Young Terrorists Execute Plan for Slaughter - Almost...

Last week's horrible slaughter of innocents in Mumbai at the hands of a band of well-armed & trained youths is yet another wake-up call to the security chiefs of the world's democracies.

The characteristics of the assault are eerily echoed in a story Canadians heard earlier this year: 10-20 young men, all teens & early twenties, burning with a religious zeal learned in the terrorist camps of Afghanistan, training with weapons & tactics in a remote outdoor setting, focused on mass murder and destruction in the name of jihad, targeting the seat of government and other high-profile etablishments, capping their actions with the particularly gruesome objective of decapitating a prime minister.

This is an analogue of the story of the erstwhile Brampton 17 - described by Canadian authorities as dangerous terrorists-in-training and brought to trial on related charges. Interestingly, their defence is largely founded on the premise that they are just boys, goofing around, pretending to be bigger than they could possibly achieve, harmless in a kind of mis-guided boy scout troop way. Their juvenile conversations were pointed out as examples of just how innocent the boys were. My guess is, if we had taped 'down-time' conversations of the Mumbai attackers they'd be just the same - a smattering of boy-talk, boasting of prowess, complaining about food, joking about another's girlfriend, scraps of religious fundamentalist leanings and even confessions of self-doubt and backsliding. These are, after all young men in their teens & twenties - what would we expect them to talk about?

Whatever the fate of the Brampton 17, in the context of the slaughter at Mumbai, it may be a big mistake for peace-loving, complacent, forgiving Canadians to gently chide the judiciary into giving the Brampton boys an easy out. Besides, just because the Crown cannot always get a conviction or even get charges to stick, does not mean there is no cause for alarm and continued vigilance in this country, indeed around the world.