‘Terror’ or sting?

Newspaper headlines blazing, television news shows pumping out the wildest claims, the media with few exceptions are buying and pushing the Canadian government’s “case” against 17 mostly young Muslims of South Asian origin, saying that “terror” was again about to strike the Western Hemisphere. Allegations of planned bombings and beheadings dominate the news. Government snipers scanned Toronto from rooftops as the shackled “terrorists” were brought to court.

It’s important to consider the general maxim regarding cop cases and court cases: the greater the initial presentation, the less evidence exists. The greater the claims to the media, the less there is to the alleged plot. If the maxim holds in this case, there is very little of substance indeed.

Fortunately, the Toronto Star published a few stories that went beyond the announcements of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police—their counterpart to the FBI—and the pronouncements of rightist Premier Steven Harper. These stories make it easier to provide another view of the events. The following points of fact are important:

The delivery of three tons of what the government pretended was ammonium nitrate fertilizer, supposedly to be used to make a bomb of the Oklahoma City variety, was entirely arranged by government agents. Without the cops’ participa tion, there was no plot.

The young people, for alleged conspirators, were quite open about their activities, posting messages on a publicly available website about taking target practice with guns or holding paint-ball exercises. The prime minister, the mayor of Toronto and many people near the group’s “training camp” knew that this group was being watched.

The group had been under investigation and the close watch of the authorities for two years. Thus the government had complete control of the timing of the arrests.

Timing—that’s key.

Harper has just decided to keep over 2,000 Canadian troops in Afghanistan for another two years, a less-than-
popular decision among Canadians.
And the Canadian Parliament has been considering a five-year extension of Canada’s “anti-terror” laws.

Domestically, Harper obviously can exploit a dramatic arrest and “terror” scare. In addition, Harper’s sting operation helps his friend to the south, including George W. Bush, whose occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from exposures of war crimes in Haditha and rebellion in Kabul.

All in all, the three tons of fertilizer smell like a political setup.