RCMP Says Terror Plot Against Canadian Trains Thwarted

An anonymous reader writes "Two men were arrested in Canada, accused of conspiring to carry out an 'al-Qaeda supported' attack against a VIA passenger train in the Greater Toronto Area. The arrests were products of 'extensive' co-operation between Canadian and US intelligence agencies, who had been investigating the plot since August 2012." From this article, it's not clear whether any actual al-Qaeda support was forthcoming, or whether the accused plotters merely thought there was, by means of an FBI sting operation, as in the 2006 case in Florida.

Comments

Learn and Burn

[Sponge Bath]

Enjoy the fruits of a civilized guest country then try to blow it up.

That title has quite a spin on it.

[patchouly]

The title fails to mention the fact that it was the Muslim community, up here, that turned the two guys in. Had nothing to do with the FBI. A few men, in the Mosque that they went to, heard about the plan and reported it to the RCMP.

Re:That title has quite a spin on it.

[Annirak]

That's not what it says. The article says this:

Toronto Imam Yusuf Badat, of the Islamic Foundation of Toronto, told CBC's Evan Solomon that RCMP officers said they received tips from the Muslim community that led to the arrests.

This is not the same as:

A few men, in the Mosque that they went to, heard about the plan and reported it to the RCMP.

Re:That title has quite a spin on it.

[ILongForDarkness]

I don't get extremists maybe that is a good thing: but you have a couple nut jobs that want to blow stuff up ... okay. So why can't they keep their mouths shut until they do? I can see if they got caught trying to get supplies or someone to help them but running off their mouths about their plans is just silly. Good thing they do but just saying dumb as door knobs. I agree though the Muslim community deserves to share the credit for their help as they definitely (and wrongly) get their share of the blame every time a problem comes up involving a Muslim.

Also I agree RCMP != FBI though I guess I kind of get the mistake since the RCMP is often compared as the Canadian version of the FBI. It is quite different though in that a lot of rural areas have the RCMP as their primary law enforcement so they do have federal powers but sometimes are doing local policing too.

Re:That title has quite a spin on it.

[ravenswood1000]

So why can't they keep their mouths shut until they do? I can see if they got caught trying to get supplies or someone to help them but running off their mouths about their plans is just silly..

For the same reason idiots post crimes they commit up on Facebook or Youtube.

Re:That title has quite a spin on it.

[plover]

Why would they betray their own community?

There was no "betrayal of their own community" here, unless their community is a community of violent bombers. This was some human beings who heard of some criminals discussing a plot, and not wanting other innocent humans to die as a result of their inaction.

Not every Muslim prays for "death to the infidels", not even if they attend the same mosque.

Re:That title has quite a spin on it.

[asylumx]

I think the point is that the source of info for the article was the Imam, not the RCMP. Without RCMP confirmation, you have no idea if those tips were useful, let alone instrumental.

It is entirely possible (though not likely, IMO) that the Imam just said that to garner a better public view of his community.

Re:That title has quite a spin on it.

[operagost]

Had nothing to do with the FBI.

"The investigation was part of a cross-border operation involving Canadian law enforcement agencies, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The two men arrested are accused of plotting to attack a passenger train in the Toronto area. The two men arrested are accused of plotting to attack a passenger train in the Toronto area.
The arrests Monday morning were co-ordinated and executed by a special joint task force of RCMP and CSIS anti-terrorism units, combined with provincial and municipal police forces in Ontario and Quebec.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews congratulated the RCMP, CSIS and local law enforcement and thanked the FBI for their assistance."

Re:That title has quite a spin on it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would they betray their own community? It can't be out of loyalty to the government - the same government that is guilty of genocide against the First Peoples. Personal grudge perhaps? In a multicultural country, citizens define themselves by which groups they belong to.

Because in reality, a "multicultural country" doesn't operate the way it's portrayed at Stormfront.

Re:That title has quite a spin on it.

[Richy_T]

Idiots. To be completely safe, I only post my crimes to myspace.

Re:That title has quite a spin on it.

[dkleinsc]

Not every Muslim prays for "death to the infidels", not even if they attend the same mosque.

In fact, we can make this statement much stronger: There are about 1.2 billion Muslims in the world. There are estimated to be no more than about 10,000 Muslim terrorists in the world. So what you can actually say is that about 99.9% of Muslims do not in any way support terrorism (assuming that for every terrorist there about 1000 other people that support their actions). The Al Qaida types are a tiny minority.

To be clear, I'm talking about those that blow up civilians, not those that support what they see as wars against dictators and other oppressive powers, such as the people supporting the Syrian rebellion.

Re:That title has quite a spin on it.

[tnk1]

Conspiracies are *very* difficult to do well, that's why they usually fail. Think about your group of friends, they may well believe that what you are saying is right and good, but once you go over the line, there is no way they are going to follow you over it, and they'll turn you in without you even realizing it.

