Al-Qaeda warns Canada

CANADIANS WILL NOT BE HELD HOSTAGES
FOR THE WANTS AND NEEDS OF MUSLIMS
IF THEY WANT RESPECT THEY MUST RESPECT
OUR LAWS AND VALUES ....
THIS IS A WESTERN COUNTRY.......
Quit Afghan mission or endure attack like 9/11, threat
says

Stewart Bell
National Post
Saturday, October 28, 2006
OTTAWA - An al-Qaeda strategist has warned Canada
to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan or face terrorist
attacks similar to 9/11, Madrid and the London transit
bombings.
The threat, attributed to a member of the al-Qaeda
information and strategy committee, condemns
Prime Minister Stephen Harper for refusing to pull out
of Afghanistan.
It also refers to Canada's "fanatic adherence to
Christianity" as well as its purported attempts to "damage
the Muslims" and its support for the "Christian Crusade"
against al-Qaeda.
"Despite the strong, increasing opposition to spread
its forces in the fire of South Afghanistan, it seems
that they will not learn the lesson easily," Hossam
Abdul Raouf writes.
"They will either be forced to withdraw their forces
or face an operation similar to New York, Madrid,
London and their sisters, with the help of Allah."
The document, written in July, was obtained and
translated by the SITE Institute, a U.S. non-profit
group that monitors terrorist Web sites for clients,
many of them in government.
It is the second reference in recent weeks to al-Qaeda
singling out Canada because of its role in Afghanistan.
Last month, Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman
Al-Zawahiri, referred to Canadian troops in
Kandahar as "second-rate Crusaders."
The increasing focus on Canada in jihadist propaganda
follows last June's arrest of 17 terrorist suspects in
Toronto and comes as Canada is debating its role in
NATO-led combat operations in southern Afghanistan.
The text of the threat suggests that al-Qaeda is
aware of divisions within Canada over the mission,
pointing to public opinion polls and opposition within
Parliament.
It is also consistent with analysis by Canadian
intelligence officials who report that al-Qaeda views
Canada as a "priority target" because of the country's
high-profile role in Afghanistan and its close relationship
with the United States in the war on terrorism.
"Despite the differences between the Canadian foreign
policy and its U.S. counterpart, and despite the hatred
the Canadian people harbour towards the Americans
-- their bad neighbours who cannot hold back their
damage from them -- they agree with them regarding
leading the Christian Crusade in Afghanistan and
confronting al-Qaeda there," it says.
"They use the same excuses that are used by the
British and others.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said:
'The Canadians learned from the 9/11 attacks against
the U.S. that a terrorist threat can enter into our
private borders.
The Afghani government wants us there, and we are
fighting a truly abominable enemy.
This is in our national interest.
I believe that what we are doing is extraordinary.
We will take a commanding role in the province of Kandahar.' "
The suspected "homegrown"
Canadian extremists arrested by the RCMP in Toronto
on June 2 were allegedly motivated partly by
their anger over Afghanistan.
Authorities claim they intended to take hostages
on Parliament Hill and kill the Prime Minister unless
he withdrew troops from Afghanistan and released
all Muslims from Canadian prisons.
The new threat claims Canada is only in Afghanistan
to assert itself on the global stage for economic and
religious reasons.
"Its fanatic adherence to Christianity makes it rush
to the financial aid of any issue that will damage the
Muslims and strengthen their enemies," the 66-page
document claims.
Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, said not much
was known about the author of the document, Hossam
Abdul Raouf, except that he is described as a member
of al-Qaeda's information and strategy committee and
editor of the electronic periodical Vanguards of Kharasan.
"Abdul Raouf seems to be very knowledgeable in
understanding the Western strategy, and in data mining,
as demonstrated greatly in this publication," she said.
The threat was posted on Arabic-language jihadist Web
forums commonly used to disseminate al-Qaeda-related
training and propaganda materials.
At a conference yesterday, Jim Judd, director of the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said the
Internet had "assumed enormous importance" among
today's terrorists.
"It has in some respects been transformed into a
terrorist university, obviating the past need for travel
to a conflict zone for 'on-the-job training.' "
He said successful attacks are videotaped and
transmitted online and recipes for bombs made of
commercially available ingredients are on the
Internet as well as tips on what to do when arrested.
"It is, as well, developing into a medium of
radicalization for many who are inspired by a variety
of propaganda tools flowing across it. Inspirational
rallying cries from far-flung proponents of terrorism
or videos of attacks on military forces in Iraq and
Afghanistan and elsewhere circulate freely."
The "ideology of al-Qaeda" remains today's principal
terrorist threat, he said, adding last August's plots to
bomb passenger planes over the Atlantic are a
"dramatic reminder" that terrorists remain capable
of mounting attacks on the scale of 9/11.
Speaking at the Canadian Association of Security and
Intelligence Studies conference in Ottawa, the
intelligence chief said that because of the cross-border
nature of the threat, CSIS needs to ramp up its
operations overseas.
"While we have had personnel operating abroad for
some time, it is obvious that we need to further
build our capacity to function outside Canada more
effectively," Mr. Judd said.
Sir Richard Dearlove, who served as chief of the
British Secret Intelligence Service until 2004,
urged Canada to set up a foreign intelligence
agency within the next decade.
Although Canada does not have a foreign spy
service, CSIS is allowed to collect national security
intelligence overseas and has been increasingly
active abroad, in countries such as Afghanistan.

sbell@nationalpost.com
© National Post 2006