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.
Like in most fields of study, terrorism analysis has made great contributions to our understanding of this violent phenomenon. Whether it is in-depth examinations of the ideology or longitudinal data on whether or not de-radicalisation programmes work, we are better off than we would be in the absence of this knowledge. Unfortunately, however, terrorism analysis […]
There is no question that in the war of ideas between us and the terrorists we are not winning, despite the fact that the odds are so much in our favour. Our way of life is so superior to that of the terrorists that this should not really be a contest and I shouldn’t have […]
Terrorism is the use of violence or the threat of violence to cause and spread fear in an effort to get us to do things we might not want to do. For example, planting a car bomb outside a family planning clinic is an attempt to force change in the state’s policies on abortion or […]
Most Canadians have heard of the “Toronto 18”, a group of homegrown extremists who were arrested in the summer of 2006 before they could detonate truck bombs, an act that could have killed and maimed thousands. At the time, and probably to this day for that matter, it was the largest and most complicated terrorism […]
It is natural in a court case in Canada and the US for the defence to use all possible means to ensure a not guilty verdict for its client. The arguments used do not have to be true or even plausible: they just have to introduce a level of reasonable doubt in the minds of […]
It should come as a surprise to no one that many Western governments, including Canada’s, are struggling with what to do about their citizens seeking to travel abroad to join terrorist groups such as Islamic State. Measures to date have included passport revocation, peace bonds, monitoring and, where enough evidence is present, arrest and charges. […]
As the number and lethality of terrorist attacks appear to be on the upswing (whether they are or not in reality is not important since perception seems to trump facts when it comes to terrorism), fear is also rising. I have already blogged about the decision by an Alberta school board to cancel international trips […]
Whenever a terrorist attack happens we collectively strive both to understand it and to look over what we may have missed. We do so in order to figure out how we can better identify the signs of violent radicalisation and perhaps act before terrorist events occur. I have long argued that the signs of violent […]
I see that Saudi Arabia and 33 other Islamic nations have created an anti-terrorism coalition with an operational headquarters to be established in the Saudi capital, Riyadh (see story here). The coalition will reportedly fight terrorists in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan. Three cheers for the Saudis and their allies, right? On the one hand, […]
Terrorism eats up a lot of our time as citizens and news consumers. IS. AQ. Boko Haram. Hizballah. Hindu extremists. Anti-abortion extremists. Boy, things have really changed since I was a kid. Sure there was the odd story about a hijacked airplane and the Troubles in Ireland, but it wasn’t a daily occurrence (maybe it […]