theQuestion: Was the shooting in Ottawa an act of terrorism?*
Evil does exist in this world and there are those who would and will commit harm against innocents. I applaud my Duel colleague this week for making that statement as there are those who reject the realities of good versus evil, and prefer to wallow in collective self-blame and finger-pointing.
Over the past few days, as media coverage turned from the details of the Ottawa attack to the aftermath, I have become disgusted with the reaction by some Canadians. It’s astonishing just how far people will go in their desire to obviate personal responsibility of the attacker.
Instead of calling what happened in Ottawa what it is — an act of terrorism and calling gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau what he is — a terrorist, many seek comfort in blaming mental illness, addiction and poverty as the problem, and cite a lack of government services as a contributing cause.
One caller on a local radio show went so far as to say he felt sorry for “this poor fellow” and we as Canadians “let him down.” The caller was clearly choked up. I’d like to know if any of these apologists would have the guts to say something like that to the family of murdered Cpl. Nathan Cirillio.
We should accept no excuses for Zehaf-Bibeau’s actions. It matters not that he may had mental health and drug abuse problems or that he was self-radicalized. The pathology of a terrorist ranges from sadistic psychopath to true believer and many of the foreign fighters who leave their homeland to join the fight do so after conducting extensive research, or if you prefer, self-radicalization.
Zehaf-Bibeau’s actions were certainly that of a terrorist. A passport issue prevented him from travelling overseas to join the ISIS fight against the West. So he picked up a rifle and deliberately assassinated a Canadian soldier at the National War Memorial and then stormed Parliament. You can’t get more political than that.
I ask this. If Bibeau was not a terrorist during the Ottawa attack then at what point would he become one? If we’d allowed him to fly overseas, would he be a terrorist when he landed in Turkey? Or is it when he crossed into Syria? Or do you wait to call him a terrorist until he picks up a gun and kills someone in the name of Jihad? Well, he did that in Ottawa and didn’t have to travel overseas to do it.