Posted on 05/09/2006 8:52:32 PM PDT by Clive
OTTAWA (CP) - While the threat from al-Qaida remains strongest overseas, a terrorist attack on Canadian soil is "now probable," the head of Canada's spy agency has quietly advised the government.
In his annual report to the public safety minister, Jim Judd says the Canadian Security Intelligence Service's highest priority involved trying to prevent assaults occurring in, or originating from, Canada.
"The threat of further attacks by Sunni Islamic extremists and other like-minded groups continues, bringing with it elevated demands on the service's resources," says the report, which covers the year 2004-05.
A focus of the intelligence service's counter-terrorism program "was therefore the interdiction and removal" of such radicals.
"During the past year, Canada and Canadian interests abroad continued to be under threat from al-Qaida and its affiliated groups," Judd says.
"While the threat remains concentrated overseas, an attack on Canadian soil is now probable."
Judd's comments represent some of the strongest language used by a senior Canadian official to date in characterizing the threat from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.
A declassified copy of the top secret report was obtained Tuesday by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
It was delivered by hand in late November to then-public safety minister Anne McLellan, later defeated in the January election.
Al-Qaida, which perpetrated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, included Canada on a list of target countries in both November 2002 and March 2004.
Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan have come under repeated attack from al-Qaida and Taliban elements opposed to the new western-supported government in Kabul.
Stephen Rigby, acting national security adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said Tuesday the government is maintaining "a very high degree of vigilance" with respect to al-Qaida.
"We're just trying to increase the level of sophistication as to how we refine that consideration of the threat, where it might come, how it might come," Rigby said after speaking to a conference on national security.
For instance, federal officials pay "a lot more" attention to the possibility of a strike on transit systems following the deadly terrorist assaults on commuters in Madrid and London, he said.
That extends to closely examining the explosive devices used by extremists in these attacks.
"We study those, and we sort of consider various scenarios in which they might be used in Canada," Rigby said. "We try to develop the most refined threat scenarios that we can."
Rigby said, however, that Canadian officials have "no specific evidence" of a plot at this time.
Transport Canada's John Forster told the meeting, sponsored by the Conference Board of Canada, that transportation systems have figured in one way or another in almost every major terrorist attack during the last 30 years.
"So, unfortunately, there's no reason to believe that this troubling reality will change," said Forster.
One concern is that terrorists might set off a "dirty bomb" - a conventional explosive laced with radiological material that could contaminate several city blocks.
Judd's report says the spy service's counter-proliferation branch, which tries to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction, "continued to investigate Shiite and state-sponsored terrorism," as well as the activities of certain unnamed foreign governments.
The report also stresses the service's involvement in security screening, namely the vetting of visitors to Canada, refugee claimants, immigrants, prospective citizens and employees who work at sensitive government jobs and installations such as nuclear plants and airports.
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They could take out the Oilers' home ice. It doesn't look like they are playing much hockey there the last few days.....(grumble).
Even a minor terrorist attack in Canada, eg. a car or truck bomb, would change that country's politics instantly. All the leftist baggage would come tumbling down. And calls for border security (by air and sea) would make a South Texan sound like a MA liberal. Moreover, an attack on Canada would send chills to Britain, Germany and other northern lands of Europe.
That a Canadian official is sounding nervous says a couple of thing. First, it indicates that rightists are now in charge of the gov't, no longer knee-jerk leftists. Second, it indicates that the gov't is increasingly seeing the importance of preparing the citizenry for the worst, in the hopes it doesn't happen but considering seriously, at a policy level, how to react if it does.
ping
Yeah, but if Canada is ever attacked, Bush/America will automatically get blamed for "stirring things up in the M.E."
Sadly I think Canada would capitulate. Don't see much fight in them, even as a fiercely patriotic people they barely acknowledge their own military.
And the Canadians still don't have the capability of a military response.
All western countries are at risk and that includes Canada. Nor should it be overlooked that terrorists can be home grown.
Canadia = Canada (I started to type "Canadians")
Because it's there..
I know Al Qaida are probably an insane, drug addicted, aids infested lot, but if they do things like attack Canada, all the do is grow enemies.
I don't buy the story, I think they are obsessed with Europe and the USA.
Al Qaeda would attack Canada for any number of reasons:
1. Simply another notch on its belt 2. Proximity to the United States, while not actually being "American" soil
and still being the same landmass the could transmit the tremors from an attack, doing a GREAT deal of psychological harm 3. The prospect of gloating over creating "another Spain", "another Britain" 4. The propaganda victory in showing the world it can cow yet another Western country at will. The fact is, it seems to be able to do ALL these things---you would think after the violence in London that ALL suspicious Muslims would be deported posthaste, but they weren't. The West just doesn't seem to be willing to stand up for itself on any level---the ONLY solution is large-scale deportations back to the countries of origin. That is the ONLY solution.
One other thing---the psychological effect of shaking us up by doing something like that on our NORTHERN border is incalculable---it would communicate to us that while we have been focusing on our Southern border, there is plenty of danger from the North, and we can't do anything about it. They are challenging us to do the very things the ACLU won't let us do, like suspend habeas corpus, and get very hard-nosed in our pursuit of suspects.
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