Too much secrecy helps terrorists, Overreacting to risk means we're 'giving in to fear'

Ian MacLeod
The Ottawa Citizen

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Canada's spy master, of all people, is warning that excessive government secrecy and draconian counterterrorism measures will only play into the hands of terrorists.

"The response to the terrorist threat, whether now or in the future, should follow the long-standing principle of 'in all things moderation,' " Jim Judd, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said in a recent Toronto speech.

"The response must be calibrated carefully so as to optimally protect Canadians and Canadian interests while containing an often natural disposition of giving in to fear and panic."

Even so, he offered a candid -- and bleak -- assessment of the threat posed by terrorism.

"I regret to say that, at this juncture, there appears to be little prospect in the near term for the threat to dissipate. Successfully countering the current terrorist threat is going to be a very difficult and longer-term challenge."

Authorities, he said, are faced with an imaginative adversary and "it could be argued that traditional responses -- military, security, intelligence and law enforcement -- will go only so far in countering this threat.

"We are dealing with an adaptive adversary that learns from its mistakes, our mistakes and vulnerabilities, and our operational methods. It is an adversary that is not going to favour us with mindless repetitiveness in its actions."

He admitted officials do not yet fully understand a crucial element in combating terrorism -- the process of radicalization that can lead individuals, especially young Muslims raised in Canada and other democracies, to embrace terrorism.

That remark at the recent Raoul Wallenberg International Human Rights Symposium was followed yesterday by details from a CSIS study that found a "very rapid process" is transforming some youths from angry activists into jihadist terrorists intent on killing for their religion.

The study, obtained by the National Post under the Access to Information Act, says a few have embraced terrorism with frightening speed after becoming enraged over what they perceive as a western "war on Islam" and being coaxed on by extremist preachers.

"The most important factor for radicalization is the perception that Islam is under attack from the West. Jihadists also feel they must pre-emptively and violently defend Islam from these perceived enemies," it concludes.

The study is the government's latest attempt to understand why a handful of Canadian Muslims are alleged to have become involved in terrorist plots. It comes as a preliminary hearing is under way in Brampton for four of 18 suspects charged for their alleged role in a Canadian terrorist group accused of plotting attacks in southern Ontario.

Mr. Judd's comments are similar to those made in November by Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the normally very private head of Britain's MI5 security service.

In a major public speech, she predicted the fight against terrorism will last a generation and warned that radicalization, especially of young people, was one of the biggest problems facing anti-terror investigators. Three of the four men who attacked three London subways and a red double-decker bus on July 7, 2005, were British-born.

In his speech, Mr. Judd said governments and societies must measure their response to terrorism by keeping in mind that it is driven by the aspirations and actions of a select group of individuals and groups.

"We therefore have to avoid falling prey to the terrorist propaganda which would have people believe that this is a clash of civilizations or cultures or religions," he said. "Our own response therefore has to be carefully modulated and very focused.... And we have to be very careful in our use of language on these issues.

"Over-reaction to terrorism, it should be remembered, is a fundamental objective of most terrorists in history. We should not accommodate their goals in this regard."

Though organizations such as CSIS, he said, are often seriously constrained in what can and cannot be said publicly "we do have to play our part in this dialogue, something we have been doing much more of in the last several years.

"Broader public education and engagement is critically important to ensure a dialogue that is well-informed, robust and balanced. This is particularly the case with those diverse communities in our societies who may feel most threatened by the efforts to contain this terrorist threat."

Canadians cannot afford to see these communities withdraw or close in on themselves for fear of being unfairly associated with the actions of what amounts to a relatively few individuals, he said.

"More broadly, there is a risk that, absent adequate public dialogue and a surfeit of secrecy, the justification for action by governments against terrorism will be undermined or misunderstood. This in turn can put in jeopardy the legitimacy of the government response."

A careful, broadly based and multi-faceted national and international response to the issue is going to be required to prevail, he said.

"Democracies have taken a long period to develop and their values, laws and institutions continue to provide inspiration to those without the luxury of living in one. It is thus essential that in responding to threats such as terrorism we do so in a fashion that best reflects what democracies stand for."