More arrests possible in Canadian terror case

Canadian authorities are saying that more arrests may be possible in connection with an alleged terror plot to bomb several sites in the province of Ontario.

The Associated Press reports that investigators have widened the probe to see if there are international connections to the suspects, although Canadian officials continue to say that the plot was only a domestic one.

"We've by no means finished this investigation," Mike McDonell, deputy commissioner for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told The Associated Press yesterday. "In fact, you might look at it that, really, we're just starting with the arrests. We have a responsibility to follow every lead."

Fifteen of the 17 people charged with participating in the alleged bombing plot are to appear in court in Brampton, Ontario, for a bail hearing Tuesday. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports that the men have already been charged with "knowingly participating, directly or indirectly, in the activity of a terrorist group." Two of the men are already serving time for trying to smuggle guns and ammunition into Canada.

On Monday, six of the men were also charged with planning to cause a deadly explosion. Three of the suspects have been charged with importing firearms and prohibited ammunition, and supplying prohibited weapons. Ten of the men are charged with engaging in terrorism-related training.

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Under Canadian law, once charges are made in a case, the details of that case cannot be discussed in the media until they emerge during the subsequent trial. If a Canadian reporter discloses any relevant information before the trial, he or she could be charged with contempt of court.

The Globe and Mail reports that these new charges hint at "different levels of involvement" for the men arrested, with some of them accused of plotting to build bombs and others merely attending "training sessions." And while Canadian officials privately said the men were part of a domestic cell, American media reported on possible foreign terror connections.

The Wall Street Journal, quoting senior US intelligence and counterterrorism officials, said the Canadian suspects are believed directly tied to Younis Tsouli, whose website ran propaganda videos for an Al Qaeda commander in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Mr. Tsouli was arrested last year in London and charged with seeking to carry out terrorist attacks in the United States and Britain. He was holding surveillance videos of Washington landmarks, raising fears among US officials that he was in league with North American operatives.

As well, the Los Angeles Times quoted a US terrorism official as saying that the Canadian arrests were part of a multinational inquiry into suspected terrorist cells in at least seven countries. The US official said authorities were combing through the evidence seized during the raids in the Toronto area to look for possible connections between the 17 suspects and at least 18 other people who had earlier been arrested in the United States, Britain and other countries.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Canadians will have to learn to accept the same "immigrant frictions and diplomatic strains" as the US, even if that were something most Canadians would rather avoid.

"There is a desire in Canada to see ourselves as very different from the United States. Whatever we are, we are not the United States," [University of Toronto law professor Audrey Macklin] said, citing the nation's more liberal immigration policy and rejection of go-it-alone military actions. Canada has declined to be part of the US-led forces involved in the war in Iraq.

"We're not a priority target the way the United States is, but that doesn't mean we are protected," she said, adding that Canadians "picture themselves as being thought of as nicer than the United States." Yet even the best justice system in the world could not eradicate crime, and neither can all acts of extremism be prevented, she said, warning that "no country should be smug enough to think it's immune."

But some experts are advising Canadians to adopt a 'wait and see' attitude about the alleged plot, citing the numerous cases in the US where large, public "spectacle" cases trumpeted by the government and police often fizzle by the end. The Toronto Star reported Monday that these experts say that much of what has happened so far – the police showing only "sample" bags of ammonium nitrate, dozens of senior police officials taking part in Saturday's announcement of the alleged plot, Canadian police snipers and sharpshooters showing up outside and inside a courthouse where some of the suspects were taken for a bail hearing – was "as much about creating an image for the public as about charging the individuals."

Being on message – "on script" as the spin doctors put it – is a concept more easily associated with politicians than police chiefs. But for a veteran of the criminal justice system like Toronto lawyer Walter Fox, it's the obvious lens through which to judge events. The principal audience, in his view, is the Canadian public.

"Police think they have to present a show of force to advance the public's understanding that these guys are dangerous," said Fox. "Does it prejudice the mind of the public? I think so. As a criminal lawyer, I am well aware that police and the prosecution are never stronger than at the moment when they've brought their suspects into court for the first time. I've also learned that the stronger the police seem to be at this point, the more suspicious I become that they don't have a complete case."

The Toronto Star reported Tuesday that lawyers for the men arrested are already vowing to sue the government on behalf of their clients "if evidence doesn't support the sensational claims now being made."

Many are pointing to the 2003 immigration-RCMP investigation known as Project Thread where a group of foreign students from Pakistan and one from India were held on alleged immigration violations and classified at one of their immigration hearings as an "Al Qaeda sleeper cell."

The security allegations were later dropped and the students deported home, where they said they had difficulty shaking the stigma of being identified as terrorist suspects.

The Globe and Mail reports that Canadian officials did not actually use the sweeping investigative and detention powers of the country's Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) in order to develop the surveillance and the case against the 17 Brampton men. The Canadian Parliament is debating whether or not the ATA should be extended beyond its expiration date next year. And while the act has never been used once since it was adopted in 2001, law enforcement officials say they want to keep the act because it helps recruit informants.

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• Feedback appreciated. E-mail Tom Regan .