The following articles have been extracted from the RCAC (A) Military News
Digest of 13 Jul 06:
---------------------------------------------------------
Leo C2 Debuts at Bovington
The Tank Museum at Bovington, U.K. hosted its biennial TankFest in late
June, a seven-hour mobile display of the museum's historic operating AFV.
Spectators braved a rain-swept day to applaud among other 'runners' two
Leopard C2 tanks making their debut. Recently donated by the CF, both tanks
generated considerable interest and the Tank Museum is delighted with its
good fortune. [The original buy was 114 gun tanks and 26 variants (Taurus,
Badger, Beaver). There are 44 gun tanks and the 26 variants in service at
Wainwright, which were to be phased out with delivery of the mobile gun
system (MGS). The anticipated cancellation of MGS has prompted the
re-commissioning of 22 more gun tanks, bringing the fleet to 66-the exact
quantity of the MGS purchase. The remaining 48 gun tanks are surplus and
have been donated as monuments or to museums. The balance will likely be
used as hard targets. Leo is now expected to remain in service until 2015.]
---------------------------------------------------------
TRR Vets Gift Sherman Tank
Veterans of the 12th Canadian Armoured Regiment (Three Rivers Regiment)
will formally gift a Sherman Mk IV to the City of Ortona's war museum on 31
July. The ceremony culminates a three-year European search for a suitable
vehicle, ultimately discovered in the War and Resistance Museum at Overloon,
Holland. It's now completely refurbished and wearing wartime colours. The
$90,000 cost of acquisition, transportation and refurbishment was
underwritten by donors secured by Lt.-Gen. J.C. Gervais, a former Colonel of
the Regiment 12e RBC. Canada's Ambassador to Italy will attend and it is
hoped that the CDS and the honorary colonels of 12e RBC, The Ontario
Regiment (RCAC) and The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC), which units
comprised 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade in Italy, will be present for the
handover.
-------------------------------------
Editorial
From sea to seethe
Globe and Mail
Canada's motto -- a mari usque ad mare, from sea to sea -- is decidedly
odd. It was based on the Bible's Psalm 72, the same psalm that suggested
"dominion" as a synonym for country, but in context the line had little to
do with oceans. "He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river
unto the ends of the earth" reflected the known world in ancient Palestine.
It's not even clear why usque (all the way) has to be in there. (Ad nauseam,
for instance, used to be usque ad nauseam until people opted for brevity.)
Now there's a move afoot to add a third sea to the Atlantic and the
Pacific. The three territories and Manitoba think it's a sin not to
acknowledge the North by recognizing the Arctic Ocean. They want the motto
changed to "from sea to sea to sea," and have won support from such
celebrities as former governor-general Adrienne Clarkson, who argues that to
see Canada only as from "sea to sea" is to be mired "in European terms:
You
go marching across." Another argument is that amending the motto will help
declare Canada's sovereignty over the North, a crucial consideration as
global warming makes it easier for foreign vessels to navigate the northern
passage. Yes, that's bound to work. "It's no use, men. The Canadians have
added another 'to sea' to their motto, so we'll have to turn the ship
around. Curse those Canucks and their devious legal minds."
Since altering the motto, and thus the country's coat of arms, would entail
considerable expense in changing plaques on monuments and emblems on
uniforms, Canada would be wise to think this through before proceeding.
"From sea to sea to sea" indicates that the country has only three sides.
What about the southern border? Shouldn't the motto be "from sea to sea to
sea to the border you'll soon need a biometric card to cross"? Manitoba
Premier Gary Doer was passionate last March in his argument: "There are
three seas. There should be all three seas in the motto." But why just the
Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic? Baffin Bay and Davis Strait are all that
separates us from Greenland, but do they get a mention? Apparently not.
If the country were truly serious about changing its motto, it would pursue
something altogether different. With the help of Henry Beard's books Latin
for All Occasions and Latin for Even More Occasions, we offer a few
possibilities. Since Canada has had an international reputation as an honest
broker, it might adopt the line, "Veni, vidi, verba feci de pluribus
gravibus pertinentibus ad Partem Tertiam Orbis Terrarum, quae, ut scis, in
partes tres divisa est." Translation: "I came, I saw, I spoke out on a
number of critical Third World issues."
Too wordy? A country dedicated to peace, order and good government might
serve notice that queues in Canada are meant to be respected: "Noli inferre
se in agmen," which means, "No cutting in!" Or, more generally,
"Forsitan ad
hoc aliquot condiciones pertineant" -- "Some restrictions may apply." As a
trading nation, we might prefer "Volo pactum facere" -- "I'd like to
cut a
deal." Or, given the gradual suffocating of cigarette use, "Tibi gratias
agimus quod nihil fumas" -- "Thank you for not smoking."
Then again, with all due respect to those quarrelling over the motto, the
most germane choice might be "Fac ut vivas" -- "Get a life."
