Terror Threat
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Terror Threat

International and Homegrown Terrorists and Their Threat to Canada

Dwight Hamilton, Kostas Rimsa

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eBook - ePub

Terror Threat

International and Homegrown Terrorists and Their Threat to Canada

Dwight Hamilton, Kostas Rimsa

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About This Book

The discovery of a suspected homegrown Islamic terrorist cell in our own backyard last year shocked most Canadians. The question arose: Is this country next on Al Qaeda's hit list? But although terrorism in Canada did not begin with Al Qaeda, its fundamental dynamics are as unfamiliar to most of the public as the minutiae of quantum physics. How could such shocking developments happen in a nation of "peacekeepers" that opposed the American intervention in Iraq? The majority of Canadians have no idea why soldiers are presently sacrificing their lives in Afghanistan. Terror Threat provides an examination of every key facet of current terrorist operations affecting this country – and it does so in a way that shows how serious the danger really is. Who are these people? How do they operate? And why in the world are they trying to kill us?

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Publisher
Dundurn Press
Year
2007
ISBN
9781459718630

1: Welcome to Our Jungle

“They seek to mutilate and destroy
”
Many Canadians believe that terrorism occurs only on the remote-controlled screens of CNN, not in their own backyards. This is no surprise. Few today are old enough to remember the Front de Libération du Québec and other terrorists that have bombed, killed, and maimed in this country. Another reason for complacency is the mind game of denial. It is simply too horrendous for the common citizen to think of a 9/11 occurring in downtown Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver and to carry on with their daily routines.
Another basis for this smug belief, however, is the pacific nature of modern Canadian society. “In the recent past we’ve had those who behaved as if democracy was a given,” veteran foreign correspondent Peter Worthington once wrote. “Realities like intelligence, security, and an able and well-equipped military are not popular among the arms-into-ploughshare types.”
True, very few citizens of Canada have ever been members of the military or other organizations that deal with such dangerous and distasteful problems on a regular basis. Why would they? We enjoy the second highest living standard on Earth, and one of the lowest rates of criminal activity in the developed world. Based in such a Garden of Eden, it’s been pretty easy for Canadians to ignore terrorism over the years and to carry on in ignorant bliss.
The reality is that terrorism has been with Canada for many years, lurking, for the most part, just beneath the public’s radar screen. How many have heard of an organization calling itself the Initiative de rĂ©sistance internationaliste? Yet in August of last year an oil executive’s car was firebombed in Loraine, Quebec, by the IRI for “financing an imperialist army that is committing barbarous acts in places such as Iraq.” The group has also claimed responsibility for bombing a hydro tower near the American border in 2004.
Modern terrorism in Canada can be said to have begun in 1963, when the FLQ mounted a campaign that included more than four hundred crimes and culminated in the kidnapping of a British diplomat and the death of a Quebec government minister. It took an additional three years before this threat subsided and was replaced by a political party attempting to achieve the same goals by working within the system. This extremist battle continues within our federal Parliament to this very day.
During and shortly after the FLQ era, various Cuban terrorists were active in Canada in opposition to the communist regime of Fidel Castro, and the Cuban Consulate in Montreal was bombed more than once, as well as the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa. In those decades Croatian terrorism was also a problem. While its purpose was predominately to raise awareness for a democratic Croatia, which was in the grips of Marshall Tito’s Yugoslavia at the time, it was a danger to our citizens. Threats against Yugoslavian consulates were common, and the Toronto one was bombed on November 25, 1965, as was the Yugoslavian Embassy in Ottawa two years later. Croatian terrorism has occurred in Canada as recently as April 1979, when a prominent pro-Yugoslav business was bombed in Toronto; Croatian separatists were arrested but were later released due to lack of evidence.
