The Internationalist forces behind the FTAA are shrewd enough to understand "Revolution 101." They know that any revolutionary plan will inevitably draw opposition. And they know from accumulated experience that the most effective way to deal with that opposition is to create or support their own opposition. In the United States, the internationalist planners can tap their influence in the Establishment media to ensure that such opposition becomes widely recognized as the "official opposition."

The anointed "official opposition" never seriously threatens the revolutionary agenda. It actually helps that agenda by sowing confusion or otherwise diverting mounting concerns into ineffective resistance. At strategic moments the leadership of the phony opposition will capitulate or compromise and the followers will go back to sleep feeling that their interests have been served.

The phony opposition to NAFTA, FTAA, WTO, and similar trade agreements and trade organizations operates at two levels – radicals in the streets and more respectable creatures of the Left. Many busy Americans, repelled by the unruly actions of the radicals in the streets, will emotionally embrace the internationalist position. They’ll think: "If the crazies are against it, it must be good."

Other Americans monitoring the nightly news will observe the Ralph Naders and Lori Wallachs – the "respectable" Left -- and conclude that such leadership is the only alternative to the policies advanced by the current administration. Many of these Americans will throw up their hands in despair, unwilling to embrace either.

Both the protestors in the streets and the "respectable" Left also serve to create the appearance of public pressure for changes in the agreement that will actually ratchet up the revolutionary progress toward regional government. The appearance of such pressure enables the internationalists to pretend reluctance as they agree to broaden the scope of the agreement and give even more authority to an international body. These sham battles are based on sound psychology, much like the Joel Chandler Harris tale, in which Br’er Rabbit pleaded with Br’er Fox not to throw him into the briar patch.

One good way to identify the phony opposition is to follow the money (i.e., look at how these groups are funded). The recommended reading below presents much of this story.

The FTAA’s Controlled Opposition - The New American - December 15, 2003

The rent-a-mob that descended on Miami provided a familiar service: scaring away responsible opponents and further justifying the police state build-up.