Oh Canada ...

"Mr Baird said he was "tremendously concerned about the number of Canadians who are radicalised and are fighting in Syria or Iraq, but we don't have any evidence to link the two at this stage".

"Reports suggest that well in excess of 100 Canadians have gone to fight jihad in the Middle East and that's a huge concern," he said.

Mr Baird also said Zehaf-Bibeau could have done much more damage than he did.

"For several minutes it was complete horror, complete terror, we didn't know whether the door was going to be kicked in, whether there was one or a group of people," he said."  BBC

"Zehaf-Bibeau's mother, Susan Bibeau, told the Associated Press that she had lunch with her son last week - their first meeting in five years.

She said her son seemed lost and "did not fit in".  BBC

"Can you ever explain something like this?" she said. "We are sorry." BBC

---------------------------------

"Terre do nos aieux."   I offer my condolence for this terrible thing, particularly terrible in a land that has tried hard to become a peacable kingdom that is welcoming to people from across the world.

A few points:

- This dirt bag was not an immigrant.

- The idea that it is significant that he was not "linked" to IS, AQ or some other organized jihadi group is ludicrous.  THE CONNECTION IS IN THE MIND!!  You don't have to be a group member to have that connection.

- The video of the parliament's sergeant at arms walking down a corridor pistol in hand looking for the dirt bag is impressive.  IMO this man deserves a decoration for setting an example of courage and dignity under fire.

- The corporal who was killed at the war memorial was a reservist.  Why?   The Old Guard (3rd Infantry) at Arlington has no reservists in it.  Is this emblematic of the extent to which Canada's army has been bled dry of funds?

- Where did the dirt bag get the gun?

- The mother's simple statement has great dignity.  One can imagine the parents' pain.  pl  

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29752077

Comments

[AEL]

Of course he was a reservist. Canada's military tradition flows through the regiments, and the reserve regiments have done the vast bulk of fighting (and dying) for Canada.

Why would you lock up the honour of guarding the war memorial to whatever regular infantry regiment that happens to be stationed closest to Ottawa? Spread it around and deepens the military tradition for all of Canada.

Besides, posting live guards at the war memorial is really recent. Before that, we relied on the pigeons.

[BabelFish]

The question of how he procured a firearm seems to be particularly vexing to the Canadians. I believe the answer will be, to their sorrow, pretty easily. I completely agree on the sergeant at arms. The value of someone with the proper background (police) certainly seems to have made a difference.

[turcopolier]

AEL

Well, my friend, there is a big difference between volunteer or drafted units raised for the war and reserve units. I seem to remember that Canada's army in "the Great War" was pretty much all wartime only units by design. The great majority of these were sequentially numbered infantry battalions one of which, the 22nd, has survived as a regular unit. There were also a few named rather than numbered wartime battalions (the PPCLI for example). that, too, became a regular unit. In WW2 the picture is less clear to me. Your government opted to not allow draftees be sent overseas to fight unless they volunteered. Which reserve units actually fought in WW2? I do not know. Canadian militia fought the US in 1812 with considerable success but the British regulars did the heavy lifting. As you say, it is your business how you allocate ceremonial duties. As for me, I do not want to see the National Guard at the tomb of the unknowns at Arlington, but then, I am a regular. BTW, we know what regiments are. Mine is the 1st Special Forces Regiment. pl

[Haralambos]

Col., in re: "The idea that it is significant that he was not "linked" to IS, YQ or some other organized jihad group is ludcrous. THE CONNECTION IS IN THE MIND!! You don't have to be a group member to have that connection." This is important to stress. I have read and watched interviews with those going who cite rage against the west. The idea that the dedication is in the mind applies as well to those who volunteer to risk their lives taking humanitarian aid to those victims of the various jihads, not to mention the foreign brigades that went to fight against Franco in the Spanish Civil War. They were not necessarily motivated by some type of abnormal fanaticism. As these two cases indicate, the motivations need not be religious or in the case those offering humanitarian aid bellicose.

[confusedponderer]

re: reservist - the wiki clarifies that Corporal Cirillowas a 'Class A Reservist'.

"Class "A" service refers to soldiers who are employed on a part-time basis with the military."

Like the US national guard?

[turcopolier]

CP

The vast majority of soldiers in the USARNG have exactly that status. There are a small number of officers and soldiers on permanent active duty to run the unit armory, etc. pl

[The beaver]

"Where did the dirt bag get the gun?"

He was a drug addict, he must have had connections.
Guess that's why he was bunking at the homeless shelter instead paying for a proper apt. He needed the money for his kicks- drugs, gun and his car.

BTW: No mention of his biological father. The Libyan guy mentioned in all the media is his step and adopted father who married his mother back in 1989.They got divorced in 1999.

[turcopolier]

Beaver

That does not explain how he had either the money or the gun. pl

[The beaver]

FYI: His life as a misfit

http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-shooter-was-a-high-risk-traveller-grew-up-in-laval-and-montreal-1.2066697

On one of the local news reports, it was mentioned that, after returning from BC, he was working as a mover and unloading trailers.

