Categories
Perspectives

The Canadian threat to US national security: the rise of an old canard

One thing has always fascinated me, i.e. how stories that have no basis in fact defy all attempts to discredit or defeat them.  Some such fantasies, even if they are held only by those on the peripheries of public opinion,  include the belief that the moon landings were faked, the conviction that vaccinations cause autism, […]

Categories
Perspectives

An unhelpful ruling in Canada on intelligence gathering

If you were to ask most Canadians about our intelligence services the first response would very likely be “Wait!  We have intelligence services??” I am being only slightly facetious.  I imagine everyone knows about CSIS – the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (where I worked for 15 years) – and maybe a few recognise CSE – […]

Categories
Perspectives

Is Tunisia turning a corner on terrorism?

Tunisia presents an interesting case study when it comes to terrorism.  The North African country was, of course, where the ‘Arab Spring’ began on December 18, 2010 (coincidentally my birthday!) when a crowd protested the self immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi who killed himself the day before when police had confiscated his wares and a female […]

Categories
Perspectives

Do we use the T word too often or not often enough?

One of the reasons why I continue to talk and write about terrorism is that I find the field fascinating, and not just because I have worked in countering it for nigh on twenty years.  I never cease to learn more about terrorism and terrorists and what makes the whole thing tick and as someone […]

Categories
Perspectives

You gotta feel for the US intelligence community in the wake of Helsinki

The US intelligence community is huge.  I mean HUGE.  At least 16 separate agencies and hundreds of thousands of men and women, civilian and military, all dedicated to doing their utmost to keep America safe and protect US interests.  Is the community perfect? Of course it isn’t.  The Saddam Hussein weapons of mass destruction debacle […]

Categories
Perspectives

The UK and Canada: polar opposites when it comes to the terrorist threat

This piece appeared in The Hill Times on June 11, 2018. All is takes is a cursory glance at the news on any given day to conclude – erroneously as I hope to show – that Islamist extremist terrorism is a daily event that threatens us all.  We read of bombings in Afghanistan, beheadings in […]

Categories
Perspectives

The US just won the war on poverty: can the war on terror be far behind?

Hubris, defined as “excessive pride or self-confidence or arrogance”, is a human emotion that has long fascinated me.  There are individuals who exercise it with alarming regularity – a certain US President whose name rhymes with ‘dump’ readily comes to mind – and it is often seen as a fatal flaw that results in someone’s downfall.  For  instance, Napoleon could […]

Categories
Perspectives

Why wasn’t the Air India terrorist attack prevented?

This article was posted in The Hill Times on July 9, 2018. A week ago a relatively small crowd in Vancouver’s Stanley Park commemorated the single greatest terrorist attack in history (as determined by deaths) prior to 9/11. And Canada featured prominently in it.  I refer of course to the downing of Air India flight 182 […]

Categories
Perspectives

Terrorism is less prevalent than you think

Quick!  Name the top ten causes of death in Canada!  Can you?  Here is one list I found in the wondrous playground and source of all wisdom we call the Internet (the data is from 2012: the rightmost column is percentage of yearly deaths:   1. Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 30.2 2 Diseases of heart (heart […]

Categories
Perspectives

Why we should treat returning foreign fighters as criminals

Imagine the following scenario.  There is a person who comes from a good home, not necessarily privileged perhaps, but who ‘has it good’.  Despite this advantage in life  – let’s face it, many people don’t have it so good – this person becomes bored.  In their boredom, this person hooks up with a gang that […]