Do you know the old saying “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”? It refers to the notion that we may be hoodwinked by an unscrupulous character once for no fault of our own (aside from having a poor judge of character perhaps), but if we have the wool pulled […]
As a former practitioner in the security intelligence world I have, as do many others, a distinct bias. My understanding of many different social phenomena is informed and framed by the job I did and the particular kind of information I had access to for more than three decades: i.e. classified secrets. In light of […]
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No, Al Qaeda never went away
Ready for a “where were you when…?” question? I launched my first book last week in Ottawa and my host, the CBC’s Hannah Thibedeau, asked me what my favourite part of ‘An end to the war on terrorism‘ was. She had warned me she was going to throw that one at me so I had […]
This post appeared in The Hill Times on October 1, 2018. In 1964 US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart came up with a now famous comment that has become a meme (not there were memes back in 1964). During a threshold case on obscenity he stated “I shall not today attempt further to define the […]
On November 13, 2015 I was in France, Paris to be precise. If that date reminds you of something, let me refresh your memory. That was of course the day – or more accurately the evening – when a group of Islamist terrorists struck in the core of the country’s capital, attacking the national sports […]
This piece appeared in The Hill Times on September 24, 2018. We are now in year 17 of the ‘war on terrorism’. After the catastrophic terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, 2001 the US, and many of its allies, declared war on violent extremism. The initial effort to locate and punish the perpetrators […]
I am trying very hard not to sound like a broken record (maybe it is time to update that analogy: like a CD that skips – or does no one besides me listen to CDs anymore?) but a recent news item has me very angry and makes me have to talk – once again – […]
If there is one agency that has not done too well, at least not publicly, since 9/11 it is the US’ CIA. From failing to have the right people and resources in place to prevent those terrorist acts from happening to the news over the use of torture and ‘black sites’, the Agency – as […]
Word association test time! Quick, what is the first thing that comes into mind when I give you the word…..Iran. Rogue state? Terrorist sponsor? Religious fanaticism? How about terrorist victim? Wait, what? Iran as a victim and not a sponsor of terrorism? No, that can’t be! You must have your facts wrong or you must […]
This piece appeared in The Hill Times on September 17, 2018. At the risk of engaging in pure self promotion I would like to announce that my fourth book on terrorism, entitled “An end to the ‘war on terrorism’”, is coming out later this month (for those in Ottawa who are interested I will be […]