Between 1982 and 1986, a homegrown left-wing anarchist group called Direct Action was a key terrorist player in this country, and even though the five main members were arrested, their support structure and its mentorship has remained untouched to this day. The year 1982 also heralded the beginning of Armenian terrorism in Canada. Like the Cubans and Croatians, these “freedom fighters” wanted liberation; their goal was to free Turkish Armenia, and they conducted a campaign of assassination against Turkish diplomats here. A hostage taking culminated in the death of a security guard in 1985, and it would be a further five years until the violence ceased.
Beginning in the mid 1980s, Canada was plagued by terrorism from Sikh separatists, and the nation has still not recovered, as debates regarding the Air India inquiry prove two decades later. Until 9/11, Canada held the dubious honour of having had the world’s worst airline mass murder ever committed against its citizens.
Less dramatic, but no less important, is the fact that different terrorist groups have used Canada as a base of operations in support of their infrastructure over the years. According to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), there are between twenty and thirty terrorist organizations operating in Canada in any given year, and this has been the norm since the early 1970s. Yet it has taken more than twenty-five years for our government to outlaw the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, or Tamil Tigers), despite the fact that most civilized countries had done so long ago.
Since 2001, Canada has faced perhaps its greatest terrorist threat from Al Qaeda and its umbrella organization, which was brought home to the public with the arrest of the alleged cell members of the Toronto 17 in June 2006. As you will see in the following chapters, the risk to Canada and its citizens — and not just to troops in Afghanistan — is very grave.
For a number of reasons, Canada is an attractive venue for Al Qaeda. Long borders and coastlines offer many points of entry that can facilitate movement to and from various sites around the world, particularly the United States. There are few travel restrictions in a democracy, and you can cross American border easily, especially if holding a Canadian passport. We are a wealthy nation and an excellent location in which to raise money for causes abroad. There are also many choice targets here; Al Qaeda could choose from a multitude of American-owned corporations, if they deemed it necessary. Canada is a good place to get financial aid, both private and public. Its citizens have good hearts and are easy to manipulate because they are trusting, and terrorists have no problems in abusing this friendship for their own ends.
Then there is the issue of political exiles accepted into Canada as refugees, who often have axes to grind back home. It’s well known that 95 percent of our refugees are immediately allowed to stay here, and more than fifteen thousand have arrived since 9/11, including twenty-five hundred from terrorist sponsor states or countries affected by domestic terrorism. Claiming refugee status is a tried and true infiltration method of terrorist organizations.
A Canadian immigration lawyer who handles many cases from Iraq was recently quoted as saying, “I’m telling clients 
 I don’t want to hear about how you get here, but if you do, your chances of getting in are virtually 100 percent.”
Another problem is the ease with which a foreigner can get a student visa. There are a growing number of such students today, often from countries that are in turmoil. The opportunity for terrorists to abuse this system is evident; look at 9/11 as an example.
Canada, with an eye for tolerance of different ethnic groups, has a population that an Al Qaeda terrorist can blend into with great ease, and large immigrant communities can provide a source of haven and support. These groups can include many people who bring bizarre political views to our shores and still have strong ties to the old country, which makes them ideal recruits for extremist activities.
But before we look at today’s situation — and to better understand the nature of terrorism — let us examine a short history of each wave that has hit our home and native land.

