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Oh Canada! Jihad North of the Border?


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By John Metzler
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM

Friday, June 9, 2006

UNITED NATIONS — “It can’t happen here” has long been the chorus from so many Canadians watching the unfolding tragedies of world events. Somehow Canadians feel uniquely insulated or isolated from world problems not so much by weather or geography but by a unique mindset which ensures that really serious trouble is always somewhere else. For the most part that has been happily true. Until now.

So when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced the arrest of seventeen suspects implicated in a calculated reign of terror in the Toronto region and the capital Ottawa reality was brought home. The plotters, had a decidedly un-Canadian idea of disrupting Toronto’s tranquility by blowing up the landmark CN tower, blasting the Bay Street Stock Exchange, storming Parliament in Ottawa, and taking the Prime Minister hostage!

The threat to behead the Prime Minister Stephen Harper should Canadian Forces not be withdrawn from Afghanistan had a uniquely Zarqawi touch in its gruesomeness.

Mind you the alleged plotters are Islamic fundamentalists, wanabees, or at least followers enchanted by the violent Jihadi philosophy. While parts of the ultra-political correct Canadian press has been hesitant to state the obvious, the suspects are not Norwegians nor Danes! Though they may not be formal members of the Al Qaida terrorist network and may be “amateurs” is a lame excuse. Recall that last year’s London transit bombers who killed dozens in Britain were also basically “not professional terrorists”. Their plan to use “homemade explosives” does not bring a folksy touch as much as a reminder that violence prone extremists, be they in Oklahoma City or Kabul, can do some very dangerous things without high-tech.

These suspects have grown up or lived in Canada. These are home grown terrorists who have willfully and treacherously abused the tolerance and promise of Canada for a hateful shot at revenge at the society which has given them so much. These are people who despise the political and religious freedoms and economic opportunities Canada has bestowed on scores of immigrant groups, not least of all Mid-East migrants.

For a long time it’s an open secret that Canada’s liberal immigration policies and lax domestic security, has allowed many sleeper cells to form north of the U.S. border. The manta “we are the global good guys” has reinforced the sonorous complacency.

The desire by the seventeen suspects to attack landmarks, institutions, and Parliament Hill is rooted in many things be but appears triggered by Canada’s significant military participation in anti-terrorist operations in Afghanistan.

But there’s another issue here. Toronto’s left-leaning Globe& Mail in a column “Comedy of terrors: It doesn't take a mastermind” asserts “Here in Canada, we're shocked (shocked!) at how certain Americans are hyping the terrorism story. "There's a large al-Qaeda presence in Canada," declared the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. CNN played the story as "The enemy north of the border."

The Toronto Star chimed editorially, “Indeed, in some quarters, the arrests seem to have triggered more thoughtless statements and torqued coverage. The ever-brazen Fox News Channel has labeled the Canadian border a "Gateway for Terrorists." Other television networks, such as CNN, repeatedly served as a forum for commentators expressing concern that Canada is a terrorist haven.” Are they blaming the American messenger?

The editorial adds, “Portraying Canada as a source of danger conveys an utterly false impression of this country's deep commitment to maintaining order and to waging a war on terror.” I agree with this statement, but quickly add that Canada’s woeful lack of defense spending under the previous Liberal government, a Pollyanna approach to domestic security, a misplaced tolerance, and a misperception that “It can’t happen here,” has allowed this state of affairs to prevail. Happily the would be plotters were apprehended by the RCMP.

As the prosecution’s case unfolds and the evidence becomes more compelling, the courts will deal with the suspects, not arbitrarily nor summarily, but in the judicious and fair way which characterizes Canada. The suspects need not worry that they will face the grotesque “jihadi justice” of their spiritual mentors in Afghanistan.


John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He writes weekly for World Tribune.com.