Search: “Terrorists”

Rarely in life is there a stark choice between two polar opposites.  On most occasions responses to a problem or an issue can be spread out along a range of options from soft to hard, easy to difficult, or popular to divisive.  The ways in which we have elected to deal with violent radicalisation and […]

Wouldn’t it be great if the whole were always the sum of its parts?  That way, if we could ensure that we have all the ingredients and understand how they go together we could reliably predict what the end state would be.  If only life were like math: 2 + 3 + 4 = 9 […]

One thing that is obvious is that terrorists love social media.  They are all over it and are masters at using it to their advantage.  This should surprise no one.  Terrorists tend to be two things: young and smart.  Young smart people know how to get their message out and are adept at modifying what […]

I was saddened to hear recently that a member of one of the funniest group of comedians ever to grace the screen is suffering from dementia.  Terry Jones of the irreverent and very clever Monty Python troupe announced that he has the condition and will no longer be able to give interviews.  A very dark […]

People react in different ways to terrorism.  Some panic.  Some lash out at what they think are those responsible (Muslims, people with head coverings, places of worship).  Some take it all in stride – Keep calm and carry on – aware of the fact that terrorism, irrespective of what media images tell us, remains a […]

The US has suffered through two scary incidents in the past 24 hours.  Fortunately, as of the time of writing, no one has died in either event.  A man dressed in a security uniform knifed 8 people at a mall in central Minnesota.  There are reports he talked of Allah and asked at least one […]

Did you ever have one of those days where in a matter of minutes you were exposed to things that when you compared them turned out to be polar opposites?  I had one of those days today. I had traveled from The Hague to Utrecht in the Netherlands to meet with a university professor.  I […]

For some it might seem a bit odd that a person who spent three decades in intelligence, and half of that  in counter terrorism especially, might think that there is a solution other than investigation and incarceration for terrorists.  After all, terrorism is a real threat and we cannot be naive about it.  How can […]

If there is one thing I have noticed in my post-intelligence life it is the quality of reporting on terrorism and violent radicalisation.  When I worked for CSIS I had access to far more information, not available to the public of course, on these two issues and was thus very well schooled in the who, […]

No, you are not watching the US Republican Party propose measures to stop terrorism that each time are more and more draconian and more and more dismissive of basic human rights.  This is the Conservative Party of Canada talking, the holders – until recently – of government in this country.  And yet if you didn’t […]