Security has improved since the 2001 attacks on the United States, but threats have changed and Canadians need to discuss how much they are willing to compromise personal freedoms in order to stave off future attacks, says Alan Jones, former assistant director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
“I think the most serious threat at the moment is not so much from a particular group because there is a spectrum of groups,” said Jones, interviewed before Monday’s shootings in Washington, D.C. “The most serious threat are the potential targets, those targets particularly being large, open public areas which are difficult to defend—areas such as we saw in the Boston marathon attacks or in the attacks in Madrid or in London. Similarly, (there have been) attacks against industrial sites abroad as we saw in the Algerian oil fields and… attacks against mining facilities and other such facilities.”
Al Qaeda “still very dangerous”
The death of an iconic person like Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden may be a loss for a terrorist organization’s reputation , morale and motivation says Jones, “but Al Qaeda is very adaptable… It’s expanded, it’s taken up in other parts of the world, whether in the Arabian Peninsula, the Maghreb, Indonesia, Yemen, Nigeria, many other places. Al Qaeda is damaged by these attacks without question, but it is still very dangerous.”
Canada has spent an additional $92 billion on national security since 9/11, reports the Ottawa think-tank the Rideau Institute. Are we any safer? “Absolutely we are,” says Jones. “There are many parts of the world where people get up in the morning and they do worry about whether they are going to be the victim of a terrorist attack or whether there might be a terrorist attack in the city that they’re in and it might affect their environment. Canadians don’t typically worry about this…They might worry about general crime but they’re not particularly worried about terrorism because it’s usually a long way off and they don’t feel that immediate threat. ”
Security improved since 9/11
Security services in western countries are far more advanced since 9/11, he thinks, in terms of their knowledge base, knowing who the groups are, their motivations and modus operandi. He says that in Canada there is a better legal framework to facilitate prosecution and the Canadian Border Services Agency is more capable, has better funding and tools to protect the border.
Canadians security services need to be connected to other international services to be effective, says Jones. He adds his can be difficult when other countries have different attitudes on how to balance security imperatives and the need preserve rights and freedoms.
Need to balance security and human rights
“In an environment where the tolerance level for terrorism is absolutely zero, how much are you willing to accept in terms of your rights and freedoms being affected by the state as it goes about to protect us from terrorism,” asks Jones. “That’s a discussion which is just starting…and I think it’s something Canadians and others should be engaged in.”
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.