Author: Phil Gurski

There are few horrors worse than learning that a member of your family has been taken hostage by a terrorist group.  With all we know about the depredations these organisations are capable of it is easy to go to the absolute worst thoughts about the fate of loved ones: beatings, rapes, even beheadings.  Truly a […]

People are funny sometimes.  On the one hand we criticise those we see as responsible when things go wrong – governments, authorities, public officials, etc. – and we are certain that their inability to act, or decision not to act, is at fault.  On the other we criticise these same parties when they do take […]

It is rare that one can look back on something composed years ago and see it as relevant today as it was thought to be back then.  So much changes as new variables enter into play and our own understanding and appreciation for phenomena matures to reflect these new additions.  That is indeed a good […]

There is no question that the world has terrorism on the brain.  So much has changed since 9/11 that we are both more attuned to, and frightened of, the spectre of terrorism that it has affected our ability to accurately measure what is happening and, perhaps more importantly, what we are doing about it.  This […]

Saudi Arabia gets a bad rap when it comes to terrorism, some of which may be misplaced and some of which is well-deserved. The self-proclaimed ‘birthplace of Islam” – yes, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was a resident of what is now the Kingdom in the 6th and 7th centuries but the modern (?) Saudi state […]

First and foremost, Canadians and others should be very happy for Joshua Boyle, Caitlin Coleman and their children now that their five-year ordeal is over.  The conditions under which the family was held hostage by the Taliban/Haqqani group were truly horrendous and no one should underestimate or dismiss that.  I for one feel most for […]

US authorities are still searching for a motive behind Stephen Paddock’s rampage in Las Vegas last week.  A number of ‘theories’ have been put forward, none of which are very helpful.  For instance, the fact that Mr.Paddock’s father was a bank robber and once on the FBI’s most wanted list has turned out to be […]

We learned today that a Canadian, Joshua Boyle, has been rescued in Pakistan, together with his American wife and three children born in captivity after having been held for five years by the Taliban.  Mr. Boyle and his very pregnant spouse were taken by the terrorist group while ‘backpacking’ through central Asia, including Afghanistan. It […]

It has been a little more than a week and a half since Canada suffered its latest, and thankfully still rare, terrorist attack.  A 30-year old Somali refugee named Abdulahi Sharif hit and stabbed an Edmonton police officer before leading authorities on a race through the city’s streets where he struck four pedestrians before he […]

Anyone who has read my work or seen/heard me in the media over the past few years knows that I really, really dislike the term ‘lone wolf’.  My objections are threefold: a) it is inaccurate most of the time, b) it get used far too quickly in the absence of any confirming information, and c) […]