BuckNaked said:
Goodness Gracious! The joint defense pact! That was the brain child of Washington! Not us crying - we need you Mr. Bad Strong States...
Please - do you really think that invaders to Canada can really withstand the red-necks we could throw at them??? We got more mullets out west than you can shake a stick at!
U.S. to create North American command zone
Last Updated Wed, 17 Apr 2002 20:33:25
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld revealed plans Wednesday to establish the Northern Command, a new military zone stretching across North America, including Canada, the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean.
The 2002 United Command Plan will establish the zone on Oct. 1. Rumsfeld said the Northern Command, or Northcom will complement existing Pacific, European, Central and Southern command zones.
Rumsfeld said Northcom will take over homeland defence and will prepare battle-ready joint forces to defend the United States from attacks from abroad.
For the first time, tanks, troops, planes and ships will report to a single headquarters to defend both the United States and the North American continent.
The establishment of the new zone means every part of the globe will be covered by the U.S. military, he said.
Northcom will be based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., along with the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD.
The Northern Command will be headed by Air Force General Ralph Eberhart, the current commander-in-chief of NORAD.
Unlike NORAD, Northcom will be made up of American military personnel only. No Canadian forces will be assigned to it.
Pact would allow U.S. troops into Canada during emergency
Last Updated Tue, 10 Dec 2002 8:56:39
OTTAWA - U.S. troops could find themselves on Canadian territory helping police and firefighters deal with emergencies under a new pact signed by the two countries.
The new accord says that soldiers from either country could cross the border, but would then be under the command of the host country.
Defence Minister John McCallum said the pact recognizes that threats such as those posed by terrorists or biological agents don't recognize international borders, and continues a long tradition of Canada-U.S. co-operation on dealing with common threats.
The agreement creates a new binational planning group that will draw up plans for deploying military and civilian forces in the event of emergency, including terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
The armed forces would be called in to assist the firefighters, paramedics and police who would be on the front lines of any emergency response.
The planning group will be headed up by Canadian Lt.-Gen. Ken Pennie and include 15-20 military officers from the Canadian and American forces. A number of civilian officials will also be included, McCallum said.
Pennie is currently deputy commander of the North American Aerospace Defence Command, or Norad.
The planning group would co-ordinate joint maritime surveillance, intelligence sharing, and military exercises.
McCallum and Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham insisted the plan protects and enhances Canadian sovereignty rather than posing a threat to it.
"The planning group (puts) Canada in a position to work with the United States on plans to defend North America, plans the United States would otherwise be developing without us," McCallum said.
U.S. forces would only cross the border if Canada requested them, and they would be under Canadian operational command. The planning group would have no forces at its own disposal to deploy.
"Nothing would happen without the go-ahead from the national capitals," Graham told CBC Newsworld.
Canada's air force is already closely integrated with the U.S. defence of continental airspace under Norad.
