Br'er rabbit's FTAA opposition: phony anti-FTAA groups oppose the FTAA only because it doesn't go far enough. They want regional government that leads to world government, but only if it is sufficiently socialist.(False Opposition)(Free Trade Area of the Americas)

A brief Internet search will turn up hundreds of activist groups opposing the envisioned Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Most of those opposition groups seem to offer a credible case against the trade pact's most objectionable features. But closer scrutiny reveals that almost all of those groups actually support the FTAA in principle. They don't oppose globalization and regional government. They oppose capitalism and the free market, which is how the free trade agreements are falsely packaged. Their complaint with the FTAA is not that it would impose too many regulations but that it wouldn't go far enough. These so-called anti-globalization activists are eager to see some form of regional government on the road to world government, as long as it is socialist.

Puzzling as this may seem to many people, this is actually a perfect example of a time-honored concept: the "controlled opposition." By using this technique, power brokers behind the scenes manipulate public debate on major issues, confusing the public and neutralizing genuine opposition.

Tantrums 'R' Us

On many occasions during the past few decades, violence-prone radicals have staged protests--actually better described as destructive tantrums--timed to coincide with high-profile global economic summits. A few notable examples are:

* The 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO) summit, now remembered as the infamous "Battle in Seattle." Tens of thousands of environmental extremists, animal rights militants and union members who supposedly opposed globalization and the WTO marched and demonstrated in Seattle. Civil disobedience turned into violent pandemonium as hundreds of rioters overwhelmed police and went on a violent rampage, causing millions of dollars in property damage.

* The 2000 IMF-World Bank conference in Washington, D.C. Not long after the charade in Seattle, many of the same protesters showed up in Washington, D.C., for the spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF. Arrests and violence were down considerably, but the relentless demonstrators disrupted traffic and conference schedules and provided some excitement for the newscasters.

* The 2001 Quebec "Summit of the Americas," where President Bush met with the heads of 33 other nations of the Western Hemisphere to launch the FTAA. Three days of violent protests disrupted normal life in the city.