Patterico's Pontifications

10/22/2014

Attacks in Canada [Updated]

Filed under: General — JVW @ 10:33 am



[guest post by JVW]

Shots were fired near Parliament in Ottawa earlier today. At roughly the same time, a Canadian soldier was killed at a nearby war memorial. This on the heels of a vehicular attack on two soldiers in Quebec Monday by an alleged jihadist which left one soldier dead.

The news story linked to above contains the following unsubstantiated tidbit:

A Canadian official told Fox News witnesses described one of the suspects as having long, dark curly hair and a tan complexion and said he was wearing a white bandana and white hoodie. They said there was no license plate on the Toyota Corolla.

Canadian officials had recently raised the terror threat from low to medium due to an increase in Internet chatter among members of ISIS, al Qaeda, and other extremist groups.

It’s a developing story, so feel free to share updates in the comments.

[updated to fix typo; thanks Hoagie.]

UPDATE: The Ottawa Sun seems to have the most comprehensive coverage, including a video of the attack (the gunman isn’t visible, however). The suspect is Canadian born and — surprise, surprise — a convert to Islam.

– JVW

75 Responses to “Attacks in Canada [Updated]”

  1. Canada’s Sergeant-at-Arms, a former RCMP officer, killed one of the attackers in Parliament itself.

    Apparently the shooting happened at the war memorial, and that attacker hijacked a car (and let the driver go) and took it to Parliament. I’m taking reports that there were more than one attacker at face value, but am less than certain of that.

    One gunman, at least, in parliament had opportunity to kill civilians including a mother and child, but refrained. They targeted military personnel and then the centre of government power.

    Canada should respond, obviously, and looking at immigration policy would be a good start. However, I’m uncomfortable calling those who strike military targets terrorists. Perhaps more information about their targeting would change my view, but as far as I know, they attacked soldiers and the seat of government power, not uninvolved civilians.

    At the end of the day, evil or not, I expect these attackers will show more guts than the majority of legislators in Canada, the USA, or Europe, who appear content to throw western civilisation away.

    For the record, I don’t support them. I just understand the seriousness with which these people operate and the general unseriousness with which the west operates. Count me down with Mark Steyn and Geert Wilders, among others.

    I actually like several Muslims as individuals. Most are decent people, of course. But there is a strong current of serious resolve among Muslims the west has largely forgotten.

    Christoph Dollis (6e026c)

  2. …a Canadian soldier was killed at a nearby war memorial…

    Are we sure that the soldier died? I’ve been trying to learn his condition.

    Mustang51 (2dd274)

  3. Guess it has been confirmed the soldier died. What a shame.

    Mustang51 (2dd274)

  4. Canadian officials had recently raised the terror threa[t] from low to medium

    I don’t see what the terror threat has to do with work place violence.

    Hoagie (4dfb34)

  5. So according to the leftists are terrorists committing work place violence on Canadian soldiers because Americans are bombing ISIS?

    Hoagie (4dfb34)

  6. Coordinating all that disparate workplace violence apparently is easier than it might seem.

    elissa (5eab9d)

  7. If President Obama was out golfing or on a fundraising junket there’s no reason to criticize him for failing to call his cabinet to the White House so thay can all sing Kumbaya, then blame George W Bush and the Koch brothers in general and GOP candidates in particular for the War on Women before they insist Congress abandon plans to build the Keystone pipeline and agree to raise taxes.

    ropelight (109307)

  8. One BBC analyst did lay the responsibility for this outbreak of workplace violence on Canada’s willingness to assist the United States in the middle east. I must admit that I wasn’t aware that Canada had done anything significant to help the U. S., but then again Obola did return Churchill’s bust to the U. K., so we can’t expect much in the way of friendly feelings between our countries. I haven’t heard any alternate views on the BBC about the wisdom of inviting foreign workmen to live in Canada in the first place. The workers recreational facilities that these workmen construct seem to be recruiting centers for marginally unstable workmen. No doubt minimum wage laws, mandated vacations, childcare centers, affordable care plans, paid healthcare leave for pets and neighbors, and of course union representation will be the antidote to these workplace problems.

    bobathome (5ccbd8)

  9. Did I just see a caption on FOX NEWS or CNN that Obama Administration officials are assuring the nation there’s no evidence of any connection to terrorism? I was searching for the Liverpool/Real Madrid match and thought the WH denial was what I was seeing.

    ropelight (109307)

  10. Today the Pakistani girl who was awarded the Nobel Prize was due to get Canadian citizenship. Coincidence ?

    Mike K (90dfdc)

