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Perspectives

How do we determine threat levels?

There are a lot of misconceptions out there on how intelligence agencies do what they do.  It is not hard to see why this is: after all, spy services work in the shadows and seldom say anything publicly (“I can neither confirm nor deny…”).  On the contrary, if these organisations were open books then they […]

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Sects and violence

As worthy and beneficial as religion can be, it is nevertheless true that religion has also been behind some of the worst forms of violence.  We in the West tend to see religion as a nice thing to have although I think we are increasingly moving towards a post-religious society, at least in Canada.  Whatever […]

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Perspectives

Elections and security: how safe are we?

As we near the end of a very long federal election campaign, I’d like to review what, if anything, has been said that touches on terrorism and national security  Spoiler alert: not much.  But a lot that has nothing to do with terrorism may actually have a significant impact on how safe we will be […]

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The verdict is in, and it is a good one

The VIA passenger train trial has been a tortuous one.  The two terrorists, Raed Jaser and Chiheb Esseghaier were found guilty on eight of nine charges back in March of this year.  The plot was disrupted two years previously: that is how long it takes terrorist cases to come to trial. Actually, this was very […]

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Perspectives

Heading off in a new direction

The world of counter terrorism is usually associated with security intelligence agencies and the military.  The former carry out investigations, using human sources and court-approved taps on communications while the latter undertakes “kinetic” action and captures terrorists or kills them through the use of drones/aircraft or special forces (think here of the operation to locate […]

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Perspectives

Signs of the times – 2

It is comforting and yet humbling to see a news article that conveys information which confirms a lifetime’s work.  I studied radicalisation to violence, as inspired by Al Qaeda (and increasingly nowadays the Islamic State) for 15 years from a privileged position as a senior strategic analyst at CSIS.  I was able to leverage that […]

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The long arm of the terrorist law

When a terrorist act occurs there are a number of inevitable events that follow immediately afterwards.  The attackers are called “cowards” (while those who leave IEDs may be described so, can anyone really call a suicide bomber a coward?).  There is a usual demand for vengeance and retaliation. And the head of state promises that […]

Services

Shedding light on a risky world, Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting can provide you with the necessary advice and training to help you and your agency understand threat from terrorism and other forms of violence. We offer training for those who need the latest information on threats to your security. Whether you want a fuller […]

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What to do with “former” terrorists?

When our security and law enforcement agencies do their jobs when it comes to terrorism, violent extremists are detected, investigated, neutralised, arrested, tried, convicted and incarcerated.  And this marks the end of our problem, right? Unfortunately, not. Incarcerated terrorists remain a potential threat because, if given the chance, they can radicalise others in the prison […]

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Perspectives

Not very intelligent – part two

In an earlier blog post I spoke of the dangers of allowing intelligence analysis to be driven by politics (Not Very Intelligent – July 22).  Now the US assessments on its campaign against the Islamic State (IS) may have been subject to the same scourge. In a front-page piece in the New York Times (see […]