[pbj]

"particularly terrible in a land that has tried hard to become a peacable kingdom..."

Compared to the US perhaps. But their conservative government still merrily follows us in our foreign policy adventures. In that light, here is an alternate take on the matter of Canada falling victim to terrorism (from Glenn Greenwald):

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/22/canada-proclaiming-war-12-years-shocked-someone-attacked-soldiers/

[Medicine Man]

Thank you for the kind words, Col.

By all accounts the sergeant at arms, Vickers, is rare individual. His career is apparently an example of great restraint.

[walter]

Col, The most important issue is how we can prevent these things from happening. the decision to commit murder is a cognitive and emotional decision. It is a manifestation of brain activity: neural connections created over a lifetime. "He seemed lost...he did not fit in..." is a very important clue into his cognitive / emotional status. Most of the adolescent shooters in America are the same, loners, ostracized by peers... My guess is that there are identifiable patterns of cogntive/emotional makeup of these types.

I agree that we need strong punishments/deterrants. But we also need to acknowledge our own individual and societal culpability in contributing to alienating/disrespecting marginalized individuals in our society/world that occasionally respond with revenge/violence.

To be blunt, Americans have treated Muslims horribly for many years now. We have bullied them and we have the audacity to be surprised, outraged when they respond violently.

The Prayer of St. Francis is instructive:
It is better to understand than be understood
It is better to love than be loved
Its is better to pardon than be pardoned
etc

any human that murders is a human with severe emotional / psychological pain that needs help before they have to reach that state of dissociation from reality.

We should be reaching out to the Muslim community not only in America/Canada but in Middle East to hear their point of view and create closer relationships to create peace and understanding....

Col Lang, I know u believe "we are not all the same" ... I think we should have a more in depth conversation about that because I believe on some levels, the human animals of this world are all the same when it comes to brain functioning...our brains have different inputs which results in different outputs....but the software is the same....and that is where we should focus...influencing software to create peaceful outputs.
Walter

[Fred]

pbj,

I think this sign of rot in their society is not due to their foreign policy but to the domestic one.

[The beaver]

@ pbj

I am just waiting for either Harper or Baird to get the Iran angle in this whole conundrum of Canada being terrorized just to please Bibi and the electorate in the cosy compounds of Toronto , Winnipeg and Calgary.

[John Measor]

AEL had it correct in that the national war memorial was until eight years ago neither guarded nor staffed. It had two ceremonial guards put in place following vandalism carried out by a small number of drunk teenagers. Unfortunately in this incident it was hamstrung by being solely cerimonial.

I believe that the two soldiers posted to be the honour guard are rotated unit by unit throughout the year and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was serving that day (while his unit was based out of Hamilton, Ont.). He was given honours today (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/nathan-cirillo-heads-down-highway-of-heroes/article21284825/).

Regs and combat veterans, there are ample numbers following a decade in Afghanistan, are not the sole Canadian Forces members honoured to protect the monument. It is shared across the forces as there is no designated unit as at Arlington.

The important aspect of this entire murder - for that is what it was, to my mind it is providing oxygen to the jihadists to call it an act of terror - was the fact that Cirillo and the second guard were armed, but not allowed to carry or chamber rounds.

Two trained infantrymen, volunteers trained and prepared to be sent into harms's way, were standing guard on a military site with weapons ... and no bullets. The entire day plays out differently had they been allowed to be armed and to react with their training. Cirillo was shot in the back, but I assure you his fellow guard would have been prepared to return fire and the attacker then would not have been able to head to Parliament ... had he been armed. The newspaper photos of rescue personnel and volunteers attempting to save Cirillos life show the two rifles laying on the ground next to him ... I can't think of a more poignant epitaph to the failure of the state to protect a young man who had given his life to defend Canada.

The actions of the Sergeant at Arms, Kevin Vickers (a retired 28-year RCMP officer) and his security staff saw them perform their duties admirably if not heroically. It appears, at this early stage of the investigation, that the sole failure was due to the Parliament's own decision to not place a physical barrier at the doorway. Once past the security guard at the private entrance the attacker had entered - it was not a public doorway but the entrance designated for members of Parliament and their staffs - he was able to run down the hallway until Vickers confronted and fatally shot him. The security of the Parliament is a multiple jurisdiction mess - RCMP, Ottawa police, Parliament police and Senate police ... but, no Canadian Forces. This will clearly be addressed now; however, what needs the most attention will be the emplacement of a physical barrier at entrances so that any attacker(s) cannot proceed without security members vetting. That has long been requested by all the police and security involved - but, denied by Parliamentarians so as to allow citizens access to the institution itself. Obviously, this should change now - but, it has not yet been determined.

Cirillo died defending his country. Vickers responded and will be recognized for his valour. The politics will call for expanded authorities and greater budgets, when the entire affair would have been stopped in its tracks had Cirillo been allowed to be armed and a barrier been put in place at that doorway.

