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US Media Spin on Canadian Arrests

I was wondering how long it will take for the US corporate media -- who have been all over Canada's arrest of the 17 possible terror suspects -- to put their own spin on this case. Hence it does not come as a surprise that although Canadian officials say suspects were a domestic cell, the US media speculate on foreign connections.

So are we now supposed to become paranoid and follow the US' lead in 'securing our homeland'? Will our Dear Leader and his right-wing (neo-con) minions want to establish NSA-like spying on us? Perhaps a Canadian 'Patriot Act'? And will we, Canadians, meekly agree that this would be "in our best interests" like our American neighbours seem to be doing? Are we to look askance at our countrymen who look as if they might be of Arab heritage? Will we give in to mass hysteria? I certainly hope not.

The Associated Press reports that investigators have widened the probe to see if there are international connections to the suspects, although Canadian officials continue to say that the plot was only a domestic one.

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And while Canadian officials privately said the men were part of a domestic cell, American media reported on possible foreign terror connections.

The Wall Street Journal, quoting senior US intelligence and counterterrorism officials, said the Canadian suspects are believed directly tied to Younis Tsouli, whose website ran propaganda videos for an Al Qaeda commander in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Mr. Tsouli was arrested last year in London and charged with seeking to carry out terrorist attacks in the United States and Britain. He was holding surveillance videos of Washington landmarks, raising fears among US officials that he was in league with North American operatives.

As well, the Los Angeles Times quoted a US terrorism official as saying that the Canadian arrests were part of a multinational inquiry into suspected terrorist cells in at least seven countries. The US official said authorities were combing through the evidence seized during the raids in the Toronto area to look for possible connections between the 17 suspects and at least 18 other people who had earlier been arrested in the United States, Britain and other countries.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Canadians will have to learn to accept the same "immigrant frictions and diplomatic strains" as the US, even if that were something most Canadians would rather avoid.

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Read full article here from the Christian Science Monitor.

Tags for this entry: canada, terrorism, US Media.

posted by Annamarie at 12:08 AM