MOSCOW, October 24 (RIA Novosti) — Canada has become a target for terrorists due to its involvement in the anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition led by the United States, Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Yonah Alexander told RIA Novosti.
"Canada was specifically targeted because of its cooperation with the coalition against ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] in Iraq. Although the Canadians limited their involvement for six months, their involvement has crossed the red line as far as the ISIS is concerned. Canada is part of NATO, they contributed to the operations in Afghanistan," Alexander, who is also Director of the institute's International Center for Terrorism Studies, told RIA Novosti Thursday.
On Wednesday morning, a gunman shot dead a soldier guarding the National War Memorial in Ottawa, later proceeding to Parliament Hill's Center Block, where he was killed in a shooting with a policeman.
Meanwhile, on Monday, two members of the Canadian Armed Forces were attacked in the city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Quebec. One of the soldiers died after the hit-and-run, with the other sustaining less severe injuries.
Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Steven Blaney said Tuesday that the attack was linked to terrorism.
"Now they are part of the coalition, and they are involved with the airstrikes and so on. There is a camp which ISIS, al-Qaeda and the others consider their enemies," Alexander said. "The United States is the prime target, and so is Canada."
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his deep commitment to fighting terrorism at a time when "the planet is descending into savagery". He also stressed that Canada would not yield to terrorism.
"I think the big tragedy is that we learn from history that we do not learn from history," Yonah Alexander said adding that the way the US-led coalition is fighting against the IS will not bring about results.
"In the long term you need to bring in all the religions and to find a common ground," he noted.
Alexander also suggested that fight against terrorism should become a common ground for the countries and be beyond their differences.
"There is no doubt that all of us are in the same boat – be it Russia or China, or the United States, or Canada. And this is why this is one area where you can find some cooperation between Russia and the United States to combat terrorism despite their differences regarding Ukraine and other issues. I think it makes a lot of sense to find a common ground, a common objective, and this can be done," Alexander added.
Earlier this week, Russia's Ambassador to Austria Sergei Nechayev stressed that the threat of terrorism can only be eliminated by a large international coalition.
He also stressed that NATO and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), comprising Russia and five other post-Soviet nations, could form a "natural alliance" to counter terrorism, but NATO keeps rejecting such forms of cooperation.
Earlier this month, the Canadian parliament authorized airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq for six months. The motion was introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative Party and stated explicitly that no ground troops would be involved.
