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Elcan plant deemed ‘critical’ by Americans

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In Midland
Dec 11th, 2010
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Document released by WikiLeaks lists Canadian sites judged vital by U.S.
By Travis Mealing Simcoe.com Dec 09, 2010
MIDLAND – In addition to global trouble spots like Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea, the mountain of diplomatic cables released by online whistleblower WikiLeaks includes a one-line mention of the little town of Midland.
Among the material released Dec. 5 was a list of critical infrastructure sites outside the United States that Americans regard as vital to their interests. Down near the bottom of the list is Raytheon Systems Canada Ltd.’s Elcan optical technologies division.
The document describes the plant, Midland’s single largest employer, as “critical to the production of the AGM-130,” an air-to-ground guided missile.
The list was compiled by embassy workers for the Department of Homeland Security without notifying officials in host countries, including Canada.
The February 2009 note details sites “whose loss could critically impact the public health, economic security, and/or national and homeland security of the United States.”
Other sites listed include the Pickering nuclear power plant, the Chalk River nuclear facility, and the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit.
Angry U.S. officials said the leak amounts to giving a hit list to terrorists.
The Pentagon declined comment on the details of what it called “stolen” documents containing classified information, but a spokesman, Col. David Lapan, called the disclosure “damaging” and said it gives valuable information to adversaries.
The U.S. State Department echoed the Pentagon statement.
“Releasing such information amounts to giving a targeting list to groups like al-Qaida,” department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the disclosure, telling the BBC it was a “reprehensible” act committed “without regard to wider concerns of … the security of millions of people.”
– With files from Torstar News Service
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