Caution: terrorists crossing

Everyone had a great time mocking that Congressional committee for voicing its alarm at the discovery of a possible terrorist cell just across the border. The Globe somehow found it relevant that the chair of the committee was "a fierce opponent of abortion," while the CBC's Neil Macdonald concentrated on dropping heavy hints that a Canadian witness before the committee -- David Harris, the former director of strategic planning for CSIS -- was some kind of kook. In Parliament, the opposition demanded that the government do more to counter the misinformation being spread by the committee, which task the government gravely promised to perform. But other than the chairman's reference to "South Toronto," no one seemed to think it necessary to identify just what the committee had got so egregiously wrong. Is Canada not home to a good many terrorist cells? Should we not have been more careful about screening applicants for admission to this country, and if we had, would we not have rather fewer of these characters in our midst? Have we not suffered the odd lapse in security -- the Ahmed Ressam case, for example? Was the last government not notoriously slow to deal seriously with Hamas, Hezbollah and the Tamil Tigers? For pity's sake, until quite recently you could still get a tax credit on your donations to these "charitable" organizations. Ah, but that was then. Things have tightened up quite considerably since. Oh yes? Have a read of this Globe story, and tell me if you find it reassuring. It tells the tale of how two of the suspects were arrested at the border last year carrying concealed weapons -- or rather, how they very nearly weren't.

The officer searched the car for 10 minutes. Nothing. It's a drug stop, but there's no sign of drugs, he told a colleague. His colleague took the men's IDs and tried to run their names through the Canadian Police Information Centre, the master database for law enforcement. The master database wasn't working. On his way back to the car, the officer passed a bulletin board, where he happened to spot a notice containing the names of Mr. Mohamed and Mr. Dirie. It was a warning for weapons, not drugs. The officer ran outside to warn his colleague. Border officers aren't allowed to carry guns, and it's a sore point for many who say they're placed in dangerous situations without adequate warning... As he reached around the young man's waist, the officer felt a telltale bulge. The officer had no training on how to deal with weapons. "We've got a gun!" he shouted. Mr. Mohamed resisted as the officer grabbed for the loaded handgun tucked into his belt. A scuffle broke out. The officer, who weighs 230 pounds, struggled to twist Mr. Mohamed's arms behind him and apply handcuffs. A supervisor helped to subdue Mr. Mohamed... The border officers were scared. This was no drug bust. In a draft of a letter sent to Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day this week, union president Ron Moran said that the police, unlike the Canadian Border Service Agency, knew what they were dealing with and took precautions. "From what we understand thus far, a CSIS terrorist lookout appears to have been altered and downgraded to a Caution: drug smuggling lookout," he wrote. "Based on our inquiries ... we now fear that CBSA management may have had the correct terrorism-related information about these two persons, but deliberately altered or downgraded it from our members so as to prevent them from exercising their rights under the Canada Labour Code to refuse dangerous work."

This is how we protect our borders -- by tricking unarmed customs officers into confronting suspected terrorists?