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Oct. 20, 2003. 06:28 AM |
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Country facing `persistent, evolving threats' Intelligence panel ponders grim scenarios BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH OTTAWA BUREAU VANCOUVER—Doug Ross' stock in trade is the stuff that nightmares are made of.A terrorist group detonates a nuclear device to pressure the United States to get out of the Middle East. But the attack happens not in the U.S., where it would spark an all-out retaliation from the Americans, but here in Canada where the terrorists can just as easily make their point.A remote possibility? Perhaps. But a possibility all the same, says Ross, an expert in arms control and a political science professor at Simon Fraser University."All we need is one or a few rogue organizations with financial resources and possible state support and we're going to have a major calamity on our hands," he said.If that's not enough to keep you awake at night, here's another terrifying thought: Radioactive material — discarded and since gone missing from industrial or medical uses — is wrapped around a bundle of dynamite and detonated in the core of a major city. The resulting radioactive cloud causes tens of thousands of casualties and exacts an economic toll in the billions of dollars. "This isn't theoretical. This is real. This is a risk," Ross said. That was just one of the grim scenarios discussed in recent days as experts from Canada's intelligence community — academics, analysts and top-level officials — gathered here at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies.They talked of "super-terrorism," the remote chance that some group will find the means to use nuclear weapons, the worst forms of biological or chemical agents, or radiological dispersal devices.They talked of intelligence failures and hinted at their successes in the shadowy fight against terror. And the country's top intelligence officials, whose stock in trade are secrets and classified chatter, made no secret of one sobering fact: Canada faces a real risk of being attacked.The conference heard: ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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