Just look: this man carried a bag across the border and no one stopped him! More men carrying more bags will surely follow! Pretty soon the US will be over-run by white men carrying bags!
Where did Ken Salazar, Senator from Colorado, get the idea that so many terrorist organizations are lurking within Canadian borders? From an unofficial CSIS backgrounder, cherry-picked.
Salazar also complained there are more international terrorist groups active in Canada than anywhere else in the world - some 50 different organizations - citing a Canadian Security Intelligence Service study.
A CSIS backgrounder in 2002, not an official report, did make that estimate but included the caveat that there could be more in the United States. [emphasis mine]
"This situation can be attributed to Canada's proximity to the United States which currently is the principal target of terrorist groups operating internationally," said the commentary, "and to the fact that Canada, a country built upon immigration, represents a microcosm of the world."
Even if we believe CSIS (a big if), do these people really think it's possible to secure the entire 5,000-km/3,000-mile border?
And if it were possible, do they really believe an invulnerable US-Canadian border will keep Americans safe from terrorism - no matter what the country's foreign policy and international behaviour?
Nothing will save us but our old friend corporate welfare. It's time to hand out another multi-billion-dollar no-bid contract, let KBR build a 3,000-mile-long impenetrable wall, stock it full of high-tech devices that that will never work properly, and call it a day.
6 comments:
Pretty soon the US will be over-run by white men carrying bags!
Silly, it's the brown men carrying bags you have to watch out for.
Silly, it's the brown men carrying bags you have to watch out for.
Well of course. That's why their little make-believes are so silly. They should try again, with a brown man with beard and turban. Let's see how far he gets.
Ah yes, Salazar Slytherin strikes again. What a preposterous idea.
A few years ago I was on a children's theatre tour, and we were in Michigan. Having never been to Canada, a number of the actors on our tour proposed that we jump over for dinner, which seemed an excellent idea.
On our way over, they asked what we were going for, we said dinner, they said enjoy. The Canadians were terribly friendly.
On our way back into the US, we were grilled about why we had so much stuff with us, what we had been doing, who we'd been to see, if we were all citizens, why we were driving a stalker van - it was absurd.
I'm not sure there was a point to that story, I just found the comparison interesting.
I think the story makes an excellent point, one I've heard echoed many times.
Nice to see you here, Sarah Gates! The small intersection of Joy of Sox and wmtc is growing. :)
I think this is the CSIS backgrounder in question: http://www.csis-scrs.gc.ca/en/newsroom/backgrounders/backgrounder08.asp - at least it's the only relevant one from 2002 up on their website.
With the possible exception of the United States, there are more international terrorist organizations active in Canada than anywhere in the world. This situation can be attributed to Canada's proximity to the United States which currently is the principal target of terrorist groups operating internationally; and to the fact that Canada, a country built upon immigration, represents a microcosm of the world. It is therefore not surprising that the world's extremist elements are represented here, along with peace-loving citizens. Terrorist groups are present here whose origins lie in regional, ethnic and nationalist conflicts, including the Israeli-Palestinian one, as well as those in Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, the Punjab, Sri Lanka, Turkey and the former Yugoslavia.
I don't see the number 50 in their either. And it doesn't answer my questions of a) how many people do you have to have to be a terrorist organization, and b) how do they know reliably how many terrorist organizations there are, especially in other countries?
Thanks for posting that, ImpStrump.
Good questions. That no one ever answers them is part of why I don't believe these pronouncements about supposed terrorist groups.
Once upon a time, peace & justice groups were all said to be communist fronts. Now immigrant groups are said to be terrorists.
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