The hope (prediction?) that Afghanistan would be somewhat different under a renewed Taliban (Taliban 2.0) government has been dashed. The Taliban are still very much a Sunni Islamist terrorist group – the death of Al Qaeda (AQ) leader Ayman Al Zawahiri in a Taliban apartment a few weeks ago sure showed that – and beholden to a very extreme interpretation of Islam. In other words, it’s ‘Deja vu all over again’ to quote former NY Yankees catcher Yogi Berra. Borealis talks with Fausia Abdul on what to expect under the renewed Taliban regime.
About my guest
Fausia S. Abdul is a policy officer within the UN system on inclusivity and gender, and a researcher on peace building in the Middle East and Afghanistan, radicalisation, and women’s rights at the University of Vienna.
Canadian Intelligence Eh
In a world of multiple voices and opinions it can be very hard to know where to turn. One choice is to look to those who actually worked in counter-terrorism in the national security world. In these half-hour podcasts, 30-year Canadian intelligence veteran Phil Gurski is joined by a fascinating array of individuals with something meaningful to say about these issues as they provide insight into what they mean and what we need to do about them.
About Phil Gurski
Phil Gurski is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Distinguished Fellow in National Security at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute (PDI). He worked as a senior strategic analyst at CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) from 2001-2015, specialising in violent Islamist-inspired homegrown terrorism and radicalisation. He is the author of six books on terrorism, including the most recent The Peaceable Kingdom: A history of terrorism in Canada from Confederation to the present.
