Categories
Perspectives

Chinese Interference in Our Democracy Needs Far More Attention Than It’s Getting

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on April 4, 2025. It is sometimes hard to figure out just what it takes for people to realize a crisis is growing in strength. Like the frog who sits in the pot while the water slowly rises in temperature only to take note after it […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Just how bad is anti-Semitism getting in the West?

Episode 269 – Post October 2023 Hamas attack violence against Jews is growing The Hamas incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023 was a horrendous blow to that nation and proportionately bigger than 9/11. And yet, unlike the attack on the US, it was celebrated by many in the West as a legitimate action. […]

Categories
Perspectives

Does Calling Drug Cartels ‘Terrorists’ Help? Hint: no

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on January 23, 2025. Some people may be surprised to learn that the word “terrorism” is not that old. Oh sure, we had the Reign of Terror in France in the late 1790s, but the common use of the concept really only dates to the middle […]

Categories
Perspectives

What Are the Implications of a Canadian ‘Link’ to the New Orleans Attack?

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on January 6, 2025. Those who toil in national security in Canada have one primary task: to keep our country safe from a plethora of threats. These range from garden-variety criminality (assaults, thefts, fraud, and acts of violence, all of which are tied to public safety […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Why don’t most ‘radicals’ go on to commit terrorism?

Episode 257 – How to tell non-violent ‘radicals’ from the violent ones The field of ‘radicalisation’ studies has been growing quickly, especially since 9/11. Practitioners and academics have seen this process as a precursor to the actual execution of acts of terrorism. But most of those who radicalise never move on to action? Why not? […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

What did Canada’s deployment to Afghanistan mean?

Episode 252 – When the soldiers come home from a foreign deployment, what then? After 9/11 Canada was one of the first nations to send its forces to Afghanistan to find Al Qaeda and help Afghanistan oust the Taliban. Thousands of soldiers deployed and over a decade 159 died (in addition to seven civilians). Canada […]

Categories
Perspectives

Protecting National Security Takes More Than Just Adding a Group to the Terrorist List

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on December 3, 2024 In the post 9/11 period, a new tool was made available for the Canadian government in the ill-named “war on terrorism.” It is not as if we had not experienced terrorism before that fateful day (the FLQ crisis in 1970 and the […]

Categories
Perspectives

What if there are no (easy) answers to terrorism?

One of the things you notice about kids, especially younger ones, is their proclivity to ask ‘why’. At times, this habit can get a little annoying as the little tots seem to question the reason behind just about everything. As a grandfather of a 3-yr old boy, I can attest to how many ‘whys’ come […]

Categories
Podcast Quick Hits

The 5 eyes are skewing ‘radicalisation’ data

Episode 254 – Is it helpful to ignore the jihadi elephant in the room? Ever since 9/11, Western nations have devoted a lot of time and money trying to understand ‘radicalisation’, and more narrowly the kind of radicalisation that leads to violence. In essence, this is what causes terrorism (terrorists are made, not born). Our […]

Categories
Perspectives

Demonstrating in Support of Hamas on Anniversary of Israel Attack Constitutes Supporting Terrorism

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on October 6, 2024. Imagine the following scenario. A group of people who are angry at U.S. foreign policy and the government’s continued meddling in the Middle East decide to host a series of mass demonstrations across the United States, and even around the world, to […]