  11. Auric Goldfinger said, Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it’s enemy action.

    ropelight (109307)

  12. Mike K: Bingo! I must be very galling to these workmen to see young women learning how to read. And for Canada to celebrate such a thing!

    bobathome (5ccbd8)

  13. Today the Pakistani girl who was awarded the Nobel Prize was due to get Canadian citizenship. Coincidence ?

    Mike K (90dfdc) — 10/22/2014 @ 11:58 am

    God, I hope not. I heard several Pakistanis saying that either the girl didn’t exist, or that her history was a creation of “the West.” That would be just awful.

    carlitos (c24ed5)

  14. Err, I hope so.

    carlitos (c24ed5)

  15. ABC’s Brian Ross is on the case…

    http://s14.postimg.org/n9xjva235/brian_Ross_Investigates.jpg

    Dave (in MA) (037445)

  16. Not to worry, Rear Admiral John Newton, the Canadian Commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic, has the situation well in hand. He’s told his troops “to restrict movement in uniform in public as much as possible.”

    It would be better if they paired up and armed themselves and demonstrated that they can’t be cowed. But then Canada understands workplace violence a lot better than those ancient warmongers who complained about appeasement. Appeasement works! Why from 1934 to 1939 Baldwin, et al, held off Hitler with no casualties at all. it was a land for peace deal, and it worked just swell.

    I was in the service during Vietnam, and when riding buses in D. C. we were ordered to remove our hats for fear that they would provoke violence when the rioters at American University, and other locales, spotted them. I’d rather have been issued a .45 and given the chance to take out 5 or 6 of them before they burned the rest of us. And of course, there were probably five or ten other servicemen on the bus, and between us we could have made a bigger difference. And, despite our orders to cower before the mob, we servicemen bore responsibility for the war, not the Democrats who stumbled into it.

    bobathome (5ccbd8)

  17. bobathome (5ccbd8): My first cousin was killed during the Tet Offensive. I know it
    probably doesn’t mean much after all these years, but thank you for your service.

    exiledonmainst. (f03d99)

  18. “Today the Pakistani girl who was awarded the Nobel Prize was due to get Canadian citizenship. Coincidence?”

    It’s 50 years to the day since Canada adopted a new flag. The first target was the cenotaph, the national was memorial. That strikes me as a more plausible candidate for the timing.

    In any case, it’s also probably related to Canada’s support for the war against ISIL, including providing air force assets.

    Christoph Dollis (6e026c)

  19. #16, exile: There is a terrific book that puts the sacrifice of our men and the anguish of those still at home in very clear and sympathetic terms. It also brings a good deal of glory to the institution we call the Marine Corps. Check it out A Corpsman’s Legacy. My time in the service never put me in harms way, for which I’m grateful. I only wish I knew then what I know now.

    bobathome (5ccbd8)

  20. Recent conversion to a certain religion of peace seems to correlate with a dramatically-increased chance of going on a murderous rampage.

    Funny how that works.

    Christoph Dollis (6e026c)

  21. Obama comments about attacks, talks about his visit and how wunnerful Canucks made him feel, makes it all about himself, declares Canada the 58th state.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  22. what a narcissistic ass…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  23. No one could have predicted this.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/22/us-canada-attacks-suspect-idUSKCN0IB2IX20141022

    Two U.S. officials said that U.S. agencies have been advised that the shooter was a Canadian convert to Islam.

    Unexpectedly.

    Steve57 (4bf70d)

  24. Religion of Peace®

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  25. Not terrorism. Shooter did not have ISIS mor AQ official photo card nor up to date annual terrorist registration fee nor official terrorist decoder ring nor phone cover. And of course Islam is the Religion of Peace® .

    Bugg (f0dbc7)

  26. Always clever to get the Canadians annoyed, eh? As the Germans found out twice.

    Fred Z (9c9edd)

  27. Right, Bugg. And if we could just get these guys to proudly wear their ISIS uniforms during the random coordinated workplace violence it would be so much easier for the State Dept. and the media to figger these things out —-

    elissa (f2fc00)

  28. It’s going to be hard for liberals to call this a workplace shooting, so my guess is they will ignore this story as much as possible and call it suicide-by-cop when they can’t.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  29. DRJ – you underestimate their ability to stick their fingers in their ears and scream LA LA LA LA LA LA LA

    JD (8644da)

  30. Are you kidding, DRJ? How is it hard for liberals to call this a work place shooting when they called the Col. Hassan massacre with 31 shot and fifteen killed all while a guy named “Hassan” screamed “allu Akbar” at the top of his moslem lungs a work place shooting? If 31 people shot by a stone moslem fanatic is work place shooting this certainly qualifies.

