Borealis Threat & Risk ConsultingPhil Gurski is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. Phil is a 32-year veteran of CSE and CSIS and the author of six books on terrorism.
Episode 273 – Once an AQ jihadi always an AQ jihadi? The world rightly celebrated the ouster of Bashar al Assad, the brutal Syrian dictator, in December 2024 when a motley crew, including jihadis, took the capital, Damascus. Syrians who had engaged their autocrats in a bid for freedom since the Arab Spring, were finally […]
This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on April 17, 2025. Normally, when countries seek each other’s assistance on criminal matters, they first seek to establish a bilateral agreement on information exchange. Then, once this is achieved, they identify agencies of like-minded mandates to collaborate with each other. This is how mature nations […]
This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on April 4, 2025. It is sometimes hard to figure out just what it takes for people to realize a crisis is growing in strength. Like the frog who sits in the pot while the water slowly rises in temperature only to take note after it […]
Season 2 Episode 34 – We are guys in a bar chatting about national security but we could not hold a candle to George Wendt This week the guys talk cast off the covers on cover names, challenge CT success claims, and honour the best-known guy to hang out in a bar talking about life […]
Episode 263 – If intelligence doesn’t jive with your world view, maybe that view has to change We are inundated with information at levels impossible to process. Much of this is dis- or misinformation and it is a full-time job just trying to distinguish fact from fiction (AI-generated garbage and deep fakes, both of which […]
Episode 272 – What will the German government decision to label the AfD backfire? That extremist/terrorist groups can form political parties – and in some cases actually govern – is not unknown. Hamas ran Gaza until the Israeli invasion in October 2023, Hizballah controlled much of southern Lebanon and even ISIS created a so-called ‘Caliphate’ […]
Season 2 Episode 33 Back in the saddle after a short last week, the guys delve into the undermining of the US intelligence community by the Trump administration, the dangers of accepting airplanes as ‘gifts’ and why Latvia is helping its citizens identify Russian spies. And lots of golden references…. Former FBI Director James Comey […]
Episode 271 – Why practitioners can make good writers Yes I am biased – as a 32-year veteran of intelligence – but I do think (ex)-practitioners have a lot to say when it comes to national security and international affairs. Those who were ‘at the coalface’ have a lot to say and have the advantage […]
Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 32 Unfortunately, Phil decided to swim in 10 degree Celsius water this week and as a consequence the episode is much shorter than usual. The guys weigh in on the vehicular attack in Vancouver. ‘Tragedy all around’: Murder charges follow Vancouver festival attack that killed 11 | National News […]
Episode 270 – Is drone warfare changing how we see armed conflict? If the war in Ukraine is teaching us anything it is that drones – both surveillance ones as well as those that fire missiles at the enemy – are changing the landscape. Their small size, cheapness (i.e. they are not expensive to build […]