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Canadian Press April 27, 2002 Closer military ties to U.S. threaten sovereignty, even lives: report JOHN WARD OTTAWA (CP) - Closer military ties to the United States could threaten Canada's sovereignty and even the lives of its soldiers, says an academic report released Friday. The document was written by Michael Byers, a Canadian who teaches law at Duke University in North Carolina. It was done for the Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues, a Vancouver think-tank led by Lloyd Axworthy, the former foreign affairs minister. It looks at America's new Northern Command, a military headquarters to be set up next fall to co-ordinate defence of North America. Byers says that if Canada is drawn into Northern Command and tighter links with the American military command, it will be risking a lot. He questions whether Canada might lose its freedom of action on the international scene. He suggests Canada might become a puppet of American foreign policy and be forced into massive defence spending under American pressure. Defence Minister Art Eggleton dismissed the concerns, saying there's no intention of integrating the military of the two countries. "A lot of these comments are 'if we're doing this,' or 'if we're doing that,' there's a concern about this," he said. "There's a lot of ifs." He said the Northern Command is purely an internal command structure for the American military. Canadian officials have held informal talks on the new command but only to look for practical ways of co-operation, he added. Axworthy, though, said the whole issue of closer military links needs to be thoroughly debated. "This is an issue . . . that carries with it the same weight and significance, in fact, as the free trade debate did over 10 years ago," he said. "It needs to be carefully looked at, prudently considered and publicly debated." Byers, who said he considers himself pro-American, said there are many potential dangers in moving into a closer military relationship. "One has to examine, in careful detail, through rigorous analysis, all of the various implications for Canadian policy, both domestic and foreign, of any move of this kind," he said. "This report is designed to pose some of the questions that Canadians need to ask." Among his questions: -Could Canadian Arctic jurisdiction be threatened? -Might a unified command prevent Canadian troops from taking part in a peacekeeping mission Washington dislikes? -Might American commanders use Canadian troops as cannon fodder to protect their own soldiers? In the Commons, the Bloc Quebecois fretted about closer ties with the United States. Michel Guimond said this might hamper Canadian efforts to promote nuclear disarmament. "We have a lot of differences with the Americans," he said. Stephane Bergeron wondered if Canada might be pushed into far higher defence spending. Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham waved off these concerns. "Right now, there is no threat to sovereignty, to Canadians or Canada because we have no agreement with the United States on this topic," he said. "The Americans have established certain provisions for their own security. We will examine them and we will take the measures necessary to protect ourselves." Eggleton said the informal talks with the United States don't contemplate any sort of military integration. "Let's not try to confuse day-to-day operational improvements with something that relates to the integration of the two militaries," he said. "We're not talking about that." While Byers seems leery about a closer defence relationship, another study released this week by the Institute for Research on Public Policy, praises the way the Canadian navy has been able to mesh with American sea operations. "The world-class capabilities of the Canadian Navy, combined with careful and continual political oversight can make interoperability with the United States navy a mainstay of Canada's national security policy, says the report by Joel Sokolsky, of the Royal Military College. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness http://health.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
