Mining Cells, Reconnaissance & Freighters

Update January 8 2006 to this post can be accessed here

Update August 11: From the New York Times - 9/11 Commission rejected report

The United States Military operation unit digging deep for data on al-Qaeda cells called operation Able Danger was not included in this section of the 9/11 Commission Report. They were told not to give their information to the FBI - from the New York Times.

If you read through the Commission's report like I did you'll find some clauses redacted. But sometimes they forget to blacken out everything. One fact that stands out is that the FAA was only to respond to an imminent threat instead of preparing for possible high-jackings with the information that was given them.

That 'imminent threat' statement is the same one that has been used repeatedly by our Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan as quoted in this Washington Times article.

What I found interesting in this article was this:

"Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, a Saudi native, former South Florida resident and pilot thought to have helped plan the September 11 attacks. Authorities said he might be carrying passports from Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Canada, and was in Canada last year looking for nuclear material for a "dirty bomb," a conventional explosive laced with radioactive material. "

In a July 9 2005 article on page A8 of the Hamilton Spectator it quoted the Washington Times in a 2003 report stating:

"an FBI informant claimed an al-Qaeda terrorist scouted McMaster University's nuclear research reactor to get material for a "dirty bomb". The RCMP and McMaster officials said they could not find evidence to support the story."

So here's where it gets interesting

Back in early July I awoke one morning to take my coffee and cigarette on the balcony only to see this huge mother of a freighter – red and surreal- moored at one of our ports.

This monstrosity piqued my curiosity so later that evening I went to have a look along with other curious visitors. We began to talk to the crew to find out the Federal Yukon was Canadian owned but had a crew made of up 28 members all from India. Of course, I was hoping I could get us onlookers aboard to have a tour, but we were refused, naturally.

Since it was time for a shift change a number of crew members swung around a pole attached to a fence surrounding the dock yard (the security measures adopted by the Hamilton Port Authority) to look for a telephone to call their fiancée’s etc., etc.

We were asked about security and if they needed to show their ship’s documents to anyone. Another woman and myself responded "this is it" [with respect to security] and started to laugh.

This wouldn’t have made any difference to me except that after the U.K bombings on 7/11 I read in the Hamilton Spectator on July 8 that sympathizers with al-Qaeda-like philosophies would routinely test our security systems. It got worse the next day when I read above FBI informant’s comments in the Washington Times (above) that someone scouting McMaster’s nuclear reactor research facility.

Now if the RCMP were called in that would mean they were investigating to see if anyone had stolen anything as they investigate criminal activity.

Of course I would expect McMaster officials to deny such claims as they have lost some credibility with me. (Why? Because of this post. )

If I were the reporter for the Spec I would have contacted CSIS’s public relations person to find out if they knew anything. So I did.

Having spoken to Barbara Campion, a CSIS spokesperson she told me "while CSIS cannot confirm or deny that they have investigated [the McMaster incident] it is the type of activity that could be investigated if it were to fall within CSIS’s mandate."

For example, I would think threat related activities such as sabotage. Ms. Campion referred me to read National Post jouranlist Stewart Bell’s thoughts on ‘operational planning reconnaissance’.

While I wasn’t able to access any articles from the NP I’ll refer to Stewart’s book ‘Cold Terror’ that quotes an interview by CSIS with Muhamed Hussein al Husseini in August 1993: "Hezbollah has members in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto – all of Canada. Hezbollah wants to collect information on Canada, on life in Canada, its roads and so on in case there’s a problem with Canada." (Pg. 92)

Husseini on ‘Security Service’

"Maybe anyone travelling from here to Lebanon can give Hezbollah information about Canada, even about your own security service, and especially about you personally, for example, if you interview them."

[…]

"I know that films have been shot here and sent back there. Video films…they film roads, life, everything."

I wanted to find out why Hamilton’s port was not as secure as you would think it should be, especially after reading the stuff in the newspaper. My mind putting together the pieces I was thinking…what if these guys from the ship with links to south-east Asia (or others) had connections here in Hamilton, were able to link up with them, deliver some – oh- I don’t know- dirty bomb material and store it on the ship and take it to another destination?

I found out from other sources that Canada does not have exit controls on ships leaving Canada and do not have to report outwards after being randomly searched and reported inwards.

Something was not copathestic, so I called Helen Leslie the public relations person for the Canadian Border Services Agency.

Ms. Leslie told me in a rather defensive manner, that since "Canada is a democratic country, we do not have exit controls. Canada has chosen not to have exit controls and only countries like China, Cuba and Australia do. The United States doesn’t have exit controls"

So ships entering Canada after random searches and inward reporting were free to do whatever they wanted including once they left Canadian waters. So that leaves room for, oh lets say like smuggling drugs, like the 83 Kg of cocaine on a CSL freighter or smuggling of dirty bomb material to take to someone who knows what they're doing?