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Opinion piece from the New York Daily News. The guy sounds a bit whacked:
Too close for comfort
Just an hour away by plane, Montreal is a terror haven
By FABRICE de PIERREBOURG
Monday, April 2nd 2007
On Dec. 14, 1999, American border guards intercepted Ahmed Ressam as he tried to cross the U.S.-Canada border. In a spare tire well of his rented car, they found nitroglycerin and four timing devices. The target of this would-be terrorist, who came to be known as the Millennium Bomber, was Los Angeles International Airport.
But just as important as his destination was his origin: the French-Canadian city of Montreal, which sits just six hours north of New York City by car on I-87.
The arrest revealed to the world the existence of an active Islamic jihadist cell, then baptized the Montreal cell. It was in this Quebec metropolis that Ressam had stirred up his plot against the United States. Montreal was where he had been recruited into a radical Salafist mosque to subsequently train in an Al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.
Eight years later, New Yorkers must face a startling, sobering reality: The threat of Muslim fundamentalism in Montreal is only growing. If left to fester, it could put New York City in the crosshairs of another major attack.
Canadians have repeatedly tried - and failed - to tame the threat. Back in 1996, the French anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguière had shed light on ties between a group of ex-mujahedeens from the Bosnian war and five individuals, including Ressam, who were then illegally living for the most part in Montreal. All were imprisoned except one, Abdellah Ouzghar, who now lives freely in Canada, awaiting extradition to France.
Some wishful thinkers convinced themselves that the neutralization of this faction took care of the problem. Wrong. Montreal has not lost its appeal for jihadists. In fact, over the past 10 years, approximately 20 Montrealers have been involved in various plots. In the fall of 2006, Assem Hammoud, a longtime resident of Montreal, was arrested in Lebanon for planning to blow up PATH train tunnels near Manhattan. In 2001, two Montrealers, Abderraouf Jdey and Faker Boussora, vanished after declaring their intention to die as martyrs. The organization Rewards for Justice is offering $5 million for their capture.
Montreal, only an hour's flight from New York City, shelters at least 30 individuals linked to the Islamist movement, as well as several veterans from the Afghan Al Qaeda camps. Some of these radicals have already been condemned for terrorism overseas and have returned to this city, either legally or illegally. Canada's Security Intelligence Service has made clear it is very concerned about the significant increase in the "jihadization" of young Canadian Muslims and converts.
Yet despite all this, airport and border security remains lax. Just last week, a Canadian Senate committee said security is consistently taking a back seat to revenue collection at U.S.-Canada land crossings.
And last year, I published a study demonstrating how, on seven occasions, I gained access to the Montreal airport's tarmac and to other restricted zones where planes outbound to the U.S. were located. I also hid in food cart storage refrigerators; it would have been easy for me to put a bomb in one of them.
It's not surprising that, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, NYPD intelligence chief David Cohen installed an information officer in Montreal to keep a close watch on this sword of Damocles that hangs over the heads of New Yorkers.
Will it be enough to avoid another disaster?
De Pierrebourg is author of the book "Montréalistan."
Too close for comfort
Just an hour away by plane, Montreal is a terror haven
By FABRICE de PIERREBOURG
Monday, April 2nd 2007
On Dec. 14, 1999, American border guards intercepted Ahmed Ressam as he tried to cross the U.S.-Canada border. In a spare tire well of his rented car, they found nitroglycerin and four timing devices. The target of this would-be terrorist, who came to be known as the Millennium Bomber, was Los Angeles International Airport.
But just as important as his destination was his origin: the French-Canadian city of Montreal, which sits just six hours north of New York City by car on I-87.
The arrest revealed to the world the existence of an active Islamic jihadist cell, then baptized the Montreal cell. It was in this Quebec metropolis that Ressam had stirred up his plot against the United States. Montreal was where he had been recruited into a radical Salafist mosque to subsequently train in an Al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.
Eight years later, New Yorkers must face a startling, sobering reality: The threat of Muslim fundamentalism in Montreal is only growing. If left to fester, it could put New York City in the crosshairs of another major attack.
Canadians have repeatedly tried - and failed - to tame the threat. Back in 1996, the French anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Bruguière had shed light on ties between a group of ex-mujahedeens from the Bosnian war and five individuals, including Ressam, who were then illegally living for the most part in Montreal. All were imprisoned except one, Abdellah Ouzghar, who now lives freely in Canada, awaiting extradition to France.
Some wishful thinkers convinced themselves that the neutralization of this faction took care of the problem. Wrong. Montreal has not lost its appeal for jihadists. In fact, over the past 10 years, approximately 20 Montrealers have been involved in various plots. In the fall of 2006, Assem Hammoud, a longtime resident of Montreal, was arrested in Lebanon for planning to blow up PATH train tunnels near Manhattan. In 2001, two Montrealers, Abderraouf Jdey and Faker Boussora, vanished after declaring their intention to die as martyrs. The organization Rewards for Justice is offering $5 million for their capture.
Montreal, only an hour's flight from New York City, shelters at least 30 individuals linked to the Islamist movement, as well as several veterans from the Afghan Al Qaeda camps. Some of these radicals have already been condemned for terrorism overseas and have returned to this city, either legally or illegally. Canada's Security Intelligence Service has made clear it is very concerned about the significant increase in the "jihadization" of young Canadian Muslims and converts.
Yet despite all this, airport and border security remains lax. Just last week, a Canadian Senate committee said security is consistently taking a back seat to revenue collection at U.S.-Canada land crossings.
And last year, I published a study demonstrating how, on seven occasions, I gained access to the Montreal airport's tarmac and to other restricted zones where planes outbound to the U.S. were located. I also hid in food cart storage refrigerators; it would have been easy for me to put a bomb in one of them.
It's not surprising that, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, NYPD intelligence chief David Cohen installed an information officer in Montreal to keep a close watch on this sword of Damocles that hangs over the heads of New Yorkers.
Will it be enough to avoid another disaster?
De Pierrebourg is author of the book "Montréalistan."
