Secret Meeting in Canada

WASHINGTON—Not long ago, US, Canadian, and Mexican officials along with policy wonks from the Council of Foreign Relations, and executives from prime defense contractors, met in secret at Banff, Canada. News of the meeting got out giving rise to rumours of some sort of impending super secret anti-terrorist or common defense strategy.

Robert A. Pastor, Director of Center for North American Studies at American University, in Washington D.C., who was at the meeting of the North American Forum said there was no plot afoot and all the attendees did was to discuss ways of expanding ties among the three.

That's not how others saw it. The Canadian Counsel of Defense Attorneys promptly leaked documents, which among other things, claimed Donald Rumsfeld was in attendance. One attendee said Rumsfeld didn't show up.

In Mexico, news of the conference made
headlines. La Jornada announced "Secret meeting to deepen integration of North America." Attendees included three advisers of elected Mexican president Felipe Calderon; former US secretary of state George Schultz; head of Mexico's Public Security, Eduardo Medina Mora; Canada's Secretary of Defense; the Council of Foreign Relations; and energy companies, among them Chevron, Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), and Suncor Energy.

copyright 2006 (ridgeway / ng)