Police bomb checker could have prevented Air India explosion.
May 10, 2007 11:37 AM   Subscribe

"I've always wondered why, if I was called to search an airplane and some luggage … why did they let the airplane go before I arrived there." A former police officer says he believes he could have found explosives on Flight 182, but the plane had already left a Montreal airport by the time he arrived to check it.
posted by chunking express (19 comments total)
 
previously
posted by chunking express at 11:42 AM on May 10, 2007


Boy, glad we got that resolved so quickly. Imagine if the WTC attacks had happened in Canada... we wouldn't be invading Afganistan for another 14 years.
posted by GuyZero at 11:52 AM on May 10, 2007


Should-a, could-a, would-a.

How stuff like this and what Bartleman said hasn't come out before now is dumbfounding.
posted by thejimp at 12:00 PM on May 10, 2007


Part of the problem with AirIndia 182 is that it involved two minority groups in Canada that were not that well integrated into the mainstream. This means that both were outside of the direct sympathies of the mainstream, mainstream Canada didn't feel like it happened to them, and thus there wasn't as much urgency or direct feeling of impact.

Also the whole reason for the attack was unrelated to Canadians, it was a completely foreign based dispute that was imported to Canada simply because there were some people of the involved ethnic group here that could be killed.
posted by bhouston at 12:04 PM on May 10, 2007


I'm not justifying anything in my post above, but just trying to explain one plausible reason I think the Canadian government and public responded the way it did. I could be wrong.
posted by bhouston at 12:06 PM on May 10, 2007


Imagine if the WTC attacks had happened in Canada... we wouldn't be invading Afganistan for another 14 years.

And -8 years into the invasion of Iraq?
posted by dreamsign at 12:07 PM on May 10, 2007


GuyZero said: "Imagine if the WTC attacks had happened in Canada... we wouldn't be invading Afganistan for another 14 years."

Do you think that Canada's response would be to invade Afghanistan? (Also not that AfgHanistan has an H in it.)

I'm not so sure. I think it would get some UN resolutions, get some peace keeping missions together, work on international isolation. Then again, maybe the US would invade Afghanistan for us, because its still a great place to set up permanent military bases if you want to improve your ability to project force in the area.
posted by bhouston at 12:15 PM on May 10, 2007


bhouston, do you have any evidence the people flying to India weren't well integrated? (Or does being brown make you poorly integrated by default?) Though I agree, it's quite clear the majority of Canadians didn't think the Air India disaster had anything to do with them, despite the fact 280 Canadians died. Funny that.
posted by chunking express at 12:27 PM on May 10, 2007


chunking express: When I say that neither community involved was well integrated I mean things like the following:

- Was there any Indians or Sikhs high up in the RCMP at the time?
- Was there any Indian or Sikh MPs?
- Was there any Indian or Sikh CSIS employess knowledgable about the investigation at all?

I don't even mean directly involved, but I think that at the time, Indians and Sikhs were not integrated as well into the middle class public service as they are now.

Just having a few representatives of the ethnic groups in a department changes perceptions. When no one knows any members of that group directly, it creates a distance.

Again, I'm not trying to justify anything, but rather just trying to explain (without evidence I admit) why there does seem to be a lack of direct connect on this with a lot of Canadians at the time.
posted by bhouston at 12:39 PM on May 10, 2007



How many bombs would a bomb checker check if a bomb checker would* check bombs?

*(be allowed to)

“’It would make no sense, I suppose, to call the bomb-detecting dog and his handler unless that was the suspicion?’ asked John Major, the retired Supreme Court justice who heads the inquiry.”

You can see why that guy is in charge.
posted by Smedleyman at 12:42 PM on May 10, 2007


Oh I see what you mean. But, like I said, the malaise around the deaths is disappointing: Indian Canadians are still Canadian after all.
posted by chunking express at 12:45 PM on May 10, 2007


I'm not so sure. I think it would get some UN resolutions, get some peace keeping missions together, work on international isolation.

If you subscribe to the "theory" that the WTC attacks were "designed" to provoke the USA into a massive over-reaction and make everyone hate them, then Canada will be safe forever as we're apparently apathetic to any number of Canadian deaths. What I think we'd do is sweet fuck all and that's based on a pretty clear precedent.

This inquiry is revealing Canadian intelligence to be an even bigger farce than previously thought.

As the saying goes: As Canadian as... possible under the circumstances.
posted by GuyZero at 12:52 PM on May 10, 2007


The problem was not that Sikhs were not integrated into the public service -- the problem was that, once again, Canada's security services (the RCMP, CSIS, the CSE) have proven they never get their man; they are the gang that can't ever shoot straight; they couldn't find their dick in a brothel.
posted by docgonzo at 1:02 PM on May 10, 2007


docgonzo, I don't know too much about the RCMP, CSIS and CSE's success rates but I think you are misportraying it.

The RCMP is good at taking on the Biker gangs and also with the Montreal mob.

CSIS/CSE also has had some success with various Islamic groups.

The truth is that Canada isn't a big target and thus our intelligence and security services are not a major priority nor do they get as much scrutiny or funding as those of other countries in more dangerous neighborhoods get.
posted by bhouston at 1:29 PM on May 10, 2007


Imagine if the WTC attacks had happened in Canada... we wouldn't be invading Afganistan for another 14 years.

How long would it have taken Canada to decide to punt in Afganistan and invade some other country?
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 3:00 PM on May 10, 2007


I don't get it, Zero. You knock Canada for figuring out this detail so late, and then knock Canadians for being apathetic about new analysis of something that happened in 1985.

Did you just wake up from a coma?
Are you only dealing with this tragedy now?
If so, I'm sorry. Most of us have had 20+ years to do so.
posted by dreamsign at 10:08 PM on May 10, 2007




The WTC attacks were not mere airplane bombs. If they'd happened in Canada, France, etc. on 9/11, then Bush's people would still have argued that the U.S. needed to invade Iraq. It was always their dream anyway. But voters & focus groups might not have bought their story if it was another country.
posted by jeffburdges at 5:27 PM on May 11, 2007


It's a real piss-off that our cops have once again shown themselves capable of astounding corruption. Goddamn, we deserve better.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:21 PM on May 11, 2007


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