Canada tightens controls on resitricted chemicals

This one almost slipped under the radar ...

The Government of Canada is taking action to better control the sale of chemicals that can be used to make explosives.

The Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, and the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, have announced that new regulations for these chemicals, known as explosives precursors, will be implemented under the Explosives Act.

The new regulations will require that anyone who sells ammonium nitrate or any of the eight other chemicals be registered with the Explosives Regulatory Division of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and comply with security measures for storage, record keeping and customer identification.

"Our government believes that new controls on explosives precursors are necessary to reduce the risk of terrorist acts," said Minister Day. "This list of chemicals was drawn up on the basis of expert scientific and security analyses and includes chemicals that pose the greatest risk, and therefore, require regulatory control."

The nine chemicals to be controlled under the new regulations currently have a wide range of legitimate uses, such as ammonium nitrate, which is commonly used in agriculture as fertilizer. The chemicals are: ammonium nitrate; nitric acid; nitromethane; hydrogen peroxide; potassium nitrate; sodium nitrate; potassium chlorate; sodium chlorate; and potassium perchlorate.

Source: NRCAN Press Release

U.S. Hopes to Use Pakistani Tribes Against Al Qaeda

Pakistan is a bundle of issues when it comes to a "war on terror". It is obviously a key strategic issue in regards to Afghanistan. Recently The New York Times got their hands on some counterinsurgency plans.

"... the broader strategic move toward more local support is being accelerated because of concern about instability in Pakistan and the weakness of the Pakistani government, as well as fears that extremists with havens in the tribal areas could escalate their attacks on allied troops in Afghanistan."

Check out the complete Times article here.