FLQ

The FLQ was a homegrown quasi Marxist-Leninist group from Quebec that operated in loosely connected cells spanning at least two generations. Their main objective was to recast the province as a fully sovereign, exclusively francophone-controlled state within North America (see Appendix IV). Terrorists often have specialties in the types of tactics and methods they use, and the FLQ specialized in bombs. Their operations began with limited results, as often happens to such fledgling organizations, but they were not easily deterred from their cause.
In Montreal on February 23, 1963, a cell placed a bomb at the base of the CBC-TV antenna on Mount Royal and another near radio station CKGM, but both failed to go off. Their second action took place on March 8, 1963, by throwing Molotov cocktails into three armouries there. The terrorists started leaving the group’s initials painted on walls to serve as a calling card for the authorities and the press.
Of course, compared to the Al Qaeda of today these operations were amateurish, but the group now had its feet wet and was soon blowing up Canadian National Railway tracks a few hours before a train carrying then Prime Minister John Diefenbaker was due to pass. The planting of bombs in Montreal at various places — including a Bank of Canada building, numerous Royal Canadian Legions, Central Station, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) headquarters, armouries, and other military locations — became a daily occurrence. Residencies of Montreal VIPs were bombed, including those of the mayor of Westmount and millionaire Peter Bronfman. Ominously, the Ministry of Labour was targeted several times, which should have set off warning bells that its minister might be a potential target. Four people were wounded in attacks on the Canada Club, the Reform Club, and the Renaissance Club, which were prestigious English-speaking businessmen’s haunts. Westmount and Montreal city halls, post offices, Queen’s Printer’s offices, key bridges, and many businesses and banks were bombed as well.
These bombings created fear in most people, but they were greeted with a sense of support from many FLQ sympathizers. There were two that one of the authors personally remembers, however, that did not glean the support of anyone in Quebec. On September 23 and November 21, 1968, two liquor stores were targeted for bomb attacks in downtown Montreal. As the liquor board is a government corporation it would under normal circumstances be a legitimate terrorist target. But the FLQ misjudged Quebecers’ love of fine spirits, and the terrorists were the butt of jokes and curses from both the English and French populations for some time. No further attempts to bomb liquor stores were made; department stores were fair game, though. For example, on November 24, 1968, the downtown Montreal Eaton’s was targeted by two bombs on the same day. Many schools were also targeted by bombings or the threats of them.
Like many terrorist groups, the FLQ attempted to portray a Robin Hood or white knight image and would often involve themselves in local labour disputes, for example bombing the Westmount home of the president of Murray Hill, a taxi and limousine service, and two garages owned by Chambly Transport on Montreal’s South Shore on the same day.
In addition to Montreal, there were numerous bombings in the Quebec City area and other parts of the province, as well as in Ottawa. There, a bomb exploded in a mailbox in front of the building of the U.S. Secretary of State on December 31, 1968, and several bombs placed in street-corner mailboxes were defused on January 16, 1969. In Quebec City, two bombs exploded in front of the famous Chñteau Frontenac hotel on June 19, 1969. And while many military and defence-related facilities were targeted, two should be emphasized with respect to possible future terrorist incidents in Canada: the bombings of Montreal’s Queen Mary Veterans’ Hospital on May 28, 1970, and of National Defence Headquarters in downtown Ottawa on June 24, 1970. If the FLQ can target these places, Al Qaeda certainly can too. In addition to these attacks, six other bombings in Montreal stand out from the rest of the FLQ’s actions:
‱ April 20, 1963: A bomb exploded at the Canadian Army recruiting centre downtown. The night watchman was killed in the first casualty of this dirty campaign. This marked the first step of the FLQ as a truly lethal organization.
‱ May 16, 1963: A bomb destroyed an oil tank at the Golden Eagle Refinery.
‱ May 17, 1963: In the affluent English-speaking section of Westmount, fifteen bombs were placed in street-corner mailboxes on the same day. Ten of them exploded, and Sergeant Major Walter Lejay of the Engineers was seriously wounded while he was attempting to disarm one.
‱ February 13, 1969: A bomb caused a massive explosion on the main floor of the Montreal Stock Exchange and twenty-seven people were wounded.
‱ March 7, 1969: A bomb was placed under the overpass of the Metropolitan Boulevard but was defused.
‱ July 30, 1969: The Cap Rouge company was targeted by Canada’s first booby trap car bomb, which exploded before it could be disarmed.
