Search: “islamic state”

Remember the good old days when terrorism was a rare thing?  Yes, sometimes people got hurt or even killed, but the more frequent incident was an airplane hijacking or a nuisance bomb.  And then the inevitable claim of responsibility would come from the PLO or the ALF or the FLQ in the form of a […]

It is not uncommon for inaccurate information to be held as accepted wisdom where no amount of data will convince people otherwise. Examples of this would include the conviction that crime rates are soaring (they have actually been plummeting for years) or that e-cigarettes are ok (there is no data yet suggesting that they are […]

The multiple attacks today (June 26) have led to a burst of condemnation and outrage – as they should. The vast majority of people – Muslim and non-Muslim – have rightly protested against this barbarity.  And we will surely see more demonstrations in the days to come as more and more people are inspired to […]

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the terrorist attack against Air India flight 182 which fell into the sea off the coast of Ireland, taking with it 329 lives, the vast majority of them Canadians.  Many fail to recognise that the bombing was the largest single terrorist attack prior to 9/11. So as we remember […]

Sometimes you come across a quote that really strikes you as profound.  Here’s one that remains relevant after all these years.  It comes from a 2002 issue of Foreign Affairs and was penned by Paris-based researcher Grenville Buford: “Wars have typically been fought against proper nouns (Germany, say) for the good reason that proper nouns […]

When I worked as an intelligence analyst I always wanted more information.  More and better data always trumps less, as it may assist in more in depth and accurate analysis. So what should we make of the Canadian government’s decision to expand its collection of fingerprints and digital photos, in part to catch “terrorists…and jihadis […]

The RCMP in Winnipeg detained a 23-year old Manitoban and seized a number of hard drives they said he used to express support for the Islamic State (see story here).  The youth arrested is a convert to Islam and the son of a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.  He as apparently been on CSIS’ watchlist […]

What should Canadians make of Adil Charkaoui?  I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard of him.

Our prime minister is quoted as saying that “jihadi terrorism is one of the most dangerous enemies our world has ever faced” (see article here). Really? Bigger than the threat of MAD during the Cold War? Bigger than the Nazi onslaught of the 1930s and 1940s? More dangerous than climate change or run-of-the-mill violence?  (homework […]

According to Al Jazeera, the Islamic State recently claimed in an online statement that it carried out a deadly suicide bomb attack at a mosque in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province of Qatif (see story here).  The eastern part of Saudi Arabia is largely Shia and tensions between the Sunni monarchy and its Shia residents have been […]