[blowback]

I read somewhere that the "Guards" in Ottawa who drill for the tourists in summer are mostly actors - using very expensive highly-trained full-time soldiers for such humdrum activities is not cost effective.

[John Measor]

The Guards 'blowback' is referring too are indeed ceremonial and wearing the red uniforms of lore with the fuzzy black hats ... carrying out performances for tourists. Not unimportant as a display of state, but a pageant 'performing the nation' as a scholar would note.

The guards at the war memorial are not performing - they are serving soldiers. The war memorial serves as monument to the fallen, from the Boer War through Afghanistan, to unknown soldiers who died in service to their country. Oppose the mission if you wish, but the memorial is sacred ground to those who served - as well as to those who honour them.

Today the site saw the return of Canadian Forces to duty. Cpl. Daniel Germaine and Cpl. Mark Daigle, Afghanistan veterans from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, took up sentry duty for the fallen Cirillo.

See: (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/stephen-harper-attends-return-of-guards-to-national-war-memorial-1.2811965).

[turcopolier]

blowback

You are a Londoner. Do you think the same concerning the Brigade of Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry? pl

[FB Ali]

You make a good point. Since the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq there has spread an impression among many Muslims all over the world that they are under attack by the West. It is the feeling of a group that believes itself under attack by another group, and has nothing to do with the degree of religiosity or fanaticism.

When Canada (or European states, Australia, etc) join the ant-IS coalition, to these Muslims it appears that they are joining the 'Crusade' against them.

[turcopolier]

John Measor

I did not mean in any way to denigrate Canadian soldiers. I have stood in front of the War Memorial many times in deep admiration. As some here know my favorite uncle was a Canadian soldier in WW1. It is nevertheless true that by my count there are 9 battalions of regular infantry in the Canadian Army at present. Please correct my figures. There are many reserve battalions but what is their actual state of readiness? It would be delusional to think that reserve units can be maintained at the same state of readiness as regular units By contrast the US Army has over 100 Regular(active force) infantry battalions and the USMC has around 25 more. The question is validly asked here as to whether you and the Brits are valid NATO partners. An equally valid question that some (like me) ask is why are we retaining such a force structure? I am sure you are familiar with the defense share of GDP numbers. pl

[Kim Sky]

I don't mean to be mean-spirited here. I absolutely love your blog!!! It's just that it struck me, the hostility against this particular killer? Apologies a head of time if what I say is out of line.

- a peacable kingdom that is welcoming to people from across the world.
Hasn't Canada been and or is involved in the many wars on-islam. And aren't they becoming more and more pro-corporate and anti-welfare-state, all things that push a society towards inequality etc.?

- This dirt bag was not an immigrant or Where did the dirt bag get the gun?
"Dirt Bag" seems odd, is this extra virulance about a killer of one person, as opposed to the large number of mass killings taking place in US and Canada?

- linked to IS...IS IN THE MIND!!
IS in the mind of the crazies, like the anti-beautiful-woman ideology of the Santa Barbara killer linked to anti-beautiful-woman ideology or the Norway massacre?

- The corporal who was killed at the war memorial was a reservist. Why? The Old Guard (3rd Infantry) at Arlington has no reservists in it. Is this emblematic of the extent to which Canada's army has been bled dry of funds?
A plea for more and more money for the Security state? such as Homeland Security. Seems the way that money works on both sides of the border is the same, see: James Risen's book, Pay Any Price: Greed, Power, and Endless War.

-

[turcopolier]

kim sky
"
"A plea for more and more money for the Security state?' Me? what a joke! I want to reduce the defense budget massively and adopt an isolationist foreign policy. I should ban you just for that remark. Yes, you are way out of line. This murderous lunatic was a dirt-bag. Where did he get the gun? "The peacable kingdom?" If you have no sense of irony, you don't belong here. pl

[turcopolier]

John Measor

Hey! Wait a minute! I was corrected here a few years back by some other Canuck who insisted that the summer tourist entertainers were from the Governor Generals Foot Guards, a reserve unit. Which is it? pl

[FkDahl]

No bullets in the rifles? What on earth prevented a criminal armed with a lousy pistol from robbing them of two nice assault rifles?

[different clue]

Walter,

If I understand what little I have read and heard, the shooter had been ostracised and marginalized for years before lately converting to Islam. So perhaps his brain was already long-since molded and ready for just the right trigger.
So perhaps there is a question of going all the way back to the beginning and not permitting the shark-attack gang-pack bullying of odd or strange chilcren to begin with.

Some years ago a younger co-worker worked with us for a short while, and he said something interesting. I don't know how/why the subject came up, but he said he had used to be mercilessly bullied in school but when the Columbine shooting occurred, his schoolmates began treating him better . . . afraid he might get all Columbine on them without warning. He said he knew it was "wrong" to say it, but Columbine made his own personal life a lot better at school.

Perhaps we should suppress that kind of school-and-other bullying with as much formal organized savagery as is needed to make it stay suppressed.