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Perspectives

Today in Terrorism: 8 November 2003, Bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

On this day in 2003, a Saudi Arabia compound was hit by multiple bombs attributed to Al Qaeda.

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Mission Possible

Operation Venezuela Vendetta

Mission Possible Episode 2 Good morning subscriber.  Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to analyze the US seizure of Venezuelan President Maduro from both a legal and moral perspective within the intelligence, law enforcement and military worlds. The code name for this mission is Operation Venezuela Vendetta and is classified Top Secret […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Why spies and cops need spies and cops as leaders

Episode 305 – Why can’t just about anyone run a major intelligence service or police force? There seems to be this movement that anyone should have the opportunity to try their hand at anything. This includes complicated jobs such as security intelligence agencies or law enforcement organisations. But what happens if an outsider with no […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Using linguistics to catch miscreants online

Episode 304 – When words betray bad guys As a linguist (and former multilingual foreign intelligence analyst) and counter terrorism specialist, I can proudly say I had a cool career. The chance to combine language skills, a background in linguistics proper and my interest in terrorism was a remarkable opportunity. But can language/linguistics have more […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Is there a jihad in southern Thailand?

Episode 303 – In a land associated with Buddhism, temples and tourism, are Islamist extremists active? Have you ever been to Thailand? I have, but I cannot talk about it…. I do know, however, that it is a very popular spot for tourists – and Thai cuisine is the best! But there is a longstanding, […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Are we facing a new kind of nebulous terrorism?

Episode 301 – Do we need to create a new class of terrorism, or is this overcomplicating matters? We have all become too familiar with terrorism over the decades, especially since 9/11. There are all kinds of groups which use violence in the pursuit of all kinds of goals and they all have some form […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Have we entered the era of ‘violent populism’?

Episode 298 – Violence on the right and left is rising in the US: what can be done about it? When it comes to language there are lots of opposites: black and white, up and down, in and out, right and left. The latter terms are often thrown around when talking about political movements (and […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Wait, AQ is still active in Afghanistan?

Episode 297 – Why calling terrorist groups ‘dead’ is rarely a good idea I cannot recall how many times I have heard a world leader, or a self-styled ‘terrorism expert’, expound that a given terrorist group has been ‘totally defeated’ (that is exactly what Donald Trump said about ISIS in Iraq and Syria in 2019 […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Perspectives Podcast

Does diversified trade trump security in Canada?

Episode 296 – How does a country weigh national vs. economic security? To say that Canada-China relations have been rocky would be putting it mildly. From the heyday of the first Trudeau (Pierre) to the depths of the PRC’s kidnapping of two Canadians several years ago, it has not been an easy road. Furthermore, China […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Is Trump bringing the US back to Afghanistan?

Episode 295 – Afghanistan is not known as the ‘graveyard of empires’ for nothing After 9/11, the US, Canada and many other nations sent troops to Afghanistan to find and punish Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden and bring ‘democracy’ to the country. Thousands of casualties – on both sides – later, the US pulled […]