Episode 206 – Iran is one of the rare countries that sponsors terrorism and in turn is threatened by it.
Iran may not garner a lot of sympathy when it comes to terrorism as it is a huge sponsor of violent extremism around the world. And yet it too has suffered from terrorist attacks, most recently on January 3 when an ISIS affiliate carried out a massive suicide bombing. Other groups also have Iran in their sights. What does all this mean? Borealis talks with Aaron Zelin on this and other matters.
Iran Reveals Afghan Origin of Islamic State Kerman Attack; Retaliation Options Limited (voanews.com)
About my guest
Aaron Zelin is a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he also directs the Islamic State Worldwide Activity Map project. Zelin is also a Visiting Research Scholar in the Department of Politics at Brandeis University, and founder of the widely acclaimed website Jihadology. He is author of the book Your Sons Are At Your Service: Tunisia’s Missionaries of Jihad and is currently working on a second book tentatively titled Heartland of the Believers: A History of Syrian Jihadism.
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. 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.