When you are doing certain things, you're not even going to be able to trust your family and closest friends. Chances are, while some of them will not want to get you in trouble, they're probably not sociopaths and will eventually see what is happening and try to put a stop to it.

And it's not a simple matter of keeping your mouth shut: it is difficult to be a lone wolf attacker and most of them have some sort of support to get them the materials and skills they need to carry out attacks. That's why al-Queda does a lot of work to disseminate terrorism how-tos on the Internet, but of course, if you have those materials or access them, you could be tracked.

It was the most polite arrest ever

[TWiTfan]

Or at least, that's how I picture it in my head.

Re: It was the most polite arrest ever

[Mashiki]

Who the hell tries to bomb Canada? A country stereotyped by polite apologies and maple syrup.

Well that would be the same type of people as last time, and the time before that. Though not the same group as back in the 80's. The last dozen or so terrorist attempts have been attempted by "exceptionally devout muslims" back in the 80's we had two attempts by Sikh's, and back in the 60's and 70's it was the FLQ. Despite what people think Canadians have a very thin skin when it comes to terrorism.

That's Brilliant!

[Greyfox]

Step 1: Hijack Train

Step 2: Fly it into a buliding

They'll NEVER see it coming! (Except I guess Canada did)

Re:it's official

[MightyYar]

This is aboot dignity! This is aboot justice!

Things That Make You Go "Hmmm..."

[Anonymous Coward]

1) They mention "Al Queda in Iran."

So...exactly how powerful is a Wahabbi Sunni sect in an iron-fisted Shiite country? Think they have the bandwidth to help idiots in Canada (not the US) do some questionable damage?

2) Coincidence?

Re:Things That Make You Go "Hmmm..."

[FuzzNugget]

I highly doubt it's coincidence. What is a bit baffling is why anyone thinks it's necessary. It appears that everyone did their job properly, citizens were vigilant without being vigilantes, no rights were violated and no one got hurt. Sounds like a win-win to me.

What's worrying is that after a single foiled event, some lawmakers are going batshit and scrambling to get it passed. Here's a little tip: any time a new law is proposed that would seek to remove certain rights to make a law enforcers job easier, alarm bells should go off in your head. Doubly so when the timing is suspiciously exploitative of a recent fear-inducing event.

Time to write your MPs, fellow Canadians.

Re:Things That Make You Go "Hmmm..."

[Xest]

"So...exactly how powerful is a Wahabbi Sunni sect in an iron-fisted Shiite country? Think they have the bandwidth to help idiots in Canada (not the US) do some questionable damage?"

After 9/11 Iran actually offered to support the US for precisely this reason, but the US rejected the support and declared Iran part of the problem - part of the axis of evil.

The problem is, having been cast into this role, Iran then seemed to come to the conclusion that it may as well play up to it. Iran did give refuge to some senior members of Al Qaeda who fled Afghanistan, and by about 2005 there was evidence of both Iran, and it's ally Syria supporting some elements of Al Qaeda against the US.

It seems to be one of those rather misguided "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" scenarios, which Syria learnt to it's detriment given that many of the Al Qaeda affiliated militants it gave sanctuary, training, arms, and a base to launch attacks against the US and the new Iraqi administration to are now the same folks fighting the Syrian government.

Alliances change frequently and are odd things sometimes - don't forget that it was only about 25 - 30 years ago that America was funding, training, and equipping Al Qaeda against the Afghans and that even in Libya and now Syria America finds itself on the same side as Al Qaeda in wanting the overthrow of then Gaddafi, and now Assad.

So don't assume religious differences are enough to preclude any possibility of cooperation - all sides have shown they're willing to back the other when the situation suits. Al Qaeda and Iran have worked together in the past, and even if they weren't working together now, that doesn't preclude the possibility that they at least came from Iran, having gone idle there.

It's likely, as much as anything, that Iran at least still tolerates a presence of Al Qaeda in certain areas allowing them to retain a decent amount of strength on the off-chance that they become a useful tool in carrying out war by proxy, even if it doesn't give them active material assistance any more.

Re:Things That Make You Go "Hmmm..."

[alexo]

Coincidence?

From the page:
Now the Conservative government has a majority and can reinstate the measures on its own, but the Liberals say they will support the bill. The NDP opposes the bill and is questioning the timing of the government suddenly moving the bill into an emergency-like debate, accusing it of "being asleep since December."

At least there is one major party in Canadian Parliament that's concerned about personal rights and liberties.
Such behaviour should be rewarded.

Personal opinion and disclosure:
I came to Canada since 2000 and tried to be "politically aware" even before I got the citizenship. I never aimed to benefit any single political party but rather aspired to get people to think critically about the parties and candidates, as well as establish dialogs with elected representatives in my riding to try to sway them toward the "personal rights and liberties" side. Unfortunately I have grown so disappointed with both the Liberal and Conservative parties and their candidates (on both the federal and provincial levels) that I now advocate voting for any candidate unaffiliated with those two (independents, NDP, Green, Pirate, hell - even Rhino).