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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

Thankfully second time’s the charm in terrorism cases in Canada

With all the talk lately about bringing terrorists who fought for Islamic State (IS) and other groups abroad back to Canada to face charges here one glaring omission is often made: just how hard it is to prosecute people under sections 83.01ff of the Canadian Criminal Code (the sections that deal with terrorist activity). Cases are tough to […]

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Perspectives

A new international criminal court to try ‘foreign fighters’?

So we continue to wring our hands over the fate of our citizens who fought with Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist groups, primarily in Syria and Iraq but in other conflict zones as well. On the one hand is the crowd that says “let them rot in some Syrian hellhole for what they did: […]

Categories
Perspectives

A new international criminal court to try ‘foreign fighters’?

So we continue to wring our hands over the fate of our citizens who fought with Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist groups, primarily in Syria and Iraq but in other conflict zones as well.  On the one hand is the crowd that says “let them rot in some Syrian hellhole for what they did: […]

Categories
Perspectives

Thankfully second time’s the charm in terrorism cases in Canada

With all the talk lately about bringing terrorists who fought for Islamic State (IS) and other groups abroad back to Canada to face charges here one glaring omission is often made: just how hard it is to prosecute people under sections 83.01ff of the Canadian Criminal Code (the sections that deal with terrorist activity).  Cases […]

Categories
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 […]

Categories
Perspectives

Condemn the terrorist but pity the mother and father

It is pretty tough, and rightfully so, to feel sorry for those who think becoming a terrorist is a good idea.  These are choices made and bad choices sometimes have bad consequences.  Those who recognise this realise that there is a price to pay for making a stupid decision. Then again there are those who […]

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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

Is the far right extremist threat really that big in Canada?

This piece appeared in The Hill Times on October 15, 2018. There is no question that when the topic around the water cooler turns to terrorism – not that I hope or think that it often does – as far as the average citizen is concerned the particular brand of terrorism that garners the most attention […]

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Perspectives

Why Doug Ford’s burst on the Canadian counter terrorism scene is unhelpful – part two

Canadians are justifiably angry at those among us who spat on our flag, burned their passports and left one of the world’s finest countries to join terrorist groups like Islamic State (IS).  Not that the numbers are that high – a few hundred maybe compared with thousands from several European, African and Asian nations – […]