VZCZCXRO1519
RR RUEHGA RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #0823 3101601
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061600Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0056
INFO ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000823 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR PM/RSAT (CPETRONE) AND WHA/CA (AWILSON) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL CA
SUBJECT: U.S. Security Dialogues with Canada 
 
REF: STATE 112900 
 
¶1.    (U)  The following responses are keyed to questions posed in 
reftel concerning U.S. security dialogues. 
 
 
 
¶2.   (SBU)  Canada and the United States have conducted a security 
dialogue  for 70 years through the Permanent Joint Board on Defense 
(PJBD), created in 1940. The PJBD brings together senior military 
and security policy officials from each country to examine joint 
security strategy for North America.  As security concerns shift to 
trans-national threats such as international terrorism, weapons of 
mass destruction, narcotics trafficking and others, the PJBD agenda 
has expanded to consider hemispheric security strategy and other 
"hotspots".  The PJBD meets every six months. 
 
 
 
¶3.   (SBU)  The Military Cooperation Committee (MCC) consists of 
security experts, diplomats,  and staff officers from each country 
who meet prior to the PJBD to set the agenda and formulate policy 
questions for discussion by senior leadership at the Permanent 
Board. The MCC meets every six months, two months prior to the 
PJBD. 
 
 
 
¶4.   (SBU)  The PJBD is co-chaired by Canadian and U.S. heads of 
delegation. The U.S. will be represented at the Assistant Secretary 
of Defense level at the PJBD scheduled for November 8-10, 2009. 
There are efforts to "rejuvenate" the PJBD, which remains an 
important forum in which the U.S. and Canada formulate strategic 
goals with respect to North America and other areas of concern 
around the world. 
 
 
 
¶5.   (SBU)  Canadian-U.S. security cooperation is unique in that 
the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) is a bi-national 
command, with U.S. officers serving under Canadian command and 
vice-versa. While it does not represent a formal 
government-to-government security dialogue, this bi-national 
command requires extensive and on-going military-to-military 
consultations. There is currently a tri-command study being 
conducted to examine  the possibilities for closer command linkages 
among U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), NORAD, and the Canadian 
Canada Command. NORTHCOM and Canada Command already cooperate 
closely on cross-border security issues, such as security support 
for the 2010 Olympics. 
JACOBSON