"Incomprehensible"
Amazing what government-appointed fact-finding commissions will discover. Some governments are extremely fond of such commissions. One can assume that Canada has taken its cue from Great Britain, which appears to have the lock on such commissions.
Some of which can cost incredible sums of taxpayer dollars, and which can take decades to reach their conclusions. At least the just-concluded commission headed by retired Supreme Court Justice John Major, investigating the sad-and-sorry failure of Canada's two federal law-and-security agencies to use the tools at their command to apprehend a tragedy, did not cost as much, nor take as long.
"A cascading series of errors contributed to the failure of our police and security forces to prevent this atrocity", intoned former justice John Major sternly. And that's putting it mildly. Air India Flight 182, with the loss of 329 Canadians aboard, plus crew, was a growing-up experience for Canada. Not so, unfortunately, for the RCMP and CSIS, since they're still in the awkward stages of juvenile arrest. Each eyeing the other with turf-jealous suspicion rather than working in tandem to achieve results.
If any other federal agency received a damning report card citing it for "incompetence, excessive secrecy, inattention, ineffectiveness, internal strife, erroneous assumptions, inexcusable behaviour, leading to tragic failure, wouldn't Canadians, who pay to keep them in operation, want to dismiss them holus bolus? Would that we could. We would, after all, dearly like to believe that our two national security agencies are competent, reliable and professional. Because we like the idea of being protected.
No such thing, evidently. Talk about ineptitude, and wooden heads! Three men meet secretly to plan a nefarious and violent deed that will result in the deaths of hundreds of innocent Canadians. Two of those men have second thoughts and their consciences lead them to turn in the plot to authorities. Cue, action! Except that, no, nothing is done. A few disinterested, laconic questions, and dismissed, thank you very much...
Another occasion, other opportunities where two CSIS agents follow suspects, hear a powerful explosion in a forested area, forget to take a camera to photograph the suspects, dismiss as irrelevant the incident and the area where the explosion occurred, and life goes on. A Vancouver police officer is warned by a source from the Sikh community that an attack by Sikh extremists is imminent. Yawn.
James Bartleman, director at the time of the Intelligence Analysis and Security Bureau at (then-named) External Affairs saw a document that then vanished, warning that Air India was being targeted, and even the very weekend was stated. He brought this vital document to the attention of the RCMP. Thanks very much, chap, now get on with your other business, because I don't need you telling me mine.
A telex warning of sabotage sent by Air India, receiving a tepid recognition in Canada. Security at the airport was non-existent, when passengers were boarding for the flight to India. The X-ray machine used to scan luggage went on the blink, and oh dear, too bad, we'll just overlook that process. That bag, that one there, haul it aboard, even if no one matches up with it, and it could - that's a very remote, impossible, could - contain explosives. Joking, right?
All RCMP sniffer dogs away with their handlers on a course? Hmm, well, call in a replacement. And get that plane off the tarmac and into the air before dog and handler arrive. It is, said Judge Major, "incomprehensible" that airline officials simply proceeded as though nothing was amiss, and that neither the RCMP nor CSIS took any of the warnings they received seriously.
Those little slip-ups allowed home-grown Sikh terrorists to engage in mass murder. To teach India a lesson. It taught Canada much, but Canada was reluctant to recognize and take ownership of its lesson. Until Prime Minister Stephen Harper felt that it was well past time that the truth was revealed. Particularly since the unfailingly inept CSIS destroyed evidence that might have seen justice take its course in apportioning guilt where it belonged.
As it is, Canada has the distinction of having cleverly acquitted those who planned this outrage against humanity, allowing them to continue celebrating their victory against "India" for not agreeing to divide their country any further, to accommodate the nationalistic demands of a violent and aggressive portion of its Sikh population. We also have the distinction of having had the plan hatched right in Canada.
And Canada's national security agencies were obligingly helpful to the ferociously vile plans of the executioners - in view of what has been revealed.
Some of which can cost incredible sums of taxpayer dollars, and which can take decades to reach their conclusions. At least the just-concluded commission headed by retired Supreme Court Justice John Major, investigating the sad-and-sorry failure of Canada's two federal law-and-security agencies to use the tools at their command to apprehend a tragedy, did not cost as much, nor take as long.
"A cascading series of errors contributed to the failure of our police and security forces to prevent this atrocity", intoned former justice John Major sternly. And that's putting it mildly. Air India Flight 182, with the loss of 329 Canadians aboard, plus crew, was a growing-up experience for Canada. Not so, unfortunately, for the RCMP and CSIS, since they're still in the awkward stages of juvenile arrest. Each eyeing the other with turf-jealous suspicion rather than working in tandem to achieve results.
If any other federal agency received a damning report card citing it for "incompetence, excessive secrecy, inattention, ineffectiveness, internal strife, erroneous assumptions, inexcusable behaviour, leading to tragic failure, wouldn't Canadians, who pay to keep them in operation, want to dismiss them holus bolus? Would that we could. We would, after all, dearly like to believe that our two national security agencies are competent, reliable and professional. Because we like the idea of being protected.
No such thing, evidently. Talk about ineptitude, and wooden heads! Three men meet secretly to plan a nefarious and violent deed that will result in the deaths of hundreds of innocent Canadians. Two of those men have second thoughts and their consciences lead them to turn in the plot to authorities. Cue, action! Except that, no, nothing is done. A few disinterested, laconic questions, and dismissed, thank you very much...
Another occasion, other opportunities where two CSIS agents follow suspects, hear a powerful explosion in a forested area, forget to take a camera to photograph the suspects, dismiss as irrelevant the incident and the area where the explosion occurred, and life goes on. A Vancouver police officer is warned by a source from the Sikh community that an attack by Sikh extremists is imminent. Yawn.
James Bartleman, director at the time of the Intelligence Analysis and Security Bureau at (then-named) External Affairs saw a document that then vanished, warning that Air India was being targeted, and even the very weekend was stated. He brought this vital document to the attention of the RCMP. Thanks very much, chap, now get on with your other business, because I don't need you telling me mine.
A telex warning of sabotage sent by Air India, receiving a tepid recognition in Canada. Security at the airport was non-existent, when passengers were boarding for the flight to India. The X-ray machine used to scan luggage went on the blink, and oh dear, too bad, we'll just overlook that process. That bag, that one there, haul it aboard, even if no one matches up with it, and it could - that's a very remote, impossible, could - contain explosives. Joking, right?
All RCMP sniffer dogs away with their handlers on a course? Hmm, well, call in a replacement. And get that plane off the tarmac and into the air before dog and handler arrive. It is, said Judge Major, "incomprehensible" that airline officials simply proceeded as though nothing was amiss, and that neither the RCMP nor CSIS took any of the warnings they received seriously.
Those little slip-ups allowed home-grown Sikh terrorists to engage in mass murder. To teach India a lesson. It taught Canada much, but Canada was reluctant to recognize and take ownership of its lesson. Until Prime Minister Stephen Harper felt that it was well past time that the truth was revealed. Particularly since the unfailingly inept CSIS destroyed evidence that might have seen justice take its course in apportioning guilt where it belonged.
As it is, Canada has the distinction of having cleverly acquitted those who planned this outrage against humanity, allowing them to continue celebrating their victory against "India" for not agreeing to divide their country any further, to accommodate the nationalistic demands of a violent and aggressive portion of its Sikh population. We also have the distinction of having had the plan hatched right in Canada.
And Canada's national security agencies were obligingly helpful to the ferociously vile plans of the executioners - in view of what has been revealed.
Labels: Canada, Crisis Politics, Justice, Terrorism
posted by Pieface | 6:45 PM
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