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Canada Warned of Vulnerability to Terrorism
Canada has a “soft belly” to terrorism, an expert said yesterday in warning of the potential for an attack against the country (see GSN, July 12). “Canada, given its diversity and sense of neutrality, is, if not a primary target, a very worthy target,” said Boaz Ganor, founder of the International Policy Institute for Counterterrorism in Israel. “From (the terrorists’) point of view, Canada is one of the pillars of Western society. Canada is regarded as a close ally of the United States. Canada has played an active role in Afghanistan and in the coalition against terrorism.” “Canada is one of the few countries mentioned by [al-Qaeda leader Osama] bin Laden in his videos (after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks) as a potential target,” Ganor added. “I think it is the only one” that has not been attacked. Canada remains vulnerable to terrorism despite heightened awareness and preparedness, Ganor said. “My feeling is that it is a soft belly. If it is harder to attack in the United States, it is not inconceivable, from the point of view of these guys, to attack Canada,” he said. The WMD threat to countries such as Canada is greater than it was during the Cold War, Ganor said. Weapons of mass destruction could be used to put pressure on countries to make policy changes, he said. “When asked in interviews years ago if he would ever use nonconventional weapons in his attacks, bin Laden replied that he would regard it as a sin not to use every means at his disposal to, as he put it, defend Muslim from infidels,” Ganor said (Peter Goodspeed, National Post, Nov. 3).
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