U.S. Northern Command, Canada Command establish new bilateral Civil Assistance Plan February 14, 2008
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, and Canadian Air Force Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais, commander of Canada Command, have signed a Civil Assistance Plan that allows the military from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a civil emergency.
“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. “Unity of effort during bilateral support for civil support operations such as floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and effects of a terrorist attack, in order to save lives, prevent human suffering and mitigate damage to property, is of the highest importance, and we need to be able to have forces that are flexible and adaptive to support rapid decision-making in a collaborative environment.”
http://www.northcom.mil/News/2008/021408.html
The Canadian Navy and the Mexican Marines already "helped" the U.S. in a domestic capacity during the first test of the NATO Rapid Response Team after Katrina hit. Are these soldiers required to swear to uphold and defend the Constitition of the U.S. and the respective states before they're allowed to provide miliary support for military actions against the American civilan population? Does that even matter to us anymore? And really, what difference does it make what language our protectors speak? I'm trying to decide if I'd rather be directed into a compoud or onto a bus by a BlackWater special forces operative or an enlisted Canadian foot soldier. Hmmm.
3 comments:
Hi Tent Lady -
Thanks for stopping by my blog. My topics are a little more down home than yours, but I found this article interesting. We are Americans who have just landed as permanent residents in Canada. We find Canadians more willing to help their neighbors and fellow man than our friends back home. You always see people donating time and money in their home towns and worldwide to good causes. I would have no problem having our Canadian neighbors (now me included) come to the aid of the US. -- Margy
Hi Margy,
I agree, most average Canadians I meet are great folks. I used to love driving the Alcan Hwy (did it 11 times) and always thought I'd be happy to live in northern B.C. or Yukon. I used to fly from Vancouver to Montreal when I was going to college in Massachusetts (rather than from Seattle to Boston). It was a fabulous journey every time and for me there is no city that even compares to exotic Montreal in the northern hemisphere.
Our personal ties to Canadian citizens grows stronger all the time, and 2020 book sales to Canada are keeping us eating this winter. This post was not about whether I want them "helping" us in a civil disaster. It was about using foreign troops and mercenaries (from any nation) to carry out military directives against Americans issued from the officials in the Dept of Homeland Insecurity.
If this was a civilan agreement I would be grateful to know friendly volunteers from Canada promised to come help us in Alaska if there were a big forest fire. But it's a military agreement to deploy foreign, armed forces on U.S. soil.
I sincerely doubt the Canadians want to see U.S. soldiers arrive in their neighborhoods with the power to detain or arrest Canadian citizens. Under the bogus war on terror, the U.S. military can arrest and indefinately hold suspects without notification to their families.
It's a two-way agreement for assistance in "civil emergencies." Under the U.S. Patriot Act, a civil emergency can include a lot more than forest fires. Does this agreement place Canada under U.S. military law in an emergency?
Good luck in your new home! Are you living in a yurt there?
No, we live most of the time in a floating cabin on Powell Lake. You can take a look on my blog under float cabin living. It is water access only (unless you come in by quad using logging roads and trails with a ride of about two and a half hours. We did it once for fun, but it wouldn't be a good transportation method. We have place in town but don't use it much. We love the cabin more.
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