General: U.S. Wants Canada to Join Pact
Fri Mar 26, 9:02 PM ET
TORONTO - The United States would like Canada and eventually Mexico to join in a continent-wide pact to defend against terrorism, the deputy commander of NORAD said Friday.
Any initial move for a North American-wide defense structure would only involve Canada and the United States but could eventually include Mexico, said Lt. Gen. Ed Anderson.
"The threat to both of our homelands is real," Anderson told military leaders and academics at a conference on homeland defense and land force reserves in Calgary, Alberta.
Anderson said a North American version of NATO (news - web sites), the 19-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is being studied.
"Should we take NORAD and adapt some sort of a NATO-like organization?" he asked.
"There should be no doubt in anybody's mind that there is an intent to attack free democracy ... and I will tell you they (terrorists) are working on weapons of mass destruction as their first choice," he said.
NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, provides warning of ballistic missile and aircraft attacks against the United States and Canada. But its mission has changed since the 2001 attacks to focus also on attacks within the country.
David Bercuson, director of the Center for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary, endorsed the idea of a North American defense umbrella against terrorism.
The status quo on homeland security is working right now but will need to be upgraded, he said.
"I think a North American NATO is virtually inevitable. What we've got in place right now, the Binational Planning Group, is just that — a planning group," said Bercuson.
Earlier this week Canada announced $454 million in new spending over five years on Canada's defenses against terrorism, bringing to more than $6.2 billion Canada has spent on enhancing security following Sept. 11, 2001.
The three-day conference ending Saturday has attracted delegates from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. It has focused on the best way to structure, train and deploy land force reserves for homeland defense.
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