Foreign influences may have inspired foiled plot: Experts

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A man and a woman from Victoria are charged with conspiring to carry out an act of terrorism on Canada Day after RCMP say explosives were found outside the legislature.

While RCMP say the threat to the public was low, many are questioning how and why this could have happened in British Columbia.

Andre Gerolymatos is a history professor at SFU specializing in international security. He believes this all stems from our participation in the war in Afghanistan.

“We engaged in mortal combat against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and those organizations want to strike back at us and the United States. By using a new tactic by using websites to stimulate local people to kill people in Canada.”

He thinks it likely starts from websites teaching them about terrorism but then it moves to a go between who follows up to help them execute the plots.

He says attacks like the Boston Marathon are inspirational to people committing these crimes.

“They begin by watching these websites and somehow they become convinced to become terrorists.”

And another SFU expert, Joshua Labove, who focuses on borders and geography, believes this will change the way everyday people think.

“All an event like this does is increase the alarm and awareness of everyday Canadians to spot and detect activities they feel are empathetic or in the best interest of society. Active self policing and I think individuals are already kind of skiddish and on alert and on guard and calling tips, looking out for anti-social behaviour.”

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