    Hoagie (4dfb34)

  31. My Canadian colleagues are … Not happy. Pissing off what Mark Steyn calls “the Anglosphere” is not a good idea for long-term success. Yeah, they’re fairly socialized up north, but they have fought with us in virtually every war since 1812.

    http://youtu.be/QrkgV5bl7kQ

    carlitos (c24ed5)

  32. This looks like al Qaeda – it is interested in military targets more than important government locations.

    In 2001, the Pentagon came before Congress. Here too.

    There was no WTC like target.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  33. Can you be more specific about what your colleagues are saying, Carlitos?

    elissa (f2fc00)

  34. I wrote this in 2013: (some emphasis and material in brackets added now)

    It is a bad thing for someone to have no religion, or system of ethics, but it is even worse for someone to have the wrong religion, in the sense of an ethical philosophy, because it can cause someone to do something enormously wrong, for an unselfish reason.

    There are not actually very many people who hold by those religious and, to some degree, political, beliefs that led somebody to bomb the Boston Marathon or kill a random soldier in London, but their numbers, quite independently of any events, are growing by about 20% a year, and this needs to be stopped.

    There are certain religious beliefs that need and deserve to be persecuted, at least to the extent
    of forcing people to recant or disavow them.

    We should concentrate on the teachers and not the students, and especially those people who seem to be bribed into saying certain things.

    In Great Britain there is a little more freedom for that, because they don’t have the First Amendment, although it is important to tread carefully here. But in the United States we also have that freedom when it comes to immigration law, because First Amendment rules don’t apply to that area of law.

    Any person petitioning to come as a cleric should give a written statement, which should also be recorded, which should not be a fixed text, but his own words, but it should say it is no part of their doctrine that a person has permission or reward for killing someone, and there is an obligation to stop it and to inform auithorities if someone plans to or has done it, and it must specifically mention as people whom there is no reward or permission to kill, Jewish settlers on the West Bank, or those who blaspheme or insult or ridicule the prophet of Islam, or Hindus, or those who commit sexual offenses (outside a framework of law) and that
    God cannot be appeased by someone killing any of their children.

    People should be told that while no one will write anything for them [to say], the stronger it is the better, and that at a later time, people may come to look at their exact words, [and] if it is [very] similar to what someone else who later did something terrible, said. [to stop terrorist groups from writing things for clerics.]

    And that we reserve a right to spy on their public or intended for the public, activities, to make
    sure that such doctrines are not being taught.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  35. 10. Two so far.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  36. Hey elissa — this is just informal texting, small sample size.

    One fairly conservative friend is saying if these jihadis want war, bring it on. Another somewhat liberal friend is questioning how this could happen in the paradise that is Ontario. I mentioned that this might be a feature of multiculturalism rather that a bug , but haven’t heard back.

    Either way, I hope that we can have an adult conversation about these incidences in context. These might even be some of the terrorist attacks that have been previously stopped. Hope to learn more soon.

    I’ll tune into CBC later and see more.

    carlitos (c24ed5)

  37. Meanwhile, the peace loving Palestinians of Jerusalem, who have been rioting for the last two months, especially when Jews go visit the Temple Mount, exhibit more evidence of their willingness to peacefully live together with Jews.
    http://www.timesofisrael.com/funeral-begins-for-baby-killed-in-suspected-terror-attack/
    Attacker drove a car into a small crowd waiting for either a bus or a light train (I have seen both descriptions used).

    kishnevi (4e6bac)

  38. RIP Cpl Nathan Cirrillo.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  39. Radical mooslims god is not great.

    mg (31009b)

  40. Thanks, Carlitos. It’s always interesting to get insight and direct reaction from regular people we know in addition to that which comes from, or is filtered through, the media outlets.

    elissa (f2fc00)

  41. Update from a Canadian friend. I haven’t caught up on the news.

    Don’t think it’s terrorists as the shooter walked right past the room where the MPs we’re gathered for the same meeting that happens every Wednesday … they would have researched & known that.

    carlitos (c24ed5)

  42. One fairly conservative friend is saying if these jihadis want war, bring it on. Another somewhat liberal friend is questioning how this could happen in the paradise that is Ontario. I mentioned that this might be a feature of multiculturalism rather that a bug , but haven’t heard back.

