Analysis: America's Other Border
Council on Foreign Relations
June 5, 2006
Prepared by: Eben Kaplan
With immigrants marching in the streets, senators debating a barrier wall, and National Guardsmen recently deployed, the U.S.-Mexican border has dominated much of the U.S. public's attention in recent months. Yet, as revelations emerge about an alleged Islamic terrorist cell in Canada (NYT), the calls for better control (CBC) over the world's longest undefended border now have new life. The Government Accountability Office recently told Congress that its agents had successfully smuggled radioactive material through a border crossing. This CRS report (PDF) examines the post-9/11 security needs along the U.S.-Canadian boundary.
The allegations in Canada, based thus far on sketchy information largely revealed by the Toronto Star newspaper, describe a cell composed of twelve men and five juveniles across three Ontario cities. Officials say their plans included attacks on targets across southern Ontario.
Like the terrorists who bombed the London subways (BBC) last summer, the Canadian cell had no direct ties to the al-Qaeda network, but was likely inspired by al-Qaeda's rhetoric. According to the Toronto Star, the plot was hatched in an Internet chat room, where it was monitored by the Canadian intelligence service.
Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.
Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.
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