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Anyone can do it

As US officials and others struggle to understand why Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez shot and killed five Marines in Tennessee before he himself was shot to death by police, we are left with the usual potential suspects.  He had mental issues (depression).  His father was a radical (he was once on a US terrorist watch list). […]

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Fundamentally wrong – part two

When we talk of terrorism we often tiptoe around terminology.  Even the word “terrorism” itself has caused some angst: witness the debate back and forth over what to call the killing of three US Muslims in North Carolina a few months ago by a crazed neighbour and the more recent slaughter of nine African Americans […]

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Now what do we do?

This has been a very, very disturbing day. An attack – including a decapitation – in France.   Tourists slaughtered in Tunisia.  Shia Muslims killed by a suicide bomber at their mosque.  After prayers.  This evokes the senselessness of the massacre last week in Charleston, South Carolina. I’ve always advocated keeping things in perspective and […]

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On-line arrests off-side?

The RCMP in Winnipeg detained a 23-year old Manitoban and seized a number of hard drives they said he used to express support for the Islamic State (see story here).  The youth arrested is a convert to Islam and the son of a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.  He as apparently been on CSIS’ watchlist […]

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Harper’s Hyper Bowl

Our prime minister is quoted as saying that “jihadi terrorism is one of the most dangerous enemies our world has ever faced” (see article here). Really? Bigger than the threat of MAD during the Cold War? Bigger than the Nazi onslaught of the 1930s and 1940s? More dangerous than climate change or run-of-the-mill violence?  (homework […]

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April 30, 2000: Environmentalist attack in the US

On April 30, 2000 members of the Earth Liberation Front carried out an arson attack against logging equipment in Indiana, causing $500,000 in damage.

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February 27, 2008: Hamas rocket attack hits school in Israel

On February 27, 2008 Hamas launched 50 Qassam rockets towards the western Negev, killing a 47-year-old student.

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January 18, 2020: Houthi terrorists shell mosque in Yemen

On January 18, 2020 Houthi terrorists launched an attack on a mosque in Yemen, killing 83 soldiers and injuring 148 during evening prayers.

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December 18, 2016: Rocket attack targets commuters on Somali minibus

On December 18, 2016 an RPG most likely fired by Al Shabaab struck a minibus in Somalia’s southwestern Lower Shabelle region, killing six people.

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December 3, 1994: LTTE massacres Sri Lankan fishermen

On December 3, 1984 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam terrorists massacred 11 Sinhalese villagers in the NE Sri Lankan village of Kokkilai.