    It seems to me that if I were a bigwig jihadist I would be pretty mad that the Canadian public has been roused (well, let’s hope so at least) by such a small potatoes operation. It should make it so much harder for Canadian jihadists to carry out a large-scale operation in the dominion. I guess the one redeeming virtue of radical Islam is that there are so many undisciplined small operatives out there that it should hopefully cause problems for any larger-scale groups to operate. Jihad’s strength is that it is apparently widespread and hard to track, but its weakness is that it is unorganized and made up of way too many freelancers. It is a reminder that al Qaeda was relatively successful because they had bin Laden and Zawahiri to provide the organizational structure.

    JVW (60ca93)

  43. carlitos, I didn’t see your 5:16 pm post before I posted my thoughts, but I think your friend might be assuming too much professionalism among terrorists — expecting them to have the organization and discipline of al Qaeda rather than being a bunch of losers who aren’t disciplined enough to research and investigate and just pull-off a poorly-planned job with the expectation that Allah will somehow guide them through. It’s still terrorism and terrorists, just really badly trained ones.

    Those years in the training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan paid huge dividends to al Qaeda. The modern North American terrorist has fortunately never had that experience.

    JVW (60ca93)

  44. You’re probably right. These guys are probably most similar to the knuckleheads that we regularly catch before they cause any harm.

    carlitos (c24ed5)

  45. this is from a Telegraph piece on Aulaqi

    In Toronto, members of the so-called Toronto 18 watched videos of Awlaki at a makeshift training camp where they allegedly planned an attack on the Canadian parliament and prime minister.

    narciso (ee1f88)

  46. I’ve heard claimed on Hewitt (delayed) that the person was a Muslim convert,had had his passport recently revoked as a travel risk, and was in body armor, a skilled guard took him out with a head shot.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  47. hmmm recent convert to Islam… sometimes the answer is as plain as the nose on your face.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  48. It was an old guy who took him out. Kevin Vickers, the Sergeant- at- Arms. See him here in full regalia from an old Reuters photo.

    http://www.smh.com.au/world/canada-terror-attack-sergeantatarms-kevin-vickers-hailed-as-hero-after-killing-shooter-20141023-11a7qy.html

    elissa (f2fc00)

  49. Hewitt’s friend Yoni says that if you take the passport of a would be ISIS jihadi so he can’t travel to Syria, what’s he gonna do?

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  50. The Sergeant-at-Arm’s role is to keep order in Parliament and participate in the daily parade that opens the deliberative body at the start of the session. The job is not usually associated with armed security. (per the article I linked above)

    elissa (f2fc00)

  51. Canadians suffer from the PC bacterium to some extent, but they’re still with it enough to call a spade a spade.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  52. hmmm recent convert to Islam… sometimes the answer is as plain as the nose on your face.

    Mark Steyn is interestingly referring to him as a Muslim “revert,” hinting that he was born to a Muslim family but only adopted the religion relatively lately.

    There is an interesting correlation between recent converts to Islam and a predilection towards violence. The Oklahoma beheader, some of the known ISIS pendejos, and others. Maybe the trick is to pay special attention to those young men who are flocking to the religion, and to quit letting Islamic groups recruit in prisons.

    JVW (60ca93)

  53. Now, let’s not jump to conclusions here, JVW. Anyhow, no profiling is allowed.

    elissa (f2fc00)

  54. I forgot to put at the top of the post that profiling would be allowed here. My bad.

    JVW (60ca93)

  55. “One fairly conservative friend is saying if these jihadis want war, bring it on. Another somewhat liberal friend is questioning how this could happen in the paradise that is Ontario. I mentioned that this might be a feature of multiculturalism rather that a bug , but haven’t heard back.”

    “Carlitos… I am not here to educate you. Shut up, listen and own your ancient legacy of hatred and wrongness.”

    – Somewhat Liberal Friend

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  56. But Director Comey says only a dozen Americans are fighting for ISIS, and he knows all of them,

    narciso (ee1f88)

  57. Uhh, ok.

    carlitos (c24ed5)

  58. I don’t get exactly why this is such a big story

    happyfeet (e4bb01)

  59. “Carlitos… I will wake up tomorrow smiling, having stood up to you and knowing that the world is richer for my opposition to what you said”

    – Somewhat Liberal Friend

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  60. “Hey, Doll… ever made it with a ballerina?”

    http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PelosiEmanuel.jpg

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  61. I keed, I keed, Carlitos!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  62. Not to worry, Rear Admiral John Newton, the Canadian Commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic, has the situation well in hand. He’s told his troops “to restrict movement in uniform in public as much as possible.”

    It’s also reported he’s invited the family of Nidal Hasan over to his house for a game of checkers and, later, tea and biscuits.

