Political News (Special Issue) Post 3 of 5

3: The North American Union—Canada, United States, and Mexico together by 2010? (John Spalding)


This topic is very interesting. For this section we found 3 rather solid articles that layout some of the discussion points behind this anomaly called the North American Union- a supposed joint venture to make Canada, Mexico and the United States an independent union. We found several articles, people and websites involved with covering the topic as well as several people who are smack dab in the middle of the “conspiracy”.

The first article is by Jerome Corsi. He posted this article in Human Events Online and it is entitled “North American Union to Replace USA?” Corsi calls the Bush administration to task on their adoption of items toward a path of cooperation and action. The article also mentions the formation of the SPP- Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America and their 2010 goal of creating
“…a North American community to enhance security, prosperity, and opportunity…Its boundaries will be defined by a common tariff and an outer security perimeter within which the movement of people, products, and capital will be legal, orderly, and safe.”
Finally, Mr. Corsi warns his audience that the administration will not secure the border because it has other things in mind, namely- a free commerce union with Canada and Mexico. He recommends that the Minuteman Project continue its workhttp://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=14965.

The next article is a response to Mr. Corsi by John Hawkins. It is entitled “Killing the North American Union Conspiracy” found at Human Events Online. In this article, Mr. Hawkins tries to refute some of the “conspiracy” discussion. There is an organization called NASCO that is calling for “NAFTA- Superhighway”—a proposed freeway road link between the US, Mexico, and Canada. Mr. Hawkins quotes Tiffany Melvin, the Executive Director as saying “We have no secret meetings with the Bush Administration...We are a business organization trying to promote the NASCO corridor and the connecting highways in Mexico and Canada…” When discussing the SPP, Hawkins claims that the SPP “Blueprint” is not being used to set up a union. The outlines and work that may seem like a conspiracy is just US businesspeople working with Canada and Mexico to make a more prosperous corridor for the business communityhttp://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=16103.

He concludes his article with these remarks:
“The reality is that since Mexico and Canada are our neighbors and our biggest trading partners, there are plenty of reasons for the government and private industry to try to streamline and improve our relationship with them on security, trade, and other issues.”

The final author we found offering insight on this “conspiracy” is Patrick Wood, the Editor of the August Review. His article is found at a website called News with Views found at: http://www.newswithviews.com/ under the title “Toward a North American Union- Part 1 of 3.” Mr. Wood credits modern day globalization with the efforts of the Trilateral Commission- a member organization that has elite membership from America, Japan, and Europe. Wood calls on the Trilateral Commission as having a clear goal to create a “New International Economic Order” that would get rid of the existing model. He had several thoughts on the Trilateral Commission, which we will list to provide a brief view on his stance:

• The Trilateral Commission dominates the executive branch of our government
• George H.W. Bush is a trilateral commission member appointed by Reagan
• Reagan also appointed key members of the commission to his staff
• George Bush continued as president and then was followed in office by another commission member—Bill Clinton
• Bill Clinton appointed 14 Trilateral Commission members to his administration
• George W. Bush is not a Trilateral member, but Dick and Lynne Cheney sure are

After spelling out his reasons for the trilateral commission, he explains a governmental loophole that railroads certain items through congress and senate, by using a Fast Track Authority. Wood outlines the parameters of the Fast Track process as one that limits for just some of the following reasons: trade measures proposed by the president have to be voted on in a certain timeframe, does not allow for amendments, and only 20 hours to debate the issue. This process does not leave any time for public debate on the issue and, as a result, it leaves these decisions exclusively in the hands of the executive and legislative branches of the government.

Wood recalls two uses of the Fast Track process in the Clinton Administration: NAFTA and GATT Uruguay. The Fast Track Process has been in place since 1974. The only other uses of the process were for GATT Tokyo, the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement, and the U.S.- Canada Free Trade Agreement. There have been other free trade agreements that go through the normal legislative process, but Wood believes that these items were “Fast Tracked” because these agreements would never have been passed if they were open for rigorous debate within the United States Congress and Senate. He states that the Fast Track process had a specific task: “to “fast track” the creation of the “New International Economic Order” envisioned by the Trilateral Commission in 1973!” He also suggests that “Because international treaties supercede national law, Fast Track has allowed an enormous restructuring of U.S. law without resorting to a Constitutional Convention.” The Fast Track process does seem to give a lot of power to the executive branch of our government. The reaches of this process are frightening and it seems those who know the process are good at maneuvering the political system.

Wood details several items in his article including opposition to NAFTA (Ross Perot shows up in this section), the Spin Machine of Trilateral Commission Members and their promotion of NAFTA, the Role of The SPP (also mentioned by the other two authors), and the introduction of Robert Pastor—claimed architect of The North American Union. Overall the review of some of these events was thorough, yet incomplete. Mr. Wood and his publication The August Review have adopted a “Follow the money, follow the power” mentality that they use to structure their reviews. Complete article is found at this link: http://www.newswithviews.com/Wood/patrick18.htm.

To us it seems that there are several interested organizations that like the business prospects of a North American Union. Some groups want there to be a Union, while others, do not. We also see that the Trilateral Commission has membership that is scattered throughout our national government and business organizations. Trilateral Commission reports are used to influence laws at the national level of our country, and as the articles reveal, instead of taking the debate to the people, it is easier to “fast track” certain trade legislation.

We believe that there have been changes to our laws that were not debated by the majority of people in this country, and we had virtually no say in any of these events. There may not be a specific conspiracy to create a North American Union, but there is plenty of evidence that shows the Trilateral Commission is a powerful organization, there is an organization devoted to creating some sort of “prosperous business venture with Mexico, United States and Canada (SPP), and that the Fast Track process for legislation is a quick effective way to get some laws passed without public knowledge/ debate. We think that there are already efforts underway to establish a North American Union, but it is not a conspiracy, they are quite out in the open about the process and could change the face of the United States without even asking the majority of American citizens.