-------------------------------------------
A younger, savvier global terror cell
By Anes Alic in Sarajevo | ISN Security Watch
Since October last year, 40 teenagers, several of whom met each other
face-to-face or via the internet, have been arrested worldwide and indicted
on terror charges in a case in which prosecutors are trying to prove that
all suspects were linked in a European terrorism cell.
Though none of the suspects have been connected to any previous terror
attacks, prosecutors believe that the group, if indeed it is proved to be a
group, was preparing suicide attacks in countries in which they lived. Prior
to their arrests, there is evidence showing that many of the suspects had
made contact with each other either face to face or using the internet.
Moroccan national Younis Tsouli, a 22-year-old computer expert, was arrested
in October in London. Authorities believe he is the central figure in a
cyber-terrorist network that reaches from Europe to North America.
Investigators say they have found in Tsouli's computer files an internet
trail linking some of the 39 other terror suspects arrested in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Britain, Denmark, the US and Bangladesh over the past eight
months.
An international investigation was launched in late 2004 when the suspects
were discussing the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq and the situation of
Muslims around the world in a chatroom under surveillance by the FBI and the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). According to intelligence
reports, the suspects were expressing radical anti-western sentiments.
Prosecutors in each country are trying to prove that the suspects belong to
a widely dispersed group of radicalized Islamic militants, most of them very
young, who are doing their own recruiting, indoctrination and training - a
new breed of terrorists, and a new European cell that prosecutors have since
dubbed the "Internet al-Qaida Network."
Prosecutors also believe the investigation into the alleged cell could shed
some light on how the 2004 Madrid terrorist attack and the bombing of
London's transport system last year were planned and implemented. In both of
attacks, local extremists appear to have managed their own affairs, from
recruitment to arming.
From Sarajevo to Toronto
Indeed, on 24 June, FBI director Robert Mueller stated that homegrown
terrorists could emerge as a greater threat than groups like al-Qaida. "We
have already seen this new face of terrorism on a global scale in Madrid, in
London and in Toronto. We have also witnessed this so-called
self-radicalization here at home," Mueller was quoted as saying.
In a videotape confiscated during an arrest in Sarajevo, the message was
clear: "These brothers are ready to attack and, God willing, they will
attack the infidels who are killing our brothers and Muslims in Iraq,
Afghanistan. This weapon will be used against Europe, against those whose
forces are in Iraq and Afghanistan." Forensic evidence later proved the
voice on the tape to be that of Mirsad Bektasevic, a Bosnian national with
Swedish citizenship who was living with a family in Bosnia at the time of
his arrest.
On 19 October, anti-terrorism police in the Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina arrested Bektasevic and Cesur Abdulkadir, a Turk national with
Danish residence, in a Sarajevo apartment that belonged to the former's
cousin. This was the beginning of what is now believed to be an
international investigation into a new terrorism cell stretching from Bosnia
to Canada.
Some 30 kilograms of explosives, dozens of guns, a suicide bombers' vest
and a videotaped last will and testament were confiscated in raids on the
three apartments being rented by the suspects in Sarajevo and the
surrounding suburbs. The videotape, a key piece evidence in the case, shows
the two men asking God for forgiveness for the sacrifice they were about to
make. The two suspects are also shown making bombs, including one planted in
a lemon and another planted in a tennis ball.
Though prosecutors have been unable to prove the alleged cell's intended
target in Bosnia was, a high-ranking police source close to the
investigation has told ISN Security Watch that the targets were believed to
be US and British embassies in Sarajevo, or, more likely, the European Union
Force (EUFOR) military base in the Sarajevo suburb of Butmir, just 100
meters from the apartment in which the first two suspects were arrested.
Bektasevic and Abdulkadir have denied plotting terrorist attacks, though
they were unable to explain the weapons found in their apartment.
Weeks after the arrest, Bosnian police arrested three more people connected
to Bektasevic and Abdulkadir. Two of them, indicted for possession of
explosives, were later released on bail after agreeing to be key witnesses
for the prosecution. The third, Bajro Ikanovic, a former soldier of the
El-Mujaheed unit, which fought against Bosnian Serb forces during the
1992-1995 war, was also indicted for terrorism. Ikanovic was charged as the
main supplier of explosives for Bektasevic and Abdulkadir. They all pleaded
not guilty, and the trial is expected to start on 20 July.
While in Sarajevo, Bektasevic was in contact with a militant imam in
Denmark named Abdul Basit, who is facing terrorism charges in Denmark,
according to ISN Security Watch's Bosnian police source. In the intercepted
telephone conversation on 7 October, Bektasevic asked Basit to send him
money for the goods they received - goods police believe were the explosives
found during the investigation. "Try to see if we can get more money,
because I, thank God, my brother, found some really good stuff, you know,"
Bektasevic said during the telephone conversation. Amir Bajric and Senad
Hasanovic, charged with selling explosives and released on bail, confirmed
to investigators that they had not been paid for the explosives and guns
they sold to Bektasevic and Abdulkadir.
