With the 2010 Olympic Games approaching, an expert on trans-Atlantic terrorism warns that Vancouver may provide a valuable target for terrorism.
It may also give al Qaeda a chance to strike at its biggest enemy.
"The largest number of athletes will be from the United States," said professor Andre Gerolymatos of Simon Fraser University, "and the largest number of visitors, tourists, will be from the United States -- giving the terrorists a golden opportunity to strike at the U.S. off U.S. soil."
This is something the province is taking seriously.
"The RCMP, of course, are going to be engaging in a major effort to make sure they put into place the best practices to prevent that," said B.C. Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon. "I'm very confident in the RCMP's abilities to secure the Olympics."
Falcon will be going to Europe to meet with officials about securing Vancouver against any potential terrorist attack.
An audit released in July found serious shortfalls in the security budget for the Games, due in large part to a jump in the number of venues the RCMP are expected to secure.
Some believe that an attack would be unlikely before the Olympics, as terrorist groups would not want to upset the complacency of Canadians or alert authorities that they're active.
China prepares for terrorism threat
China's Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang said on Monday that terrorism is also the biggest threat at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
China has not joined military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, and has not so far been a target of al Qaeda or other Islamic terror groups. Zhou said however that China would seek closer co-operation with other countries in dealing with the growing threat from Islamic separatists among the Uighur population in the western region of Xinjiang.
In a rare publicized action earlier this year, China said it raided a terror camp in Xinjiang run by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, killing 18 militants it says had links to al Qaeda.
With reports from CTV British Columbia's Dag Sharman and The Associated Press
