Search: “Boko Haram”

(I just realised that the title of this blog could be seen as offensive.  Please believe that I am not equating those that build bridges and improve our way of life with those who wantonly slaughter innocent people in the name of ideology.  The two have nothing in common.  Or do they?) Building on my […]

It is often a difficult question for governments to decide which activities to allow and which to ban. There are clear cases where certain actions should not be tolerated, like murder for instance, and we have laws to take care of those.  Some argue, however, that governments should just stay out of our lives, that […]

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 […]

I bet some of you are wondering why this blog post is being written, in light of the title.  Surely, you are probably saying, there is no contest.  Iran meddles in the affairs of other countries, supports terrorist groups like Hamas and Hizballah and is trying to acquire nuclear weapons.  And then there is that […]

Terrorism eats up a lot of our time as citizens and news consumers.  IS.  AQ.  Boko Haram.  Hizballah.  Hindu extremists.  Anti-abortion extremists.  Boy, things have really changed since I was a kid.  Sure there was the odd story about a hijacked airplane and the Troubles in Ireland, but it wasn’t a daily occurrence (maybe it […]

As we continually seek to understand terrorism and what makes a terrorist, we hear many reasons brought forward and defended as THE answer or cause.  I have already, on several occasions, discussed and dismissed the perennial disenfranchisement/alienation/poverty…. myth and will not return to it here. Now another “soupe du jour” has arisen, probably not coincidentally […]

I have said it before and I will repeat it here: I am not an expert in military affairs.  Hell, I am not even a well-informed John Q Public when it comes to things military.  When I talk about the military I am bound to sound dumb. So, here it goes: my take on why […]

As we sift through the carnage and horror of last Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris we are already seeing the ugly underside that humans all too frequently exhibit.  Republican candidate Donald Trump calls for American mosques to be closed.  Other presidential hopefuls, and several state governors, have stated that will stop Syrian refugees from being […]

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 […]

Now that everyone and his uncle has had a chance to comment on the nuclear accord reached with Iran, it’s my turn. (Full disclosure: I was an Iranian analyst in the Canadian intelligence community for twenty years and was even fluent in Farsi at one point – alas no more!) There is no question Iran […]