The Canadian-American North American Defence Alliance in 2005
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200506000208 |
| Published date | 01 June 2005 |
| Date | 01 June 2005 |
| Author | Dwight N. Mason |
| Subject Matter | Security and Defence Policies |
Dwight
Ν.
Mason
The
Canadian-American
North
American
defence
alliance
in
2005
This
will be an important year for the Canadian-American North American
defence
alliance. There is a re-elected Bush administration in Washington,
a
new minority government in Canada, a foreign and defence policy review
completed
in Canada, and informal talks are beginning about renewing and
possibly
expanding the North American Aerospace Defense Agreement
(NORAD)
that expires in 2006. That agreement is the basic arrangement
that the United States and Canada have for defending North America.
Expanding NORAD would require some hard decisions in both countries
concerning
resources, program priorities, and assignment of responsibili-
ties
among the various players on each side of the border. The NORAD
negotiation may shape both the priorities and configuration of the
Canadian forces and United States-Canadian defence relations.
The
defence relationship that the United States and Canada now enjoy
is
a legacy of World War II. The principal elements of this alliance rela-
tionship are that North America is a single military theatre, that each coun-
try has a
duty
to the other to defend North America, and that they will do
this together. The origins of this arrangement lie in an exchange of
remarks between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Mackenzie King
Dwight
Mason
is a
senior associate
of
the Canada project
at the
Center
for
Strategic
and
International Studies, Washington,
DC.
I
International
Journal
|
Spring
2005
| 385 |
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