Borealis Threat & Risk Consulting
In this podcast, retired Canadian intelligence analyst Phil Gurski discusses the subject of terrorism: what it is (and isn’t), trends, developments and more. Author of six books on terrorism, Phil is not shy to wade into controversial matters and provide his perspective honed from more than three decades in intelligence.
Episode 251 – What good is intelligence if it is not passed on to decision makers? Those who work in intelligence have a tough job. Whether it is HUMINT, SIGINT, IMINT or any other ‘INT’, the data is vast and must be collected, processed, tested for accuracy, corroborated, analysed and put into short product so […]
Episode 250 – The Taliban has an opponent: here’s to their success! Ever since the Taliban retook Afghanistan in the fall of 2021 news out of that nation has been solidly negative. Public executions have been reinstated. Women’s rights are as bad now as they were when the Taliban (Taliban 1.0) took power in 2001. […]
Pakistan’s struggle to contain Baloch insurgencies in the southwest area of the country is causing all kinds of problems
Episode 248 – Is the killing of a US healthcare executive an act of terrorism? As I have noted on far too many occasions no one can agree on what is terrorism and what is not. Not all acts of violence qualify as such and it is often very difficult to determine if the requisite […]
Episode 247 – Is it time to yet to celebrate a new beginning in Syria? Any time a brutal dictator is ousted is a good day for the world as there are far too many still in power in the world. The Assads, father and son, were particularly inhumane, using, among other tools, chemical weapons […]
Episode 246 – The gun that killed Thomas Darcy McGee, father of Canadian Confederation There are undoubtedly many artifacts of historical importance that have gone missing, and the discovery of such is a meaningful event. The fact that the gun believed to have killed a leading Canadian politician shortly after the country’s independence went missing […]
Episode 245 – Is jihad hip and cool? If there is one thing that is consistent it is the tendency of youth to piss off their parents. They engage in activities that make the older generation pull their hair out. Do young people join terrorist groups for similar reasons? Is the Internet a game-changer? Borealis […]
Episode 244 – When French Canadian separatists terrorised Quebec We in Canada brag about being the ‘peaceable kingdom’ (as it turns out the title of my latest book on terrorism!). But not that long ago, a group of Quebecers, seeking independence for the province from Canada, engaged in a bombing campaign for years that culminated […]
Episode 243 – From the European frying pan into the Russian fire in Africa That European nations did awful things in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries is indisputable (that they did some good things too seems to be overlooked). As a consequence, many nations want nothing to do with these countries now. Oddly, […]
Episode 242 – The Battle of Britain and Canadian airmen’s role in it If there is a battle which is iconic in world history it is the Battle of Britain. In the summer of 1940 the German Luftwaffe tried to destroy Britain’s air force in the lead-up to an invasion of England. The dogfights and […]