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Perspectives

How risk averse are we when it comes to terrorism?

It is no exaggeration to say that we have ‘terrorism on the brain’. Our newspapers, magazines and Web sites are full of stories about terrorist attacks here and terrorist attacks there. Our leaders – well, some of them anyway – see terrorists lurking behind every tree (or every irregular migrant) and want to build walls […]

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Perspectives

No, a dip in terrorism does not mean that we are ‘winning’ or that terrorism will disappear

We live in a win-lose world.  Whether we are referring to sports, politics, game shows or whatever, there is usually a winner and one or more losers.   We may simply be wired for dividing things into two categories, at least after initial analysis: good-bad, black-white, winner-loser.  As I know I have read somewhere, way back […]

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Perspectives

The 2018 Public Safety Canada terrorist overview: ok, but….

I guess it is that time of year.  No, not the holiday season – the appearance of the annual Public Safety Canada terrorist threat overview!  As the Minister of Public Safety himself – Ralph Goodale – wrote, this is “part of our commitment to being open and transparent through a balanced and frank assessment of […]

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Perspectives

Do we use the T word too often or not often enough?

One of the reasons why I continue to talk and write about terrorism is that I find the field fascinating, and not just because I have worked in countering it for nigh on twenty years.  I never cease to learn more about terrorism and terrorists and what makes the whole thing tick and as someone […]

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Perspectives

Not all vehicular ramming attacks are terrorist incidents

Does anyone else remember the CBC Radio show Basic Black?  I loved that show, which used to run on Saturday mornings and did so from 1983 to 2002.  The show’s host, Arthur Black, would interview a number of guests, some of them quite eccentric, who came from all walks of life.  It was a truly […]

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Perspectives

Sex, sex, sex…and terrorism

To say that we in the West live in a sex-craved society is putting things mildly.  From TV shows where sexual humour is pervasive (for what it is worth, I think The Big Bang Theory would be a lot funnier without so many sex jokes and no, I am not a prude!) to advertising it […]

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Perspectives

The problem with terrorism ‘expertise’

Like most people I had a fascination with dinosaurs when I was a kid.  I had plastic dinosaurs and books on these grand behemoths.  I loved movies about them, even if they were really bad 1960s sci-fi ones that were as inaccurate as possible.  In my 20s I began to read more recent books on […]

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Perspectives

The importance of accurate information

As a former intelligence analyst with more than three decades in national security and someone who has chosen to go public with my knowledge, perspective and experience I have attracted a lot of attention.  Some of it is praiseworthy (“Thanks for your service”), some appreciative (“I like what you wrote”) and some not so good […]

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Perspectives

The struggle to ‘explain’ the Toronto attack

We humans are a curious species (in both senses of the word ‘curious’). The foremost question on our minds is always Why?  Why is the sky blue?  Why do the seasons change?  Why can’t a Canadian team win the Stanley Cup?  Why? Why? WHY? Our insatiable need to know extends to tragic events, such as […]