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Perspectives

Apples and oranges in the counter terrorism world

As the entire world continues to follow the media frenzy over a bunch of probably ineffective pipe bombs sent to a couple of high-profile people – former President Obama, philanthropist George Soros, actor Robert DeNiro and a few more – this may be the perfect time to talk about the nature and frequency of terrorism […]

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Perspectives

Apples and oranges in the counter terrorism world

As the entire world continues to follow the media frenzy over a bunch of probably ineffective pipe bombs sent to a couple of high-profile people – former President Obama, philanthropist George Soros, actor Robert DeNiro and a few more – this may be the perfect time to talk about the nature and frequency of terrorism […]

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Perspectives

Why joining a terrorist group should be enough to convict

I am pretty sure I have mentioned this before but here it is again.  When I worked for CSIS and my colleagues and I had occasion to talk to Canadians who had traveled to Afghanistan to join Al Qaeda we would often hear some lame excuse from the returnees as to what they did while […]

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Perspectives

Why the Rohingya genocide has not attracted a greater Islamist extremist response

When it comes to Islamist terrorism there is a lot we know and a lot we don’t.  We may not be able to predict – ever – why and when a given individual chooses to adopt the violent radical ideology that leads him or her to engage in acts of extremism, but we do have […]

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Perspectives

What role should the military have in the ‘war on terrorism’?

This piece appeared in The Hill Times on September 24, 2018. We are now in year 17 of the ‘war on terrorism’.  After the catastrophic terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, 2001 the US, and many of its allies, declared war on violent extremism.  The initial effort to locate and punish the perpetrators […]

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Perspectives

Terrorism was down in 2017. That’s good. Right? Yes, but…

A very interesting report was just issued by the START center of excellence on terrorism at the University of Maryland on violent extremist trends in 2017.  It is worth a read.  Here are some good news highlights: The total number of terrorist attacks worldwide in 2017 decreased by 23 percent and total deaths due to […]

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Perspectives

Isn’t propaganda great? But it can be misleading.

Branding is important.  Companies spend tens of millions on advertising campaigns to get people to recognise them and buy their products.  Even as a one-man band I know how crucial it is to get the name of my consulting firm, Borealis, out there so that potential clients find out about me, what I can provide […]

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Perspectives

Does the fear of terrorism outweigh the actual threat level?

So what are YOU afraid of?  Snakes?  Sharks?  Public speaking?  For me it is heights.  I have a hard time even climbing a ladder to clean out the eavestroughs at home.  Seriously, a metre off the ground and I get weak in the knees.  Yeah, I know, what a wimp! What about terrorism?  Does it […]

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Perspectives

Canada should do the right thing and bring Afghan interpreters to our land

This piece appeared in The Hill Times on August 20, 2018 I may not be a military expert and I am certainly not as knowledgeable as Scott Taylor, whose column often appears right above mine in The Hill Times, but I am pretty sure that whenever an army deploys abroad it relies a lot on […]

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Perspectives

An insane suggestion regarding immigration to Canada that undermines security

An edited version of this piece appeared in The Hill Times on July 23, 2018 Is Alex Neve, the secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada insane? Full disclosure: I have been a supporter of Amnesty International and its work for decades.  I admire the positions they adopt and the advocacy they employ in the interests of […]