Repackaging, Renaming, Relaunching the SPP

From http://intelstrike.com/?p=228

Repackaging, Renaming, Relaunching the SPP

Dana Gabriel
Intel Strike
Thursday, April 10, 2008

With the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America Leader Summit in New Orleans fast approaching, there are calls to rename and relaunch this whole process. This could be in an effort to try and kickstart the SPP as it is encountering fierce resistance. Beware because any new incarnation could be seen as a victory when in reality nothing would have changed except for the name.

There is little doubt that the SPP is in need of a drastic makeover in order to give it a new lease on life. The U.S. think tank Hudson Institute has stated, “it may ultimately be necessary to redesign and relaunch a new process to take up the work of the SPP under a new acronym.” This follows a recent report by the Fraser Institute which called for expanding and fast tracking the SPP. Co-author of the report, Alexander Moens, said of the SPP, “the time has come to rebrand the talks and give them a clear mandate.” The report also called for changing the SPP’s name to the North American Standards and Regulations Area (NASRA).

Could there also be a push to squeeze Mexico out of the SPP? The Canadian think tank C.D. Howe has recommended a new bilateral trade initiative between the U.S. and Canada . Former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Derek Burney also seemed to echo the same sentiments when he said, “Attempts to ‘triangulate’ in recent years, by bringing in Mexico , have little substance and allowed attention to be diverted from more pressing bilateral concerns.”

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It is unclear if this would mean the end of the SPP as we now know it. This could also be a huge distraction to confuse and shift the debate. The reality is that through NAFTA and the SPP, much integration has already been achieved. The SPP might be doomed, but the push for a North American Union is not dead and obviously Mexico remains an important part of this agenda.

Interest in the SPP on the part of all participants appears to have declined, but incremental integration into a North American Union continues. In many ways, their agenda has been stalled, but we cannot be lulled into a false sense of security. The proponents of a North American Union are simply retooling and regrouping. The SPP Leader Summit could be used to plot and launch a different course of action with the same goals and end results.

Make no mistake about it - the SPP remains a priority to the global elite. We must put it to rest for good and not have it rear its ugly head again under a new name or entity. The North American Union agenda is in trouble. Let’s make the SPP Leader Summit in New Orleans the last one.