INTERPOL SECGEN NOBLE'S MONTREAL VISIT;

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.

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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

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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