Search: “Terrorists”

Whenever a terrorist attack happens and innocent lives are lost we get a typical litany of accusations.  The attackers were evil. Their act was heinous.  They are inhuman.  Sometimes the terrorists are called cowards. Contrast this with how the terrorists refer to themselves.  Mujahideen.  Jaysh al Islam (Army of Islam).  Ansar Muhammad (companions of the […]

There is no question that in the war of ideas between us and the terrorists we are not winning, despite the fact that the odds are so much in our favour.  Our way of life is so superior to that of the terrorists that this should not really be a contest and I shouldn’t have […]

Terrorism is the use of violence or the threat of violence to cause and spread fear in an effort to get us to do things we might not want to do.  For example, planting a car bomb outside a family planning clinic is an attempt to force change in the state’s policies on abortion or […]

Most Canadians have heard of the “Toronto 18”,  a group of homegrown extremists who were arrested in the summer of 2006 before they could detonate truck bombs, an act that could have killed and maimed thousands.  At the time, and probably to this day for that matter, it was the largest and most complicated terrorism […]

It should come as a surprise to no one that many Western governments, including Canada’s, are struggling with what to do about their citizens seeking to travel abroad to join terrorist groups such as Islamic State.  Measures to date have included passport revocation, peace bonds, monitoring and, where enough evidence is present, arrest and charges. […]

As the number and lethality of terrorist attacks appear to be on the upswing (whether they are or not in reality is not important since perception seems to trump facts when it comes to terrorism), fear is also rising.  I have already blogged about the decision by an Alberta school board to cancel international trips […]

I see that Saudi Arabia and 33 other Islamic nations have created an anti-terrorism coalition with an operational headquarters to be established in the Saudi capital, Riyadh (see story here).  The coalition will reportedly fight terrorists in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan. Three cheers for the Saudis and their allies, right?  On the one hand, […]

We seem to have this love-hate relationship with religion in the West.  Wait, let me rephrase that, since saying “the West” is too vague.  In some countries (France, Spain, Canada I would argue) we have reached a kind of post-religious society where all religions are tolerated but play very little role in the public sphere. […]

It had to happen eventually. With all the attention on Islamic State – the attacks in Paris and California, the airstrikes, the recruitment of Westerners – it was just a matter of time before this came out: “93 secret ISIS cells in US” Was this an exclusive of the New York Times?  Washington Post?  Wall […]

I have just returned from spending three wonderful days in New York City.  Broadway.  Central Park.  American Museum of Natural History.  Bryant Park.  The city that never sleeps.  And the city that is never far from the attention and aspiration of terrorists. When I used to work in security intelligence it always struck me that […]