I’d like to thank the Toronto Police Services, the RCMP and CSIS for being on the ball and apprehending a terrorist plot in progress. Nobody wants to hear that there was a terrorist plot in the works, but this weekend our police forces proved their worth, by rendering this plot to the category of “what if” rather than “never forget”. Canada’s police and intelligence services used the tools at hand to discover the plot, identify the perpetrators, and apprehend them before the attack took place. They saved countless lives. Good hunting, guys!
I think this incident leaves me disappointed, more than anything else. It may be a relief that I’m not looking at a smoking crater somewhere in my home town, but this incident has wider implications. I’ve avoided going out of my way into the political blogosphere, because I know that some people somewhere are pointing fingers and saying “I told you so”. That’s not constructive. And I fear that this incident will reinforce the attitude that Muslim Canadians have a propensity towards these sorts of acts, and a higher duty to denouce them, even though the overwhelming majority are as decent, law-abiding Canadians as we are.
I am saddened by this event, but not surprised. If anybody wants to wave the “I told you so” microphone before anyone, how about in front of TTC Commissioner Howard Moscoe who said in the wake of the London underground bombings that Canadians didn’t need to worry since we weren’t in Iraq. As I said, it was one of the most startling displays of naivite I’d ever seen in a politician. We are in Afghanistan, and we are right next to the United States. We are a target. And I think most Canadians, left and right, knew this.
But I am surprised by the RCMP’s assurance that public transit was not a target. The Sun Media’s reporting to the contrary may have been irresponsible, but it’s easy to see why they’d make the assumption, given how many commuters rely on the TTC, and given how public transit has been the target of bombs in London and Madrid. I am left with a sense of relief that this was not the case, but I’m left to wonder what the targets were. I’m sure the details of this plot will come out as the case goes through the courts, and it would be unproductive to speculate.
Finally, I agree with Mayor Miller in that I’m particularly interested in finding out why these Canadian-born individuals got involved in this plot, and why they were angry and fanatical enough to contemplate this. And by that I mean that I want to know who corrupted these individuals and what literature they read. If they were influenced by other individuals in Canada, it is my expectation that we will also call these people to account.
Further Reading
- Andrew at Bound by Gravity is keeping track of the details. Some of the comments to his posts are a little discouraging, though.