Lorne Dawson: Indirect Sense

Indirect Influence Dept: "I would say its influence now is as great or greater than it's ever been, though more in an indirect sense," says Lorne Dawson, co-director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society, according to CBC. Part of its indirect influence has been to inspire "self-appointed jihadis" who take it upon themselves to seek out people willing to carry out attacks, and then pass these individuals up the line for further training by someone else and Security experts say a thwarted plot to derail a passenger train between Toronto and New York is proof of the lingering influence of al-Qaeda in Canada. Dawson says that one of the achievements of the group behind the Sept. 11 attacks was inspiring like-minded organizations and setting "an example to all these groups around the world on how to reach out and communicate" to would-be extremists. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.