Bektasevic is also suspected of being the jihadist recruiter who used the
on-line name Maximus. US media reported that Maximus communicated with other
key jihadist operatives on the internet, including Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, the
late al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, who was recently killed by US and Iraqi
forces. Further boosting the idea that the 40 arrests since October are
connected, Bektasevic has been interrogated by half a dozen international
intelligence agencies since he was arrested.
On 26 June, during Bektasevic's latest court hearing, his lawyer, Idriz
Kamenica, complained that his client had been visited for long periods at a
time by officials from Canada, the US, Britain, Sweden and Denmark.
A spokesman for the Bosnian Prosecutor's Office, Boris Grubesic, told local
media that during the investigation into suspected terrorist activities last
year the office had contacted officials from many countries. Two days after
the Sarajevo arrests, a London raid resulted in terrorism related charges
against Tsouli, Waseem Mughal and Tariq al-Daour, whose trials are expected
to begin in January. Officials believe Tsouli was using one of his chat
rooms to communicate with radical recruits in Toronto and Atlanta. They also
believe his cyber code name was "Irhabi007" (Arabic for
"Terrorist007").
According to the Bosnian indictment, Tsouli was in possession of Swedish
and Bosnian telephone numbers, Bektasevic's numbers. In the London raid,
police discovered both Bektasevic's Bosnian and Swedish phone numbers.
Tsouli was not indicted for any involvement in actual terror attacks. His
reputation came entirely from his alleged role as one of al-Qaida's most
effective computer hackers and propagandists. He is said to have helped
distribute online weapons manuals and videotapes of bombings and beheadings
and taught seminars on how to operate undetected on the web and hack into
vulnerable web sites. His seized computer is alleged to contain a
presentation on how to make car bombs, various bomb-making manuals, and a
digital video clip of Washington monuments. According to British
authorities, Tsouli was also allegedly in contact with the Toronto area
group.
Soon after the Toronto arrests, British authorities moved to arrest six
more locals linked to each other, including one who had recently visited
Canada. Only days later after the London and Sarajevo arrests late last
year, police in Denmark arrested six teenagers believed to be linked to
those arrested in Bosnia. Denmark police also arrested 21 others, relatives
and friends of six arrested, but they were released soon afterwards. Police
said they raided the suspects' homes in the Copenhagen area, seizing
computers, computer discs, radical literature, and mobile phones. The
identities of the arrested and other details have not been revealed and the
investigation is ongoing.
In March and April this year, two young Georgian Muslims, Syed Ahmed and
Ehsanul Sadeeque, were arrested and charged with materially supporting
terrorism. Sadequee was arrested on 17 April at the request of the FBI in
Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, where his family claims he went to get married.
He was extradited to the US later that month. Just a few months earlier, FBI
agents reportedly had interviewed him after finding two suspicious compact
discs in his luggage as he was flying out of the US. He told agents he had
recently been to Toronto to see his aunt. He is now charged with lying to
the FBI, which says he travelled to Toronto and then Pakistan to learn how
to become a terrorist.
According to US prosecutors, in March last year, Ahmed and Sadeeque,
travelled to Canada to meet several men who were the target of an ongoing US
government investigation. Ahmed was taken into custody at Atlanta's
Hartsfield airport upon his return from Pakistan, where the FBI claims he
had gone for terrorist training. Ahmad's family said he had visited Pakistan
to attend a religious school. According to court documents cited by western
media, the men discussed attacks against oil refineries and military bases
and planned to travel to Pakistan for military training at a terrorist camp.
Ahmed was arrested on charges that he videotaped the Capitol building in
Washington and several Atlanta targets. US media reports said it was the
same footage found on Tsouli's computer - but those reports have not been
independently confirmed.
The most recent arrests believed to be connected to the alleged new cell
took place on 2 June in Canada, when 17 suspects were apprehended. A core
group of six men have been charged with conspiracy to explode a series of
truck bombs in the center of Toronto. Their targets allegedly included the
Toronto stock exchange and the local CSIS headquarters, and prosecutors also
say plans were under way to storm the parliament building in Ottawa and to
behead the prime minister, Stephen Harper, if he failed to order Canadian
troops home from Afghanistan.
Members of the Toronto cell were under close surveillance since at least
November 2004, when some of them were identified by Canadian agents
monitoring websites sympathetic to al-Qaida. The alleged ringleader,
21-year-old Fahim Ahmad, is said to have been in contact with other suspects
in Britain, Pakistan,and the US, who had visited Toronto last year. In June
2005, two Somali Canadians, Yasin Abdi Mohamed and Ali Mohamed Dirie, were
arrested in Fort Erie, Ontario, and convicted of smuggling three handguns
purchased in the US. The investigation showed they had used a car rented by
Ahmad.
Following the Canada arrests, the FBI's Meuller praised the operation,
saying it was the result of "high-level co-ordination, co-ordination between
international law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Canada, United
States, Denmark, Britain, Bosnia, Bangladesh and in other countries."
-------------------------------------------------------