Toronto Star
Peace Movement Growing Below U.S. Radar
Mon Dec 9 18:49:58 2002
208.152.73.72

Published on Monday, December 9, 2002 by the Toronto Star

Peace Movement Growing Below U.S. Radar

Anti-war protest hits Washington streets tomorrow `We´re not about to
send children to die for oil´
by Allan Thompson - immigration@thestar.ca

WASHINGTON? Jane Coe says she cannot sit home any longer and listen to
the drums beating for war against Iraq. So, tomorrow, she'll take to the
streets of the U.S. capital to join this country's growing anti-war
movement.

"I'm not an activist really. I much prefer letter-writing to marching,''
the 64-year-old anthropologist said this weekend. "But I just couldn't
sit at home any longer amid this drift, and all the buildup to a war in
Iraq that we don't need."

Coe is helping to organize a peace march in downtown Washington on
International Human Rights Day, a rally expected to bring together faith
groups, seniors and peace activists.

"The public discourse is: `Bomb ´em. Gear up for war.´ But in terms
of Iraq, they didn´t have anything to do with Al Qaeda, so linking
them to terrorism is stretching it. And we need to give weapons
inspections a chance to work. That´s a chance, that´s a hope,´´
Coe said.

(The Bush administration blames Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terror
network for the Sept. 11 attacks against America that killed about 3,000
people in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania last year.)

Saturday morning, Coe attended a meeting of the Washington, D.C.,
chapter of the Gray Panthers, a group dominated by seniors that has
lobbied for decades on social justice issues. It's part of a growing
coalition against war with Iraq.

In an auditorium foyer at the University of the District of Columbia,
about 20 people pulled their chairs in a circle for the meeting; the
Gray Panthers moved their chairs closer together when one complained she
could not hear.

"My motto is health care, not warfare,'' said Abe Bloom, 89, from his
wheelchair, a magnifying glass hanging on a cord around his neck to help
him read the handouts.

"It seems to me that Bush is determined, no matter what, to get a war
out of this; but we're not about to send our children to die for oil,''
said Ethel Lubarsky, 85, who sat next to Bloom and leaned on a cane.

As the Gray Panthers met, President George W. Bush used his weekly radio
address to make clear he believes Iraq is hiding weapons of mass
destruction, despite its submitting thousands of pages of documents
disavowing such weapons to U.N. inspectors last week. "Inspectors do not
have the duty, or the ability, to uncover terrible weapons hidden in a
vast country,'' he told listeners.

Largely below the radar of mainstream media, the anti-war coalition is
gaining momentum and members. They range from key labour unions,
religious movements, campus groups and such groups as Black Voices for
Peace to traditional Marxists.

John J. Sweeney, president of the 13-million strong AFL-CIO labour union
has joined the movement, as has the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops and the National Council of Churches, representing 36 Protestant
and Orthodox denominations.

United for Peace, the Web site a San Francisco-based human rights group
set up to track events commemorating Sept. 11, now has evolved into a
clearing house for anti-war groups.

Pat Elder, who owns a real estate title company in Bethesda, Md., says
he got involved with a Quaker group after attending an anti-war protest
in October.

"A third of the people there were over 50 and I thought, `Jesus, man,
that´s not what I remember from Vietnam. I´m 47 and I was a teenager
when the big Vietnam demos were going on."

Now, he said, it merges "the person in the suburbs, the conservative
crowd and the traditional activists ... to strike a tone that is more
palatable to middle America. So we're not 20-year-olds in bandanas,
shouting that Bush is a bastard."

Copyright 1996-2002. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited
###
=================================
Dec. 9, 2002. 12:40 PM

CP PHOTO
A soldier from the 4th Battalion, of the Royal Canadian Regiment, shown during a recent military exercise.
Pact lets U.S. patrol Canada
Troops would be under command of Canadian military

ALLAN THOMPSON
STAFF REPORTER

WASHINGTON—U.S. forces, under the control of the Canadian military, would be allowed to cross the border into Canada in an emergency, according to a new Canada-U.S. accord to be unveiled today.

Canadian forces could be deployed in the U.S. in a crisis, but under American operational command. The accord would:

#
Create a new bi-national planning group to draft plans that would detail how both countries jointly deploy military forces and emergency services in the event of a terrorist attack or other disaster.

#
Step up joint operations and military exercises in the army and navy to prevent terrorism.

The planning group, which will co-ordinate joint maritime surveillance, intelligence sharing and cross-border military exercises, is to be headed by Canadian Lt.-Gen. Ken Pennie.

Pennie is the deputy commander of NORAD.

In turn, Pennie will report to Canada's chief of defence staff and the American general who commands NORAD and the U.S. military's Northern Command.

"This is an important way of co-operating with the Americans on a common issue of security in a way that is constructive and at the same time preserves Canadian sovereignty, because we're not engaged in doing anything without the authority of the Canadian government," a senior government source said.

`This is an important way of co-operating with the Americans on a common issue of security.'

A senior government source

In fact, Canada sees this new accord as an alternative to formally joining the U.S. military's Northern Command, or the creation of a `super-NORAD' military structure that would have put Canadian army and navy resources under American command, as is the case for air force units attached to NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command).

Canada's air force is already closely integrated with U.S. plans for defending North America's air space, through NORAD, a pact that has been in place for more than 50 years. That alliance is always commanded by an American general, with a Canadian deputy commander.

The accord, to be announced today by Defence Minister John McCallum and Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham will increase co-ordination between the army and navy on both sides of the border.

Canadian officials insist the accord does not pose a threat to Canadian sovereignty because Canada would have to approve the deployment of U.S. troops on Canadian soil. And the deal puts Canada in a position to work with the U.S. on contingency plans for defending North America.

"Ultimately, governments on both sides of the border are going to have to approve the execution of it," the senior source said.

The planning group is not a military command, it does not itself have the authority to deploy forces. Instead, it will draw up contingency plans for deploying forces by looking at possible threat scenarios.

The group will also work to improve the military's links and standard operating procedures with police and other emergency services in the civilian world.

At the outset, the planning group will include 30 military officers — 15 from each country and it should be fully operational by the spring.

The Winnipeg-born Pennie is an air force pilot who has held a number of senior posts in Canada's military.

In the late 1990s, he was the director-general of strategic planning at defence headquarters and helped produce the military's key strategy document.

He was promoted to three-leaf general in the summer of 2001 and appointed deputy commander-in-chief of NORAD in August, 2001.
Additional articles by Allan Thompson

• American Right of Redress of Grievances — Kenneth Chrane, Mon Dec 9 19:06
• IS THE INCOME TAX LEGALLY ENFORCED ???(Updated 12/9/02) — "Jim Carter, Mon Dec 9 20:20