Canada’s terrorist "folk heroes"

According to Canada’s top spy, CSIS head Richard B. Fadden, Canadians are suckers for terrorists. In a speech to a conference of about 300 security and intelligence specialists in Ottawa, Fadden said "those accused of terrorist offences [are] often portrayed in media as quasi-folk heroes." The kid-glove treatment of terrorist suspects was especially prevalent in the case of the Toronto 18, Fadden said, with the accused often being portrayed as bumbling, misguided youths. The CSIS chief further argued the tension between anti-terror security measures and individual freedoms is exaggerated by a "loose partnership of single-issue NGOs, advocacy journalists and lawyers." "It is a peculiar position," he said, "given that terrorism is the ultimate attack on liberties."

Ottawa Citizen