We all know that hindsight is 20-20 – or at least we think it always is. There is no question that having the best information possible is better than not having it and that usually more information is better than less. If we knew then we what we know now we would certainly have made […]
I suppose I have to explain the title for this blog. I recall reading a book by English author H.E. Bates called Fair stood the wind for France back in high school about a British pilot that crash lands in Nazi-occupied France in WWII and ends up falling in love with the daughter of a […]
I am currently attending a very interesting conference in Tunisia entitled ‘International Panel on Exiting Violence’ as part of a multinational group looking at all kinds of issues surrounding terrorism and violent radicalisation. Among the presentations I listened to was one in which the speaker talked about conflicts and how to ensure, to the extent […]
There is indeed good news coming out of western Iraq and eastern Syria these days. When is the last time anyone said that? Islamic State (IS), a truly barbaric terrorist group if there ever was one, is on the outs. It is about to lose Mosul and maybe even Raqqa and, according to recent reports, […]
Well, the inevitable has happened. We all knew it was coming. Canada’s most famous ‘child soldier’, Omar Khadr , is about to receive an apology and a compensation package from the Canadian government – i.e. the Canadian tax payer – ” for abuses he suffered while detained in the U.S. military prison for captured and suspected […]
Imagine the following scenario if you will. You are an HR officer for a company or in a government department and you are going through a stack of applications for an open position. One candidate strikes you as very qualified so you arrange for an interview. In the course of your talk with the aspiring […]
One thing we have all gotten used to in the post 9/11 era is the question: at any given time how at risk are we from terrorism? In an effort to answer this query for a nation’s citizenry a number of methods have been proposed. One of the more famous ones was the US Department […]
As I sit looking at a torrential downpour out my kitchen window on this Saturday morning July 1 I am nevertheless quietly happy to reflect on what it means to me to be a Canadian on my nation’s 150th anniversary. For many today the weather here in Ottawa is reflective of a sour mood. Many […]
Intelligence agencies are generally poorly understood in our societies. The agencies themselves are partly to blame since they shroud themselves in secrecy, albeit for good reasons. In addition, public perception is at fault, partly due to the assumption by many that spies are nefarious creatures at heart and partly due to the often highly inaccurate […]
Parliament Hill in Ottawa is one of those treasures found only in liberal democracies. Anyone can show up and lobby, protest, shout his lungs out or carry a placard peacefully and silently, no matter what the cause. It is also a great place to watch the fireworks on Canada Day as long as enjoying the […]