Search: “Terrorists”

It must appear to most people in Canada that terrorism is a daily scourge.  If you take a global snapshot that is undeniably true.  Over the last few weeks we have seen attacks in France, Tunisia, Kuwait, Yemen and the inevitable – and sadly too frequent – violence in Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. And […]

Remember the good old days when terrorism was a rare thing?  Yes, sometimes people got hurt or even killed, but the more frequent incident was an airplane hijacking or a nuisance bomb.  And then the inevitable claim of responsibility would come from the PLO or the ALF or the FLQ in the form of a […]

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 […]

Sometimes you come across a quote that really strikes you as profound.  Here’s one that remains relevant after all these years.  It comes from a 2002 issue of Foreign Affairs and was penned by Paris-based researcher Grenville Buford: “Wars have typically been fought against proper nouns (Germany, say) for the good reason that proper nouns […]

Remember when we were all inspired by the grassroots efforts made across North Africa and the Middle East in the name of freedom and democracy?  And how these movements were going to change the region and the world? Without wanting to denigrate the sacrifices made by millions, I think we can conclude that – for […]

This ain’t good. In an interview with Vice, Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, while defending the government’s position that wearing a niqab (face veil) during citizenship ceremonies is not concomitant with Canadian values, uttered the following sequence: ” The overwhelming majority of Canadians want that rule to continue to apply. We’ve done a lot in the […]

You find provocative pieces related to terrorism just about anywhere these days.  Remember the Rolling Stone cover piece on Dhzokhar Tsarnaev (one of the Boston Marathon bombers) that got all that attention last year? I recently read an essay on the “Hydra paradox” in the UK magazine New Scientist (full disclosure: I have been reading […]

When I worked as an intelligence analyst I always wanted more information.  More and better data always trumps less, as it may assist in more in depth and accurate analysis. So what should we make of the Canadian government’s decision to expand its collection of fingerprints and digital photos, in part to catch “terrorists…and jihadis […]

I have already talked a bit about the Sunni-Shia split in an earlier piece (Brothers at Arms).  Today’s thoughts are along a different pathway. When I worked in the intelligence world and looked at violent radicalization, the focus was entirely on Sunnis, not Shia.  Of course, there were other kinds of violence to worry about […]

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 […]