The Security and Prosperity Partnership
| Published date | 01 September 2006 |
| Author | Andres Rozental |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200606100302 |
| Date | 01 September 2006 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Andres Rozental
The security and
prosperity partnership
An overview
| International Journal | Summer 2006 | 541 |
The tragic events of 11 September 2001 marked a watershed in the lives of
most of the world, but they affected most especially those in the United
States and its two land neighbours, Canada and Mexico. For the first time
in history, America was gravely threatened from within by terrorists who
managed to assimilate into its open society and attack buildings in its most
symbolic cities. Not since Pearl Harbor—which was geographically, if not
emotionally, distant from the North American mainland—had there been
an attack on the United States by enemies from abroad. Unlike World War
II, the wilful destruction of iconic buildings and the loss of innocent lives
in New York and the nation’s capital brought home the very real threat
posed by individuals and groups bent on challenging the economic and
political might of the world’s only remaining superpower. After several cen-
turies of fighting many battles far from its borders, the United States found
itself in a war in the very kitchen of the American home.
One of the first decisions taken by the US administration in the hours
following the destructionof the World TradeCenter buildings and the attack
on the Pentagon was to seal off the country’s land, air, and seaports, which
are the lifeline of billions of dollars in commerce and the route of millions
of people who enter and leave the US on any given day. The result was total
chaos, particularly along the two land borders that formally divide the US
from its North American neighbours. Individual lives were disrupted to an
Andres Rozental is president of the Mexico Council on Foreign Relations.
To continue reading
Request your trial