Ya gotta feel for Nigeria. This West African country is, and has been for some time, beset with all forms of violence, from organised crime to ethnic clashes to jihadi terrorism. In the latter category we have Boko Haram (BH), an Al Qaeda affiliate wannabe that has been very active since the late 2000s largely […]
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When I worked at CSIS on counter terrorism investigations one phenomenon we would encounter on a regular basis was the role played by an individual we called the ‘radicaliser’. This person, or persons, could reside in the real world or online. S/he (to be honest it was usually a he) would generally have a charismatic […]
When I left the Canadian civil service – more accurately the security intelligence world – in May 2015 I had some of the restrictions on what I can say and do lifted. Up to a point. I still cannot talk in detail about operations I was part of or intelligence I was privy to and […]
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Would you shill for Usama bin Laden?
Canadian lobby firm should not be doing business with Sudan military.
It is hard to admit when you have made a mistake. After all, we want to be right every time and when it becomes obvious that we are not it takes a special effort to pronounce a mea culpa. Me, I have tried to be gracious when obvious errors are pointed out to me: perhaps […]
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CVE in Canada needs better scrutiny
This piece appeared in The Hill Times on July 8, 2019 If there is one buzzword that has gained a lot of ground in Canada and elsewhere in the post 9/11 period it is CVE (which stands for Countering Violent Extremism; sometimes it is also called PCVE – Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism). This field […]
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Remember Al Qaeda? It’s baaaacckkk!
When you have been at war with something for almost two decades it is important to declare ‘victory’ at some point. Those whose support you – i.e. the public/taxpayer – need and want to see some results for the actions they are backstopping. Fighting for years with no sense that you are winning is a […]
CSIS is far from perfect but it is an excellent, dedicated and professional security service. Canadians should be glad we have these people watching out for us.
What Islamic State (IS) stood for and did while it governed its so-called ‘Caliphate’ is no secret. The terrorist group threw gays off rooftops, burned or drowned captives alive, raped women and girls (including the Yazidis, whom the jihadis considered apostates) and made their prisoners wear orange jumpsuits before beheading them. All of these actions […]
News flash! The Internet is not always used for good! What are we going to do about it???? I don’t suppose these headlines strike anyone as real ‘news’, do they? We have long known that any technology can be leveraged for good or for bad (dynamite was developed by Alfred Nobel – yes, he of […]