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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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

My late mother had a lot of great advice for me, much of which I followed and much of which has helped me immensely in life.  One maxim that she shared with me has been ignored however.  That would be the time she said it is a good idea never to engage in conversation on […]

It should come as a surprise to no one that in a world apparently awash in terrorist groups and terrorist attacks that any glimpse of success is paraded loudly and widely.  We are desperate for a victory in this ill-named ‘war on terror’ and so we celebrate every drone strike that takes out a leader […]

I am a glass half full kind of guy, someone who seeks to find the positive in life.  I am an optimist tinged with realism.  Three decades in intelligence and 15 years in counter terrorism do tend to give one a good look at the less savoury aspects of life on this planet and as […]

Thank God for reporters like Stewart Bell of the National Post.  Now that I am outside the realm of state secrets I have come to rely on people like him to do the investigative legwork that keeps me informed on what is going on in the world of terrorism, both in Canada and abroad.  Just […]

OK, I admit I am a little sensitive when it comes to the term “intelligence failure”.  You would be too if the profession you devoted three decades to was constantly criticised in the media for screwing up.  The failure to predict 9/11.  The failure to predict India’s acquisition of a nuclear weapons capacity.  The classic […]

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 […]

The last few years have seen an incredible spike in the creation and deployment of Countering Violent Extremism (or CVE) programmes around the world.  Although the meaning of the term is still developing, CVE generally is used to cover any effort that aims at stopping violent extremism (or radicalisation) from beginning or undo it once […]