____________________________________
Canada, U.S. agree to use each other's troops in civil emergencies
Friday, February 22, 2008
Canada and the U.S. have signed an agreement that paves the way for the militaries from either nation to send troops across each other's borders during an emergency, but some are questioning why the Harper government has kept silent on the deal.
Neither the Canadian government nor the Canadian Forces announced the new agreement, which was signed Feb. 14 in Texas. The U.S. military's Northern Command, however, publicized the agreement with a statement outlining how its top officer, Gen. Gene Renuart, and Canadian Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais, head of Canada Command, signed the plan, which allows the military from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a civil emergency.
The new agreement has been greeted with suspicion by the left wing in Canada and the right wing in the U.S. The left-leaning Council of Canadians, which is campaigning against what it calls the increasing integration of the U.S. and Canadian militaries, is raising concerns about the deal.
SNIPPET:
On right-wing blogs in the U.S. it is being used as evidence of a plan for a "North American union" where foreign troops, not bound by U.S. laws, could be used by the American federal government to override local authorities.
"Co-operative militaries on Home Soil!" notes one website. "The next time your town has a 'national emergency,' don't be surprised if Canadian soldiers respond. And remember - Canadian military aren't bound by posse comitatus."
Excerpted
http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=403d90d6-7a61-41ac-8cef-902a1d14879d&k=14984
Pervez Musharraf is considering stepping down as president of Pakistan rather than waiting to be forced out by his victorious opponents, aides have told The Sunday Telegraph.
One close confidante said that the president believed he had run out of options after three of the main parties who triumphed in last week's poll announced they would form a coalition government together, and also pledged to reinstate the country's chief justice and 60 other judges sacked by Mr Musharraf in November.
"He has already started discussing the exit strategy for himself," a close friend said. "I think it is now just a matter of days and not months because he would like to make a graceful exit on a high." According to senior aides, Mr Musharraf wants to avoid a power struggle with the newly elected parliament, in which his opponents will be close to the two-thirds majority needed to impeach him and remove him from office.
Excerpted
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/24/wpak124.xml
A Profile In Terror, Behind A Keyboard Suspect Charged With Leaking Navy Secrets
February 24, 2008
If appearance matters, Hassan Abu-jihaad is an improbable holy warrior. His demeanor has been painfully meek during the legal proceedings leading up to his trial Monday in federal court in New Haven, where he is charged with transmitting military secrets to terrorists. Mostly, he has been a bewildered-looking man in an oversize prison jumpsuit.
Little is known about him. He was born Paul R. Hall and lived in Southern California. He converted to Islam, changed his name and joined the Navy. Later, he would be recorded by the FBI laughing with a friend at an al-Qaida propaganda video showing an insurgent known as the Juba sniper killing American soldiers in Iraq.
Excerpted
http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-newterror0224.artfeb24,0,5927352,full.story