--- begin forwarded text Delivered-To: rah@shipwright.com Delivered-To: clips@philodox.com Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 21:34:11 -0400 To: Philodox Clips List <clips@philodox.com> From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah@shipwright.com> Subject: [Clips] Great praise for elite team Reply-To: rah@philodox.com Sender: clips-bounces@philodox.com <http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2006/06/03/pf-1613288.html> Calgary Sun June 3, 2006 Great praise for elite team The elite team of police and intelligence experts whose months-long probe of a terrorist plot were praised for their courageous and dedicated job By CP The elite team of police and intelligence experts whose months-long probe of a terrorist plot against southern Ontario led to 17 arrests involved thousands of hours of work by some of the most dedicated investigators in the world, observers said Saturday. "These people are absolutely top-shelf investigators. You will not find better investigators on the planet," Chris Mathers, a former RCMP officer who now works as a security consultant in Toronto, said of the crack squad whose diligence led to the shocking detainment of suspected homegrown terrorists. "The Canadian people don't understand, perhaps, how committed these people are. As ideological as these terrorists are, the people pursuing them are equally as ideological." The RCMP led the investigation that resulted in Friday night arrests of suspects from Toronto, nearby Mississauga and the city of Kingston in eastern Ontario. But the investigation included significant co-operation with partners through an Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, or INSET, made up of RCMP, the CSIS spy organization, federal agencies and provincial and municipal police. INSET teams were created in April 2002 under a five-year, $64-million investment by the federal government. Their performance in the ongoing investigation announced Saturday could strengthen the reputation of Canada's ability to combat terrorist cells to the rest of the world, said Doug McArthur, a political science professor at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University. "What we're seeing is that our various security forces are getting their act together to deal with what we have to recognize is an increased potential for terrorist type activities," McArthur said of the investigative team created alongside other anti-terrorism legislation introduced months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. "This particular case is a good sign of the ability of our forces to chase down these types of situations." Officials were tight-lipped on details about an investigation they say is still active. "Over 400 highly skilled resources have dedicated thousands of hours to diligently conduct this investigation using legislative and investigative tools available to the law enforcement and intelligence community," RCMP assistant commissioner Mike McDonell told a news conference. Observers say that uncovering a terrorist plot would have revealed multiple layers of involvement. At the bottom, there's those who buy cars and cellphones or rent apartments for those who might commit the acts. Above them are the middle men providing expertise and training on how to prepare explosive devices, or counter-surveillance techniques. At the top are those who organize the acts and secure followers to carry out the deeds. "They're just pawns - zealots that they've trained, usually young people," Mathers said of those who essentially risk suicide in the name of a violent ideology. Mathers said an investigation of this magnitude by INSET would been an "accumulative effort" involving informants, electronic intercepts of communication, and "hours and hours and hours of surveillance - very boring surveillance too." But he said it's most likely human sources - acquaintances of those planning a terrorist attack, or people somehow linked to the plans themselves - who would have provided the most vital information that would provide enough evidence for arrests. "Electronic sources don't always provide you with enough timely information. You need human beings," he said. Mathers said that people involved in terrorist plots are also almost always involved in other criminal activity, making it quite possible that information was received from people arrested for unrelated crimes who were looking for reduced charges or sentences. "From time to time, they do get arrested for other crimes to support themselves or to support their terrorist group. Sometimes law enforcement are able to put a bit of pressure on someone who gets pinched and in exchange for some consideration he agrees to co-operate on something more serious like a terrorist act." -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' _______________________________________________ Clips mailing list Clips@philodox.com http://www.philodox.com/mailman/listinfo/clips --- end forwarded text -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'