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militarism | terrorism | security

EU Parliament resolution on the EU-India FTA calls for dialogue on Kashmir
20-Jun-2011
Although the resolution has compelled India to resume talks with Pakistan, it is not clear whether and how the outcome of these talks will affect the conclusion of the FTA. It is also uncertain whether or not the condition to settle the Kashmir issue with dialogue will be included in the final draft of the EU-India FTA, writes Ahmad Ali Ghouri
Central American integration —and militarization
5-Jun-2011
Representatives of the governments of Mexico and the Central American countries wrapped up a fifth round of talks on a regional free trade agreement last week. The negotiations took place in Mexico City, with the next round of talks to be held in August in El Salvador.
Canada seeks more free trade, security zone with US
5-Jun-2011 AFP
Governor General David Johnston said Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper would work with Washington to create a continental security perimeter around Canada and the United States "ensuring that people and goods can flow freely and safely between our two countries."
Chiquita & the Colombia FTA — Murder in the interest of profit
17-May-2011 Huffington Post
Recent documents obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University from the US Justice Department show that Chiquita Brands International, in direct contradiction of the claims of both Chiquita and the US government for many years, made illegal payments to both guerrilla groups and then AUC death squads over the course of about 14 years in return for security from these groups.
Is ‘another Egypt’ brewing in Mexico?
7-Mar-2011 Workers World
People in Chihuahua who were picked up under guidelines of the Merida Initiative on three-year-old warrants were charged not with drugs but with organizing anti-NAFTA protests!
We need to rethink, not rearm NAFTA
7-Feb-2011 IPS
Experts expect Obama and Harper to announce a “new” border partnership to ease the flow of goods and people across the border by harmonizing security, immigration and refugee, surveillance and possibly defense policy across the continent. There’s nothing new about this plan. It’s the regurgitation of the defunct Bush-led Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) without the Mexican “amigo.”
Lawsuit Would Further Expose Secretive SPP Agenda
19-Oct-2009 NAUresistance
The SPP, along with NAFTA have already laid much of the groundwork for a North American Union.
The SPP is dead. Let’s keep it that way
25-Sep-2009 rabble.ca
With virtually no fanfare or media analysis, one of the most transformative agreements ever signed by Canada and the US (and Mexico) is officially dead. Its official US government website declared last month: "The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) is no longer an active initiative. There will not be any updates to this site."
Possible US-Colombia military deal raises regional tensions
30-Jul-2009 CSM
A pending agreement that would give the US military broad access to several Colombian bases is rattling already shaky relations in the Andean region, where Venezuela "froze" relations with Colombia Tuesday. Uribe agreed to the deal in the hopes of finally winning approval of a free-trade agreement with the United States, according to critics.
Harper touts free trade, shies away from terrorism reports in Colombia talks
11-Jun-2009 Montreal Gazette
As he blasted the "ideological" opponents of his free-trade deal with Colombia, Prime Minister Stephen Harper played down recent reports of a Colombian terrorism infiltration into Canada.
Megaprojects and militarization: A perfect storm in Mexico
1-Jun-2009 WW4 Report
As Mexican security budgets inflate with US aid-to combat the rising power of drug trafficking and organized crime-rights groups say these funds are increasingly being used to protect the interests of multinational corporations.
US gets tough on Canadian border
11-May-2009 LA Times
The Obama administration says security should be as stringent as on the Mexican frontier. Border residents and Canadian officials disagree, saying the terrorism threat is exaggerated.
US Security Council ’wants FTA with Korea ratified’
21-Apr-2009 Chosun Ilbo
"Inside US Trade", an American magazine, last Saturday quoted sources as saying NSC officials believe that the passage of the FTA bill will cement the Korea-U.S. alliance at a time when tension is mounting on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket.
Could a sudden collapse of Mexico be Obama’s surprise foreign policy challenge?
1-Mar-2009 La Prensa San Diego
A year-end report by the Pentagon’s Joint Forces Command names two countries as likely candidates for a “rapid and sudden collapse” — Pakistan and Mexico. Arguably, NAFTA is to blame for what could be Mexico’s impending destabilization.
RP, EU start negotiations on cooperation framework
10-Feb-2009 BusinessWorld
The Philippines and the European Union yesterday started talks in Manila for a general framework on bilateral cooperation that is requisite for a free trade agreement. The talks, which could take as long as two years to complete, will dwell on a wide variety of issues — from peace, security and human rights, to protection of intellectual property and workers rights.
The European Union and the Gaza war
28-Jan-2009 Press TV
The recent war in Gaza has served to highlight the European Union’s relations with Israel. Although the genocide in Gaza has embarrassed many EU officials, there are no signs that the European Union is going to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement signed in 2004.
Thousand deaths do not put off EU
15-Jan-2009 IPS
Two conflicting statements about EU-Israeli relations were delivered Jan. 14, as the number of Palestinians, about one-third of them children, killed in Gaza continued to climb. The European Commission’s envoy in Jerusalem claimed that a proposed ’upgrading’ in relations with Israel cannot "proceed business as usual." Yet his statement was soon contradicted by the foreign minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
EU talks with Israel on upgrading ties put on hold
15-Jan-2009 Reuters
The European Union and Israel have put negotiations on upgrading their ties on hold due to the war in the Gaza Strip, an EU envoy said on Wednesday.
Israeli gunboats kidnap Gaza fisherman, peaceworkers
22-Nov-2008 Electronic Intifada
"The EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended until Israel complies with international law. It was only last week that I personally met with the fishermen whose boats were illegally water-cannoned and fired upon by Israeli gunboats as they peacefully fish in Gaza waters."
Audio: Indigenous march against free trade policies
24-Oct-2008 FSRN
In Colombia, thousands of indigenous people are staging a week long march. Marchers plan to march through 70 miles of Colombia’s countryside. They say they want to change economic policies that are impoverishing their nations. And they reject the presence of US corporations on their lands. Manuel Rueda joined the march as it passed through Colombia’s Cauca Province.