Fallout From Canadian Terror Arrests

The recent arrest of 17 terrorist suspects in Canada apparently has sent shockwaves through the Great White North, despite the fact that not one soul was lost to violence (thank God). The psychological impact of a successful terrorist attack killing thousands of Canadian citizens is unimaginable.

But, part of me can’t help but wonder how Canadians would have reacted to being hit. Would they turn inward in any orgy of self-flagellation, blaming their own society for the evil inflicted upon them, like so many on the American left? Or would they fight like lions, as their grandfathers did in WWII, to combat the assault on the ideals and institutions that make Canada great?

At the press briefing held by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after the arrests, the suspects who appeared in court--all sporting traditional Muslim male beards and requesting Korans--were described as coming from a "broad strata" of Canadian society (Michelle Malkin observes: "Such a diverse lot! A veritable Benetton ad. Can't think of a similarity among them!). Not encouraging.

However, I am heartened to learn that many Canadians are beginning to question the futility of "playing nice" with people that aren't interested in living peacefully under the dominion of anything other than radical Islam. Real Clear Politics quotes some Canadian columnists grappling with the implications precipitated by the recent arrests.

"For everyone who thought Canada could cower in a corner of the planet, unnoticed and unthreatened by evil men -- even when the most menacing of a very bad lot [Osama bin Laden] has twice referenced this country as a target for attack -- take a good, hard look at what's been presented and what's being alleged," advised Rose DiManno, a columnist for the Toronto Star. Many

Canadians will take refuge in a river in Egypt, predicts journalist Rachel Marsden:

"So why, people here ask, would anyone want to do damage to Toronto? Maybe they don't. No one has been convicted of anything here yet. Maybe the three tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer that the suspects allegedly ordered were going to be used to grow a massive garden that would spell out 'I love Canada' in tulips."

"Canada has been the doofus who keeps getting shoved into lockers, but still figures that if he gives up more lunches and bus money, the haranguing will end. "The new Conservative government...has already denounced Iran and Hamas, deported illegal immigrants and told anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan to shove it."

"There's a new sheriff in town. Will the townspeople back him up?"

I'm hopeful that Canadians are up to the task.