Search: “Islamic State”

The city of New York, the site of the world-changing events of 9/11, appears to have suffered its worst single attack of terrorism since that fateful date 16 years ago.  A man drove a rented Home Depot truck onto a pedestrian pathway in lower Manhattan, striking cyclists and killing at least eight (six were declared […]

First of all kudos to the Trudeau government for its commitment to the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence (CCCEPE – that name is way too long however)    $35 million over five years is an excellent start and, although details are wanting, the government sees the new office  as a leadership post […]

It is rare that one can look back on something composed years ago and see it as relevant today as it was thought to be back then.  So much changes as new variables enter into play and our own understanding and appreciation for phenomena matures to reflect these new additions.  That is indeed a good […]

There is no question that the world has terrorism on the brain.  So much has changed since 9/11 that we are both more attuned to, and frightened of, the spectre of terrorism that it has affected our ability to accurately measure what is happening and, perhaps more importantly, what we are doing about it.  This […]

It has been a little more than a week and a half since Canada suffered its latest, and thankfully still rare, terrorist attack.  A 30-year old Somali refugee named Abdulahi Sharif hit and stabbed an Edmonton police officer before leading authorities on a race through the city’s streets where he struck four pedestrians before he […]

If there is one shining light in the aftermath of the Arab Spring it is Tunisia.  Not that the competition is very tough.  Egypt went from an elected Muslim Brotherhood (MB) government to a military one under General Sisi.  Bahrain’s short-lived revolution is no more.  And as for Syria, well I really don’t think I […]

Terrorism is very simple and very complicated at the same time.  Its simplicity comes from the set of axioms that underlie every terrorist and every terrorist group.  We can summarise terrorism in three compact phrases: My people are suffering. I/we know who is responsible for the suffering. I/we need to use violence to stop the […]

In the immediate aftermath of the incident in Edmonton Saturday evening I quickly found myself caught up in a battle of words on social media (Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn) over my use of the word ‘terrorism’ to discuss what had happened.  The truth be told I was in one way merely following the lead of Edmonton […]

It has now been almost 24 hours since a man in a Chevy Malibu drove up to an Edmonton police officer doing traffic duty outside a CFL game, struck him at some speed, knocking him in the air, and proceeded to stab him several times before fleeing.  The suspect later was stopped in what appeared […]

If you were to ask most people around the world about my country I am pretty sure that few would respond “Canada?  Oh it is a hotbed of terrorism!”  This is not to say that there have not been any terrorist acts over the years – in fact many forget that the single largest act […]