“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” According to Google, this famous phrase was uttered either by Anglo-Irish statesman Edmund Burke or former Minnesota governor and ex-WWF wrestler Jesse Ventura. I’ll go with Burke. What is more disconcerting is when we forget our history that happened, say, 4 years ago. Remember the […]
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Cowardly lions?
Whenever a terrorist attack happens and innocent lives are lost we get a typical litany of accusations. The attackers were evil. Their act was heinous. They are inhuman. Sometimes the terrorists are called cowards. Contrast this with how the terrorists refer to themselves. Mujahideen. Jaysh al Islam (Army of Islam). Ansar Muhammad (companions of the […]
I see that Saudi Arabia and 33 other Islamic nations have created an anti-terrorism coalition with an operational headquarters to be established in the Saudi capital, Riyadh (see story here). The coalition will reportedly fight terrorists in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan. Three cheers for the Saudis and their allies, right? On the one hand, […]
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Terrorism as political tool
Terrorism eats up a lot of our time as citizens and news consumers. IS. AQ. Boko Haram. Hizballah. Hindu extremists. Anti-abortion extremists. Boy, things have really changed since I was a kid. Sure there was the odd story about a hijacked airplane and the Troubles in Ireland, but it wasn’t a daily occurrence (maybe it […]
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Keep calm and carry on
I have just returned from spending three wonderful days in New York City. Broadway. Central Park. American Museum of Natural History. Bryant Park. The city that never sleeps. And the city that is never far from the attention and aspiration of terrorists. When I used to work in security intelligence it always struck me that […]
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Global warming and terrorism
As we continually seek to understand terrorism and what makes a terrorist, we hear many reasons brought forward and defended as THE answer or cause. I have already, on several occasions, discussed and dismissed the perennial disenfranchisement/alienation/poverty…. myth and will not return to it here. Now another “soupe du jour” has arisen, probably not coincidentally […]
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Buddhist violence – not an oxymoron?
The recent stunning election results in Myanmar (a.k.a. Burma) have led to much optimism over the future of the Southeast Asian country. Long led by the military, the majority won by Aung San Suu Kyi – leader of the National League for Democracy and daughter of the man who negotiated Burman independence from the UK […]
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The fallout from airstrikes
I have said it before and I will repeat it here: I am not an expert in military affairs. Hell, I am not even a well-informed John Q Public when it comes to things military. When I talk about the military I am bound to sound dumb. So, here it goes: my take on why […]
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The reach of Islamic State
I have gone on record several times to state that Islamic State (IS) does not pose an existential threat to anybody. It can certainly cause havoc and mayhem and destruction but there is no way that this motley crew of extremists is ever going to threaten the world. Yes, it has a state – sort […]
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Terrorism and life
As we sift through the carnage and horror of last Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris we are already seeing the ugly underside that humans all too frequently exhibit. Republican candidate Donald Trump calls for American mosques to be closed. Other presidential hopefuls, and several state governors, have stated that will stop Syrian refugees from being […]