Search: “Africa”

I see that one of the greatest terrorism scholars alive, Bruce Hoffman, has just published a piece in Foreign Affairs predicting an eventual alliance between Al Qaeda (AQ) and Islamic State (IS).  I see this article as Mr. Hoffman’s attempt to remind us,  as he so often has, that AQ is not dead and cannot […]

I see that another Canadian has died fighting in what he believed to be a legitimate jihad overseas, this time in Libya.   Owais Egwilla joins a not so illustrious list of fellow citizens including Ali Dirie, Andre Poulin, Vilyam Plotnikov, Abdelrahman Jabarah, Salman Ashrafi, Damian Clairmont and – unfortunately – many others.  Their graves, […]

I see that the US has undertaken airstrikes against the Libyan “province” of Islamic State (see article here).  The initial focus seem to be tied to targeting an individual behind two attacks  in Tunisia.  It is likely that more strikes will take place and it is even possible that Canada will get involved in this […]

I am fairly certain that many people are getting sick and tired of hearing about terrorism.  IS this.  AQ that.  Some guys called Boko Haram.  The Taliban.  Etc.  Etc. Etc.  The so-called war on terror (a terrible description as I have said before) has been going on for 15 years or so.  When will it […]

The Southern Poverty Law Centre is an oddly named institution that gives little indication of what it does.  No, it is not some legal aid agency for poor people.  It is one of the most influential and comprehensive bodies that looks at hate and extremism in our southern neighbour, the US.  The SPLC looks at […]

There is  a lot of debate here in Canada on what we should do about IS.  The Trudeau government made a promise during the 2015 federal election campaign that if elected it would rescind the mission of Canadian CF-18s which are part of the international airstrikes on IS.  Mr. Trudeau had dismissively labelled the decision […]

Despite all the legal opinions, academic papers and government policies, we still have a hard time deciding what is terrorism and what isn’t.  Was the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks a terrorist act? Was the 2015 attack on an African American church in Charleston, South Carolina?  Justin Bourque’s armed rampage in Moncton in […]

“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 […]

Last week I was asked to speak at the Canadian Military Intelligence Association annual conference in Ottawa. The speakers’ list included the Canadian National Security Advisor (and former Director of CSIS) Richard Fadden and Chief of Defence Staff General Vance. The day was well attended by members of the Canadian intelligence community. On the tables […]

I have already blogged about the use of fear by the governing Conservatives in the most recent Canadian federal election.  Voters were showered with warnings that the Islamic State was everywhere (and may be coming to a bedroom near you) and that only by returning Mr, Harper and his crew would Canadians truly be safe. […]