http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=17607
<http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=17607&catcode=13>
&catcode=13
Canada/Al Qaeda--More Dangerous than Mexico
Written by Warner Todd Huston
Sunday, October 30, 2005
The neo-isolationists that fill the far right of the conservative movement,
fanned on by certain insincere radio hosts, have become so exorcised by
Mexico that the issue is close to eclipsing the GWOT, or the Global War On
Terror.
The gnashing of teeth and wearing of sackcloth has, for some, reached such a
fever pitch that no other issue is important to them. They are fixated on
the fact that Mexico is the most dangerous thing the USA faces in the 21st
century, that Mexico will destroy our culture, or destroy our economy. And
this as we prosecute a war, yet.
Of course, we have major problems with our nearest neighbor to the south.
We have rampant illegal crossings, drug smuggling with impunity, and a loss
of a large block of our economy as Mexicans send U.S. dollars home to Mexico
instead of spending them here.
But a little perspective would be nice because Mexico isn't the most
imminent danger the USA faces in the neighborhood. Canada is by far more of
an immediate threat to our security than is Mexico.
It is true, perhaps, that Mexico is a long-term problem, one measured in
decades. But the GWOT is an immediate problem and Canada poses the gravest
threat to further attacks on American soil.
All one needs to do is peruse the news services to see that Al Qaeda is
coupled together with Canada far, far more often than it is with Mexico. In
fact, it is by magnitudes of hundreds, not dozens, of reports.
Starting with the attempt to bomb Seattle in the year 1999 and
going right up to this very day, Canada has proven a danger to the security
of the USA. Members of Al Qaeda have told investigators that they prize
Canadian members of their group as some of their most valuable assets.
The first widely publicized (go here
<http://www.unionrecord.com/metro/display.php?ID=824> ) bomb plot against
the USA with a Canadian connection occurred in 1999. Two extremist,
Islamofascists from Algeria, Ahmed Ressam and Abdelmajid Dahoumane,
attempted to come across the Canadian-US border with a van full of bomb
making materials to be used to blow up the Seattle Space Needle during the
year 2000 Millennium celebrations. And this was just one of the first in a
steady stream of such reports, plots, arrests and threats since 1999.
Nearly every week we are finding more evidence that Al Qaeda considers
Canada to be a prime launching ground for future attacks against the United
States.
Here are just a very few more reports and findings on the Canadian threat.
CBC News-(go
<http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/05/14/alqaeda-canada050514.htm
l> here)- Al-Qaeda's Canadian recruits 'highly prized.'
"The majority of al-Qaeda recruits in Canada are being trained at home, not
abroad, making the terror network a direct threat to Canada, according to a
recently declassified intelligence report.
"The homegrown recruits are highly prized for their familiarity with
Western societies, says the Canadian Security Intelligence Service report,
obtained by the Toronto Star."
Time Magazine-(go
<http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,463428,00.html>
here)-Al-Qaeda Seeks Canadian Operatives - Osama Bin Laden recruiting
disaffected Muslims north of the border.
"The FBI believes that al-Qaeda recruiters are aggressively enrolling youths
. with U.S., Canadian or Western European passports and good command of the
English language and the North American interior."
BBC News-(go here <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3534195.stm> )
Guantanamo Bay detainee has admitted he is a member of al-Qaeda - and so are
most of his family.
"Abdurahman Khadr, 20, was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 , but now lives
in Toronto with the rest of his family.
"'I just admitted we are an al-Qaeda family. We had connections with
al-Qaeda,' he told Canada's CBC television."
The Washington Times-(go
<http://washingtontimes.com/national/20031016-110337-4698r.htm> here)- Al
Qaeda pursued a 'dirty bomb'
"A key al Qaeda terrorism suspect was in Canada looking for nuclear material
for a "dirty bomb," The Washington Times has learned."
This is such a miniscule portion of the easily found reports that it is
truly frightening.. And with this many easily discovered reports in news
sources across the globe (not just U.S. sources, it should be pointed out)
one quakes at the number that are not public knowledge because they are
still under investigation or secreted for security reasons.
Al Qaeda understands well that Canada happily creates the conditions by
which those attacks can be planned and fostered. Islamofascist operatives
world wide understand that Canada offers a rich bounty of social programs, a
lax law enforcement culture and a visceral hatred of the USA that is growing
with every year, all verdant soil in which to plant the hatred of
Islamofascism.
Al Qaeda knows that if one of their operatives is arrested in Canada it is
pretty sure that no prosecution or even deportment will result.. Further
they know that even if arrested once, this does not eliminate the
possibility of an operative from carrying on his efforts as many are
arrested and released multiple times before anything more stringent is
applied to them.
One of the fist things an Al Qaeda operative does when they enter a Western
nation is get on the dole so that they have a supporting income as they go
about their evil business.. Canada offers one of the least restrictive and
least accountable such systems and terrorists have a ready base because of
it.
And, last but certainly not least, Canada has developed an institutional
hatred of the USA that fosters a further laxity on matters of terror within
its government which is reflected in its law enforcement branches as
described above. Terrorists know that this anti-US bias gives them cover
that they otherwise might not have. With the prevailing feeling among many
Canadian Pols that the U.S. might deserve what they get, looking for terror
suspects within their own borders is not the highest priority.
This all adds up to Canada posing a threat to U.S. security, one far more
dangerous than Mexico in the short term. .So, I would hope that the far
right, neo-isolationists within the conservative movement could get their
heads on straight. Mexico is a danger in many ways, but Canada is the
monster in our back yard.
About the Writer: Warner Todd Huston is a free lance writer and graphic
designer. His work ranges from historical essays to popular culture and has
been published in several magazines and on several websites. He is the
editor for Publius' Forum website at http://www.publiusforum.blogspot.com.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/VpgUKB/pzNLAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
--------------------------
Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL
PROTECTED]
--------------------------
Brooks Isoldi, editor
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.intellnet.org
Post message: [email protected]
Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has
not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of
The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT
YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of
intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods,
techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other
intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use
this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,'
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
