17 Males arrested in Ontario on suspicion of terror plot

[Filipe]

I am sure some people around here have already heard about this, but for those that havent I will try to relay this as best I can. I am sure someone can do so for me if I am missing some small details here, or there. So please I am sure there are other Canadians who have been paying more attention to this then I have, who can fill in the gaps.

So the police over this past weekend caught 17 males, some adults, and some young adults who were plotting a major terrorist attack in southern Ontario. They were trying to grab some manure type deal that would be used much like it was in Oklahoma city in much larger quantities. They dont know what the alleged target might have been, however it has been said they could have attacked as soon as today. Now while I am not from Ontario this kind of comes as a surprise to me that the police only noticed this was occuring now, with a possible attack that close. Also one of the men has already said or I think he said anyway that he wanted to behead Prime Minister Steven Harper.

So my question is, what does everyone think of these individuals, and what they should do with them. I heard someone that I work with say that they should hang them, and film it for all to see as an example to those who would even try such a thing. That might be a bit extreme, but it's his opinion and he is entitled to it. Also do you believe the police were doing the best job possible, and it still took this long to find them? Just something to discuss anyway.
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[Krawnik]

What up. I'm a Torontonian, so this has been all over the papers, and I've been following it fairly closely. Most of your information is great, but some important corrections/details from the Toronto Star follow:

[John Layfield]

I see no real worry. I know the idea is a bit scary, but you have to remember one thing. They were caught and arrested. They failed. Canadian police is capable of uncovering terror plots and arresting those responsible before they do anything. In the past, you'd have to guess whether the RCMP would be able to prevent such a thing, now you know, they can and they have.

It's some comfort to know that. It'd be much worse if the first thing you heard about this was something in Toronto being destroyed.
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One day, I shall come back. Yes, we shall all come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.

[Nimble Jack]

Yeah, that sting operation deal was amazing. When I read it, I half expected it to fail, just because I had seen it attempted and fail so many times in movies and such. Good show RCMP! I'm glad that my neighbors to the north are on the look out and safe. As for what to do with the perpatrators, I think that whatever action is taken should be swift, firm, and just. I disagree with hanging them, and filming it, because an action taken such as that could inspire more extreme action from those that would be doing such activities currently. This happens all the time with war atcrocities, the people that were made an example of get turned into a war chant, like "Remember the Alamo!" or "Remember the Maine!". Furthermore, I think that if the sentence does end up being death, of whatever kind, that the criminals should be allowed to be put to death in privacy, not televised or anything. I think that that would be a testament to the civalty of the Canadaian government. To quote The DaVinci Code:

[Solitude]

It really doesn't surprise me at all that a terrorist attack atempt happened there. A terrorist attack can happen anywhere at any time. There doesn't even have to be any political significence to it. That is one thing I have been thinking about lately. For one such as me who barely has any contact with the outside world to be hearing about more and more terrorist attacks is kind of disturbing. It tells me that terrorist attacks are becoming more frequent (obviously) However I have been thinking that this is only due to a trend starting. Terrorist attacks may be the thing to do now or something like that. I'm just trying to figure out the mind set of such extremists. I mean, what I'm trying to say is that people who would have never done it before because it would have no point to it are now doing it even though there is still no point in it and nothing is going to be gained. Its just like the major terrorists are starting a trend for the minor terrorists and terror in general is erupting all over the place.

My thoughts are way scattered right now and I myself am having trouble gathering and making sense out of them all, so I apologize if I come off confusing. I do know that whatever they plan to do with the 17 men, execution or whatever, should be done after they attempt to get information out of them regarding future attacks and other terrorist groups in the area.

[Elzamine]

I'm Canadian too, out east though (NB) I think it's more depressing to me than it is sad, really.

We can all hope this is the first and last terrorist action in Canada, but I suppose it'd most likely be ignorance to think that.

As for putting them to death, eh I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't go to that extent, but the possibility of life in prison wouldn't exactly surprise me.

It's sad that it's coming to this.. but with the never ending issues in the world and such, I'm almost surprised we've gone this long without major terrorist movement..
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-My DeviantArt-

[Arcana]

It should be made clear that there was no actual attempt at an attack. It is only the case that they were engaging in activities that were considered suspicious and could possibly indicate that an attack was being planned.

This is going to be a huge case in the courts because no crime was actually committed; as far as I am aware, buying ammonium nitrate (which is a fertilizer used commonly by farmers) is not a crime.

I am sure that Libertarians all over the world are up in arms about this right now, claiming that these men have been arrested without sufficient evidence. Of course, that's all speculation, as the RCMP, CSIS, and the local police have, hopefully, collected the proper information to be able to convict these men.

There is also a lot of huffufle over the fact that the men haven't been able to see their lawyers in private.

One of the lawyers yesterday said that the court allegedly claimed that his client wanted to "behead the Prime Minister". I don't know why the lawyer said this, as it dominated the news last night and doesn't put his client in a sympathetic light. I think he means to suggest that the court is leaking information inappropriately, but many people probably just took it as another sign that his client was guilty.

They were caught doing things such as videotaping the CN Tower and the Parliament buildings, as well as inspecting the Toronto Subway system. Either the media or the police has stated that the intention was to try to find weaknesses in these buildings for attacks. Some Libertarians have said things on the lines of, "So what, these men were arrested for taking pictures of major tourist attractions in Canada?"

This is going to be a very big case, and it has already attracted a lot of international attention.
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Woo, 2000 posts as of Tuesday, 2007 August 28.