Urban legend of "North American Union" feeds on fears
By Philip Dine
Seattle Times
WASHINGTON — Forget conspiracy theories about JFK's assassination, black helicopters, Sept. 11, 2001. This is the big one.
We're talking about the secret plan to build a superhighway, a giant 10- to 12-lane production, from the Yucatán to the Yukon. This "SuperCorridor" would allow the really big part of the plan to take place: the merging of the governments of Canada, the United States and Mexico. Say goodbye to the dollar, and maybe even the English language.
The rumor is sweeping the Internet, radio and magazines, spread by bloggers, broadcasters and
writers who cite the "proof" in the writings of a respected American University professor, in a task force put together by the Council on Foreign Relations and in the workings of the Commerce Department.
As do many modern rumors, fears of a North American Union began with a few grains of truth and leapt to an unsubstantiated conclusion...
"Nobody is proposing a North American Union," countered Robert Pastor, the American University professor
to whom conspiracy theorists point as "the father of the NAU." They cite his 2001 book, "Towards a North American Community: Lessons from the Old World for the New," as the basic text for the plan. They also note his co-chairmanship of a Council on Foreign Relations task force that produced a 2005 report on cooperation among the three countries.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003713518_rumor19.html
