Categories
Perspectives

Reflections on the US invasion of Iraq: it was still bad intelligence

I know I have gone over this material before but there is nothing like an anniversary to occasion yet another look at an incident.  The ‘incident’ I am referring to is the 15th anniversary of the US decision to invade Iraq in 2003.  No matter what side of the political spectrum you belong to I […]

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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 […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Whither ISIS?

Episode 294 – What is the current state of ISIS and how worried should counter-terrorism agencies be? In 2019 then US President Trump stated that ISIS had been ‘totally defeated’. While it was true that the so-called ‘Caliphate’ had for all intents and purposes been destroyed, the group was anything but gone. It is still […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Can the state call a popular political party an ‘extremist’ organisation?

Episode 272 – What will the German government decision to label the AfD backfire? That extremist/terrorist groups can form political parties – and in some cases actually govern – is not unknown. Hamas ran Gaza until the Israeli invasion in October 2023, Hizballah controlled much of southern Lebanon and even ISIS created a so-called ‘Caliphate’ […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Whither Iran and its threat to international security?

Episode 264 – Is Iran on the brink of collapse? If there is one country that has been at the forefront of terrorism and international meddling it is Iran. Since the revolution of 1979, in which a Shia fundamentalist regime replaced the monarchy, it has been a prime sponsor of terrorist groups such as Hamas, […]

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Perspectives

Does Calling Drug Cartels ‘Terrorists’ Help? Hint: no

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on January 23, 2025. Some people may be surprised to learn that the word “terrorism” is not that old. Oh sure, we had the Reign of Terror in France in the late 1790s, but the common use of the concept really only dates to the middle […]

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Perspectives

What Are the Implications of a Canadian ‘Link’ to the New Orleans Attack?

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on January 6, 2025. Those who toil in national security in Canada have one primary task: to keep our country safe from a plethora of threats. These range from garden-variety criminality (assaults, thefts, fraud, and acts of violence, all of which are tied to public safety […]

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Perspectives

It Would Be a Mistake to Label Syria an Ex-terrorist Haven Just Yet

This piece first appeared in The Epoch Times Canada on December 9, 2024. Assad is gone from Syria. Hip hip hooray. Actually, let’s wait a minute before celebrating. Any time a dictator who has abused his nation’s citizens—jailing them, torturing them, and even using chemical weapons against them—is forced to flee has to be a […]

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Perspectives

Is ISIS back? Actually, it never left the building

Those who stated confidently that ISIS had been ‘defeated’ in 2019 were totally, totally wrong

Categories
Quick Hits

Who thinks making an 11-year old girl a sex slave is OK? ISIS, that’s who

It is time for EVERYONE to call out jihadis for what they are: misogynists who hate women and will do everything they can to harm them