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Perspectives

What threat do returning foreign fighters pose?

As we still reel from the foiled terrorist attack  last week in Strathroy, Ontario, we can still rest assured that attacks, successful or not, remain a rarity in Canada.  In the period since 9/11 we have had no more than 8 such incidents: on average one every two years.   When we compare our experiences […]

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Perspectives

It takes a village to raise a terrorist, and a village to stop one

In 1996 then First Lady Hillary Clinton published a book It Takes a Village which was essentially a tome on how to raise children.  The main argument centred on the responsibilities that everyone has to contribute to the shaping of productive, well-adjusted citizens and was a bit of a call to an earlier age where this […]

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Perspectives

When does violent thought become worrisome?

There is obviously a difference between thought and action.   While it is generally true that most actions are preceded by thought, save I suppose rash emotional or instinctive/involuntary acts, it is also true that many thoughts do not lead to action.   If you think about all the thoughts you have in a given […]

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Perspectives

Whom do we arm in the “war on terror”?

Foreign policy is tough.  I say that not with any hands-on experience as a former foreign affairs officer but as a former intelligence analyst who worked alongside many people at GAC (Global Affairs Canada, formerly DFATD, formerly DFAIT, formerly EAC, formerly…) on international security issues.  I learned that Canada has a very good reputation internationally […]

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How do we determine threat levels?

There are a lot of misconceptions out there on how intelligence agencies do what they do.  It is not hard to see why this is: after all, spy services work in the shadows and seldom say anything publicly (“I can neither confirm nor deny…”).  On the contrary, if these organisations were open books then they […]

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Seeking the easy way out

In the wake of yet another mass shooting in the US (how many this year?  Too many to count), the analysis bandwagon revs up its engine.  We need more guns.  We need fewer guns.  We need more laws.  We need fewer laws.  We need…. It’s all someone else’s fault.  Blame the shooter because he (I […]

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Perspectives

Tomato, tomahto

I see that the American government and its intelligence community are engaged in a debate over which terrorist group poses a greater threat to the US: Al Qaeda (and its affiliates) or the Islamic State (and its sorta affiliates).  There are proponents on both sides of the ledger and good points are being made by […]