to meet and know those three uncles.

I also understand that the UN is a 'morally bankrupt' organization, but until something better comes along, it's the best we got and I wouldn't want the world to go back to having nothing.

Yes, I've heard about 'nice guys finishing last' and I trust that Canada has learned well now how short some memories are overseas and who will come to our aide when it's WE who ask for it.

That's what I understand Hedley.