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Meanwhile, in totally unrelated news:

http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=6832392

Al-Qaida calls for ‘forest jihad’
By Stewart Bell, National Post June 24, 2012

The latest issue of the al-Qaida propaganda publication Inspire contains the usual dose of narcissism, delusional threats and overwrought tributes to dead terrorists, but what is striking is the space it devotes to an unexpected target: trees.

Eleven pages of the online magazine are handed over to discussions about starting forest fires in NATO countries, providing both a tactical and religious justification for it, and an illustrated step-by-step guide on how to do it using a device made out of gasoline and a washing machine timer.

“Fire is one of the soldiers of Allah,” it says.

The threat underscores al- Qaida’s evolving strategy. All but incapable of organizing another mass outrage like 9/11, Islamist terrorists have instead begun encouraging acts of “individual jihad,” in which a lone fanatic plans and carries out an attack close to home.

Among the targets of individual jihad listed in Inspire - which is put together by al-Qaida’s affiliate in Yemen, the branch that has attempted several attacks in the West - are political figures, media outlets, airports, bridges, stock exchanges and “places where Jews are gathered,” but also forests.

Lightning, campfires and industry account for most of the fires that set Canada’s forests ablaze every summer, consuming an area more than three times the size of Prince Edward Island and costing up to $1 billion. But should Canada be concerned about terrorists using fire as a weapon?

“If A-Q takes it seriously, so ought we,” said Martin Rudner, distinguished research professor emeritus at Carleton University. “The fact that this mission appeared in Inspire, which is intended to promote jihadist activities on the part of English-speaking Muslims in the West, is indicative that it is a serious threat.”

Whether Ottawa is taking it seriously is hard to say. Federal public safety and natural resources officials said firefighting was a provincial responsibility and declined to discuss it further for “operational reasons.” The Ontario government said it was aware of the threat, but B.C. was not.

Rudner said forests are not considered part of Canada’s critical infrastructure and so they do not benefit from counter-terrorism programs that safeguard other sectors like energy. “Thus, to the best of my knowledge, there are no particular critical infrastructure protection programs in place, at either the federal or provincial levels, to protect our forests against jihadist or other terrorist fire-setting.”

Calls for a “forest jihad” date back at least to 2007, when online radicals suggested that setting fires would not only kill citizens of Western countries, but also cause pollution and economic damage while exhausting police and emergency services.

The idea gained traction in 2008, during Australia’s wildfire emergency. In 2009, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security bulletin noted “growing interest in ‘forest jihad’ among terrorists,” but found no credible evidence it was a genuine threat to the U.S. “Considering the appeals posted in al-Qaida forums, the possibility exists for arson to be used as a terrorist tool,” it allowed.

The tactic resurfaced with new prominence last month when al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula put its latest edition of Inspire online.

“It is your freedom to ignite a firebomb,” read a headline on the cover. Photos inside showed apocalyptic scenes of burning forests.

An article purportedly penned by al-Qaida figure Abu Musab Al-Siri encouraged “ordinary resistance fighters among the Muslims residing in America and the allied Western countries” to engage in “popular resistance action such as destroying economic targets and burning forests during hot periods in the summer.”

B.C.’s Wildfire Management Branch said while it was unaware of the threats it was ready to respond to all fires. Arson fires are often the least destructive since they tend to occur near populated areas and are quickly reported.

“The public reports half of all fires started in B.C., and we also have sophisticated systems that prompt us to new fire starts so we can respond quickly,” said spokeswoman Alyson Couch, adding “93 per cent of unwanted fires are extinguished at less than four hectares in size.”