Search: “Islamic State”

When most people think about terrorism and terrorists they probably go immediately to explosives, suicide vests, firearms and,  increasingly, the use of cars and vans.  Attacks in which these ‘tools’ are used are ubiquitous and have become a scourge in far too many countries.  Nary a day goes by without news about an incident somewhere […]

As I have stated on many occasions, the threat to Canada from Islamist extremist groups represents by far the single greatest priority for our security services – CSIS, the RCMP and provincial and municipal police forces.  We have seen around a dozen plots, both foiled and successful, since 9/11, the most recent one being the […]

Once in a while I come across (or, in this case, have someone point me in the right direction) a story related to terrorism that surprises even  me, a 30-year grizzled veteran of intelligence and counter terrorism.  I saw a lot in my time at CSIS and had the incredibly amazing opportunity to work on […]

My late mother had a lot of great advice for me, much of which I followed and much of which has helped me immensely in life.  One maxim that she shared with me has been ignored however.  That would be the time she said it is a good idea never to engage in conversation on […]

On rare occasions I pick up a copy of the National Enquirer or World Weekly News when I shop for groceries.  It’s not that I am particularly a fan, but they are strategically located at the checkout counter with their flashy, outrageous headlines.  Some are truly unbelievable – I think my all-time favourite was ‘Titanic […]

In Lewis Carroll’s Alice through the looking glass Humpty-Dumpty delivers this famous line: “When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” Alice replied: “he question is whether you can make words mean so many different things.” I think this notion that anyone can say anything they like […]

Canada has been in the news a lot lately for things it is not normally associated with.  Things like mass shootings, online hate and an overall atmosphere of intolerance.  We here used to pride ourselves on openness, the embrace of difference and acceptance and like to highlight how we have built a social model that […]

CVE – short for Countering Violent Extremism – gets a bad rap sometimes, and the criticism is not always unwarranted.  The term has come to mean whatever people want it to mean as its remit expands into all kinds of areas of social engineering and capacity building.  Many movements have received funding from governments by […]

A lot of people  in Canada, particularly Muslims and even more narrowly Muslims in Quebec, are frightened today.  The massacre at the Islamic Cultural Centre in the provincial capital of la belle province has many worried about their safety and mosques across the country are upping security and receiving special attention from local law enforcement. […]

I feel for politicians and public leaders – sometimes.  True, they do come out with some stupid things on occasion, but I want to give them credit for assuming the role they do. It cannot be an easy job. When it comes to terrorism, and more specifically talking about a specific act as terrorist or […]