US embassy cable - 05MONTREAL420

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTREAL 000420 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAN 
 
DHS FOR ICE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, SOCI, PTER, ASEC, CA 
SUBJECT: INTERPOL SECGEN NOBLE'S MONTREAL VISIT; 
SURVEYS CITY FOR POTENTIAL TRAINING CENTER SITE 
 
1. Summary.  CONGEN Montreal FSN Investigator and DHS/ICE 
Agent represented post at the March 31 conference luncheon 
hosted by Conseil des Relations International de Montreal 
(CORIM) in honor of Interpol Secretary General (SG) Ronald 
K. Noble.  In remarks on the conference theme "Threats to 
International Security and Challenges to International 
Police Cooperation", Noble lauded Canada for its work in the 
fight against terrorism.  Addressing suggestions by some 
Americans that Canada is a superhighway for terrorists, 
Noble responded, "If it's been said that Canada is a 
superhighway, I would say they got it half right: Canada is 
super, but it's not a highway."   Noble also surveyed the 
city for potential sites for a new INTERPOL training center, 
including the former Mirabel Airport.  End summary. 
 
2. FSNI and DHS/ICE Agent (the latter represented the 
Consulate at the City of Montreal table) attended the CORIM 
luncheon held in honor of Interpol Secretary General Ronald 
Noble.  RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, who 
mentioned the 10th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, 
introduced SG Noble, noting that he is the first Interpol 
Secretary General to visit Canada since 1990. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
3.  Noble's remarks emphasized that Canada works hard in the 
fight against terrorism.  The former New York University law 
professor and one-time U.S. Department of Treasury Chief Law 
Enforcement Officer, on his first visit to Canada since 
taking office four years ago, said that Canada has played a 
key role in promoting co-operative policing. He emphasized 
the importance of internationally integrated policing, and 
praised the RCMP's implementation of this model of policing. 
Noble stressed that cooperation is necessary in order to 
overcome all barriers. He added that coordination of public 
safety depends on police cooperation in order to not only 
address global threats, but also to protect citizens because 
what affects one affects all.  Citing the example of bio- 
terrorism, he said the problem requires expertise from a 
variety of fields including scientific, health and academic 
communities.  To illustrate his point, Noble referred to a 
"missed opportunity" by law enforcement: when the President 
of Serbia was assassinated.  It was later discovered that 
the accused killer had entered the country using a passport 
that had been part of 100 blank Croatian passports that had 
been stolen four years prior to the assassination. The 
passport revealed extensive travel and contained twenty-six 
different stamps.  Noble suggested that had the stolen 
blanks been reported to Interpol, they could have prevented 
them from being used by those who wish to do harm.  He 
stressed that one cannot focus solely on terrorism, but that 
information must be shared about "petty" crimes as well, 
such as theft, as it is sometimes these seemingly 
insignificant acts that are precursors to major crimes. 
 
4.  Passports remain a primary Interpol concern.  He 
reported there are approximately 6 million stolen passports 
in Interpol's database, but 20 million stolen passports are 
believed to be in circulation. Although 70 countries are 
sharing passport information with Interpol, Noble feels that 
more countries should be cooperating in tracking them. 
To further elaborate on this point, Noble referred to the 
1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York.  He said the 
man convicted for a key role in the bombing had entered the 
country using a stolen Iraqi passport.  He suggested that 
because two countries don't necessarily have the best 
relationship, doesn't mean that they should not cooperate to 
prevent acts of terrorism.  At the same time, he emphasized 
that neither the entry into the US by this individual nor 
those of the 19 hijackers involved in the 9/11/2001 
terrorist acts in the United States were made through 
Canada. 
 
5. Noble also stated that when Osama Bin Laden was found to 
be behind attacks in Libya, that Libyan officials requested 
Interpol assistance in issuing a worldwide wanted notice. 
Thus, regardless of diplomatic situations, Noble believes it 
is a moral obligation for all countries to report possible 
threats.  He suggested a global communication system for 
police would be useful.  He said Canada has contributed 
significantly to this effort by being the first in the world 
to implement Interpol's communication model, "I-24/7", and 
to train foreign police forces in its use. 
 
6.  Noble recognized people who work on the front line: not 
only at the borders and airports but also members of 
parliament and other institutions. He stated the "need-to- 
know" theory of information sharing is outdated and makes 
the world more vulnerable to attack. He said terrorists are 
planning for their next attack now, and that Interpol has 
the documents to that demonstrate their will, goals and 
intended methods.  On the optimistic side, Noble pointed to 
the cooperation among nations and the world response to the 
tsunami disaster in southeast Asia as an example of how 
 
SIPDIS 
parties can work together. 
 
7.  DHS/ICE agent, seated at the City of Montreal table, 
spoke at length with city officials.  While local media 
(notably The Montreal Gazette and La Presse) reported that 
RCMP Commissionner Zaccardelli escorted SecGen Noble to 
survey Mirabel Airport as a potential site for a new 
Interpol training center, DHS/ICE agent reports that an 
advisor to the Mayor's office said Noble was supportive 
of the idea of the institute in Montreal, but was not fond 
of the Mirabel site, and instead favored a more urban site 
for the center near other universities.  Subsequent media 
accounts, quoting Montreal executive committee member 
Georges Bosse, report that the city wants to initiate a 
feasibility study (available by summer) on the potential 
Interpol training center project.  He suggested that selling 
the project is more important than the site and, was quoted 
as saying, "If we decide it's important to include a 
university campus, we would get closer to downtown Montreal. 
Bosse expects to meet with Quebec Deputy Premier and Public 
Security Minister Jacques Dupuis this week on the matter. 
ALLEN