    Mark (c160ec)

  63. #40, carlitos (c24ed5) — 10/22/2014 @ 5:16 pm: Don’t make the mistake of overestimating your enemy. We all know that U. S. Marines are amongst the best. A fellow from my high school decided to desert from the Marines during Vietnam and one would think this was well thought out. His first, and last, mistake was to choose Okinawa as his point of departure. ISIS may be inside our President’s response cycle, but this doesn’t mean much. Obola isn’t rooted in reality. A couple of years from now, with perhaps a few million killed, we will respond effectively. Count on it.

    bobathome (5ccbd8)

  64. feets- because:
    ISIS is over there, and not a threat to us
    they only hate the US because we’ve been a big mean superpower pushing the world around, a little country like Canada has nothing to be concerned about

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  65. I think there is a new purpose for GITMO. Any person with a passport from a western country that tries to join the jihadis gets to join them at Gitmo.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  66. Yeah but still it’s Canada

    Obama’s been very clear that Canada is not counted among our concerns

    happyfeet (e4bb01)

  67. There is an interesting correlation between recent converts to Islam and a predilection towards violence. The Oklahoma beheader, some of the known ISIS pendejos, and others. Maybe the trick is to pay special attention to those young men who are flocking to the religion, and to quit letting Islamic groups recruit in prisons.

    JVW (60ca93)

    There’s something to that. Also in the military itself. I think I’d been in Korea for about three hours before someone tried to tell me about Islam (upon seeing my nametape with a Persian name on it). The pernicious thing about radical Islam is that there is merit in Islam. There are good Muslim folks with good values. It’s easy to write the whole thing off as crazy terrorism cult if you’re totally insulated from it, but in the real world it’s simply more complicated. I did not find changing religions appealing as I was happy with my own views, which were Christian.

    I don’t say that to pretend there isn’t a radical islam that inspires a lot of violence and misery and oppression. But I can imagine someone in prison being sold on Islam, learning the wise aspects and the appealing aspects that have appealed to a lone, unhappy man for hundreds of years. If The Man starts pushing back, that would probably radicalize the prisoner, much as the teenage daughter fawns over the boy her mom hates most.

    My point: there’s a vacuum in society. It’s the need for God in our lives. It’s an innate need that I think modern culture pretends isn’t there. Someone who has no religion will find Islam immediately appealing, because they need spiritual relief. Especially folks in prison, who experience so much ugliness around them, and surely feel an intense need for redemption.

    I’m not saying it’s a bad idea to keep track of recent converts to Islam who are young men. I am saying it’s a shame Christianity doesn’t have the same effort in prisons to evangelize. I’ve never heard of a prisoner trying to win other prisoners over to Christ. I’m sure it happens, but it needs to be an organized fight. Doing it from the prison admin side would be unconstitutional and surely futile anyway.

    Dustin (801032)

  68. Dustin- Are you not familiar with Prison Fellowship? I think that is very active in organizing Christian efforts in jails and prisons.

    And I know there are many local ministers scattered about that do prison visitation. Just don’t expect any news stories over it.

    In fact, the “Son of Sam” murderer became a Christian (I think maybe after he was on meds for schizophrenia??) and became a model prisoner. To make clear it was not a ruse to get parole, when it was time to come up for review he wrote to the state authorities and families of victims that he was not going to ask for consideration of parole, but was content in serving his time for the crimes he committed.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  69. MD, my minister as a kid sidelined a prison minister. Awesome guy. He wasn’t a prisoner. I’ve heard of Prison Fellowship but am not very familiar with it. Isn’t it a charity that funds ministers to travel to prisons? I admire that effort, but it is the opposite of what I was suggesting.

    I don’t think the Islamic evangelism is coming from outside the prison walls, but is an organic thing, emanating directly from the faith of fellow prisoners who are disenchanted with the outside world. I think many of them would look to a well intentioned Christian minister from outside their walls more skeptically than they would look to their cellmate.

    I guess it’s a bit of a pickle though, that a good Christian who would proudly try to win converts is not as likely to be a cellmate at all.

    But my point is that when you look at a lot of these places where fundamentalist Islam is thriving, there is a vacuum that is being filled.

    Dustin (801032)

  70. I meant he sidelined *as* a prison minister.

    Dustin (801032)

  71. kishnevi (4e6bac) — 10/22/2014 @ 4:58 pm

    Attacker drove a car into a small crowd waiting for either a bus or a light train (I have seen both descriptions used)

    Any where a car is used in a terrorist attack to run over people it means they don’t have bombs or explosives, and probably not guns either, and have given up on obtaining them.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)


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