Search: “Iraq”

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 […]

The frustration is mounting.  People angry and saddened about the Paris attacks want the perpetrators brought to justice – well not the actual perpetrators since they are all dead, save for one.  But those who planned and financed it need to pay, with their lives if necessary.  IS is too dangerous and serious action is […]

In the wake of the Paris attacks and continuing developments, we have been inundated with dire warnings that everything has changed. These attacks were the harbinger of a “new wave” of terrorism  now that Islamic State has left the confines of Syria-Iraq and decided to spread its carnage elsewhere (Egypt, Lebanon, France…).   So much […]

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 […]

A few days ago I stood overlooking what was no-man’s land outside the little town of Auchonvillers in the Somme department of Picardie.  In a battle that became known as Beaumont-Hamel, the morning of July 1, 1916 saw the slaughter of most of the Newfoundland Regiment (it later received the title “Royal”): of the 780 […]

In the wake of the attacks in Paris on November 13, we have already seen a wide variety of responses on what this all means and what do we do now.  French President Hollande has called the barbarity an act of war and vowed a crushing reply to the Islamic State.  We shall see what […]

I have spent the last week touring northern France (Brittany and Normandy) with my eldest daughter.  We have seen some amazing cathedrals and abbeys (Mont St Michel and Rouen among others), the thousands of standing stones at Carnac and some incredibly quaint Brittany seaside villages (Pont Aven was particularly lovely). But what has struck me […]

It is not hard to see why politicians have a hard time admitting mistakes.  They work hard and  make difficult decisions and are not always open to accepting that these decisions were wrong.  Some may be too arrogant to see the error of their ways.   It is the rare individual who issues a mea […]

Now that Stephen Harper is an ex prime minister, we can be sure to see dozens of articles on his legacy as our leader (in fact, they started to appear hours after he lost the October 19 election).  Depending on your political stripe, he is either a great PM or one of the worst.  There […]

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 […]