When it comes to money, robbery is a common tactic of smaller terrorist groups, and this was the main form of FLQ financing. They began on April 30, 1963, with a Canadian Army payroll robbery; then, on September 26, 1963, a stickup at a Royal Bank netted the group nearly $7,000. On February 27, 1964, another holdup secured $9,000 from a Caisse Populaire. This was followed by an armed robbery at a Provincial Bank where $3,000 was stolen and yet another theft at a National Bank branch where $5,000 was taken on April 9, 1964. The FLQ then moved on to robbing cinemas, following a basic rule of terrorism by changing tactics and striking where not expected. On May 1, 1966, they hit the CinĂ©ma ÉlysĂ©e and grabbed $2,400. This is only a sampling of robberies that the FLQ committed; between 1968 and 1970, at least twenty-five thefts of cash were attributed to them. Although most were carried out in Montreal, a good number were committed in rural areas as well. And while the amounts of stolen cash seem to be low, they were healthy sums in those days.
“Expropriation” is a term that has been used by terrorists in the past; it is another word for the theft of goods. It is used to legitimize through language criminal acts conducted by terrorists. Words are important in perception management, and all terrorist groups readily understand this fact. Their needs are plenty, leading to a diverse range of robberies. For a small group, it is more cost-effective to steal weapons and ammunition from the enemy than to purchase them on the black market. In many developed countries it is also difficult to get the firepower and explosives required in sufficient quantities. Theft is the answer.
The FLQ’s efforts at stealing equipment and supplies began with a burglary of radio station CHEF in Granby, Quebec, on November 26, 1963. Radio equipment was stolen with the intent of setting up a clandestine broadcast station to support the group’s propaganda efforts.
On January 30, 1964, a theft took place at the Fusiliers du Mont Royal armoury in Montreal, and $21,000 worth of military equipment was taken. Soon after, on February 20, 1964, various guns and ammunition valued at $21,000 were stolen from the armoury of the 62nd Regiment of the Royal Artillery in Shawinigan, Quebec.
An armed robbery of the International Firearms gun shop in Montreal took place on August 29, 1964. Several cases of weapons were stolen and two people were killed.
From April to June 1965, the theft of dynamite from various construction sites in Quebec took place, and FLQ responsibility was published in the group’s underground newspaper La CognĂ©e (“The Hatchet”).
Sometimes the needs of terrorist groups are not as dramatic as weapons and explosives. On October 23, 1965, a burglary at the New Democratic Party office in Montreal netted the terrorists a mimeograph machine and office materials.
Even the Canadian Cadet Corps was not immune. On April 16, 1966, there was a theft of guns, ammunition, and other military equipment from the CollĂšge Mont-Saint-Louis in Montreal.
To get the word out, the FLQ began publication of La Cognée in October 1963, and they even attempted to construct their own radio broadcast system. The group also sent communiqués to select radio stations and newspapers for reprinting. Naturally, acts of bombing, kidnapping, and murder also kept the FLQ in the public eye, in most cases gleaning support for their cause. So the newspaper was also used for other purposes. Issue number 46, published in November 1965, gave detailed instructions for such revolutionary techniques as provoking the police, avoiding arrest, and spreading false rumours. In April 1966, La Cognée published new instructions on bombing and sabotage, and information on making better bombs, robbing banks, and other terrorist tactics and weapons became regular features. These were meant to inspire others to form independent terrorist cells and commit acts in the name of the freedom of Quebec and the institution of a Marxist-Leninist government.
Threats and hoaxes were a common and inexpensive means of terrorism for the FLQ. Of them all, though, there is one that strikes close to home for the authors. Through their infiltrators and supporters, the group managed to get the names and addresses of all the counterterrorist joint task force members in the Montreal area, and they sent death threats directly to their homes and families.
The beginning of the end for the FLQ occurred on October 5, 1970, when British diplomat James Cross was kidnapped from his home in Westmount. Five days later a different FLQ cell independently kidnapped Pierre Laporte, the Quebec minister of labour, from his home in St. Lambert. Various elements of the Canadian military moved to Ottawa to secure federal government installations and guard officials at 1:15 p.m. on October 12. Three days later, military aid to the civil power was requested by the Quebec provincial government, and a company of infantry was inserted by helicopter in downtown Montreal, the first of many province-wide deployments. In addition, certain regulations under the War Measures Act were later invoked on October 16, one of which allowed police to detain suspects for eleven days without charge, as opposed to forty-eight hours under the existing provisions of the Canadian Criminal Code (see Appendix V). This has proven to be a very contentious point in Canadian history.
John Turner, the federal justice minister at the time, later explained the rationale for implementing the act this way: “The action the government took was drastic. I have no intention, nor has the government, of evading or attempting to minimize that fact. It was a drastic measure because it was precipitated by persons with an utter contempt for the rights of others. It was a measure brought on by persons with an utter contempt for the democratic process. They seek to mutilate and destroy our social institutions, including that of representative government.”
On October 18, Lapor...

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