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Thursday, April 01, 2004
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"THE TRUE NORTH STRONG AND FREE"
Canada is waging a war on terrorism. Kinda. Well, our strategy differs somewhat from that of the United States. We're sneaky. What the Canadian government likes to do is hire terrorists, and then arrest them. Pretty clever, huh?
I should note that even after 9/11, the Canadian government didn't really take terrorism seriously. It was only late last year that Hezbollah was an officially designated terrorist group. Until then, it was perfectly legal to raise funds and transfer the proceeds to Lebanon, where they would be used to blow up innocent Israeli civilians. The Tamil Tigers, a terrorist group that has devoted the last 20 years to setting off bombs in Sri Lanka, has yet to be a designated terrorist group by my government. They raise more money in Canada than they do anywhere else in the world.
In their heyday, the Irish Republican Army did well in Canada too. However their fundraising was far more successful in the large Irish centers of New York and Boston.
It took the Government of Canada over a year after 9/11 to pass the Public Safety Act of 2002. The arrest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contractor this week was the first implementation of that act. Even with PSA02, serious questions have been raised by serious people regarding Canada's preparedness for a terrorist attack.
All of this greatly concerns the United States. On at least one occasion, an associate of al-Qaeda entered the US through Canada. That was Ahmed Rassam, who entered Canada on false asylum claim with a phony French passport and conspired to detonate explosives at Los Angeles International Airport on the millennium. The following is from Rassam's testimony from his federal trial in regards to that plot.
Q. When you traveled back to Canada in early 1999 did any of your cell members travel back with you?
A. When I went to Canada, when I came to Canada?
Q. Yes.
A. No, I came alone.
Q. Did you bring anything back to Canada with you from Afghanistan?
A. Yes.
Q. What did you bring?
A. I came with some chemical substances. I brought also a notebook that had instructions on how to put together explosives. I brought a sum of money.
Q. How much money did you bring back?
A. $12,000.
Canada Customs requires all travelers entering the country to declare any monetary instrument over $10,000.
Q. You mentioned you brought back chemicals; can you describe what you brought back?
A. Yes. Hexamine.
Q. Explain what hexamine is.
A. It is a substance used in the manufacture of explosives. It is a substance that is a booster that is used with explosives.
Q. What form is it in?
A. It is in the form of tablets, but you grind it and then it becomes like a white powder.
Q. Did you bring back any other chemicals?
A. Also glycol which is a liquid.
Q. What is glycol used for?
A. It is also used in explosives.
Yikes! Now, I should note that customs searches are notably lax. When I was 19, I went to Mexico for my birthday. On my way back, I had all kinds of vegetables for my friend's parents. Bringing vegetables in from any foreign country is strictly verbotten. I'm not talking about a carrot or two. I easily had 20 pounds of canned crap in my luggage. No search whatsoever. This guy, whose legal status I'll address momentarily, entered Canada with explosives without a problem.
Q. At that time were you legally in Canada?
A. No, illegal.
Q. What had happened to your political asylum claim?
A. It was put in my file and the file was closed.
Q. It was rejected?
A. Yes, it was rejected.
Q. Was there an immigration warrant issued for your arrest?
A. I heard about that later after I left. ...
Let's review, shall we? In 1998, the fact that al-Qaeda was operating terror camps in Afghanistan was not a secret. It was also well known that Pakistan was the main port of entry to said camps. An illegal immigrant, with a warrant for his arrest, re-enters Canada with explosives, no questions asked.
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, several observers first thought that some, if not all, of the 19 highjackers had entered the US via Canada. That turned out not to be the case. But it did reinforce American concerns about Canada's lax immigration and asylum policies. The general response in Canada was resentment of the US "dictating Canadian policies to Canada." When the US then pondered toughening up the border, Canadians squealed about that as well.
As things currently stand, the increased money devoted to counter-terrorism in Canada is evaporating in a political sinkhole. Immigration policies have no changed and security measures at border points is non-existent. I've traveled across the border 5 times since 9/11, both by air and ground. US Customs have a station in Pearson International in Toronto. There, my bags have been searched exactly once. The questions asked have not changed since before September 11, the officers have just become surlier. Canada customs has not checked me re-entering once and, if anything, it's easier getting into Canada than it was before.
It's only a matter of time before Canada's policies result in another terrorist strike. Regardless of which side of the border those strikes occur on, the consequences will be disastrous.
UPDATE: As you might have figured, these posts are written pretty quickly and oftentimes I forget amusing little details. Such was the case with this piece. This is also from the trial transcipt.
Q. During that four-year period you were in Montreal, did you have any jobs?
A. I worked only one week distributing advertising leaflets.
Q. How did you support yourself during that four-year period?
A. I lived on welfare and theft.
Q. What do you mean by "theft"?
A. I used to steal tourists, rob tourists. I used to go to hotels and find their suitcases and steal them when they're not paying attention.
Q. And what would you do with the contents of those suitcases?
A. I used to take the money, keep the money, and if there are passports, I would sell them, and if there are Visa credit cards, I would use them up, and if there were any traveler's checks, I would use them or sell them.
Q. Now, did you do this alone or with others?
A. Mostly with others.
Q. Approximately could you estimate how many times you did that during that four-year period in Montreal?
A. Maybe 30 to 40 times.
Q. Did you ever get arrested for these thefts?
A. Yes, four times, I believe.
Q. Were you ever convicted?
A. Yes, one time.
Q. Did you serve any jail time from that conviction?
A. No, but I paid a fine.
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