Canadian Intelligence Eh

Everywhere you look these days terrorism and violent extremism dominate the headlines. Whether you follow what is happening in Afghanistan or Iraq, or in the West writ large, we are inundated with news of attacks by groups and individuals fighting for a 'cause'.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 counterterrorism 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.

Episode #134 - What keeps French security forces up at night?

France could be seen as the 'birthplace' of terrorism - think the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution of the 1790s. The country has seen some catastrophic attacks such as the Stade de France/Bataclan jihadi one of November 2015. A new report discusses the state of terrorism in France and Borealis talks to its author Alexandre Rodde from the Gendarmerie Nationale Alexandre is a security consultant specialised in terrorism and mass shootings. His work includes risk a...

04-06
20:45

Episode #133 - What can ordinary citizens do to stop radicalisation to violence?

When an arrest is made in a terrorism case or, worst case scenario, we are doing a post-analysis of an attack, we often read about a person's 'radicalisation process'. The assumption is that terrorists are made, not born, and that there are signs to look for before it is too late. Borealis talks to Executive Director Myrieme Churchill of Parents4peace, an organisation that aims to help families identify and deal with these cases Myrieme Churchill is the Executive Director of Paren...

03-31
23:44

Episode #132 - Anders Breivik: What to do with terrorist mass murderers behind bars?

There are two types of terrorists: those who die/are killed in their attacks and those who are not. The latter usually end up in prison for long periods of time. Then what? Borealis talks once again with Norwegian CT analyst Atle Mesoy on the infamous Anders Breivik case from 2011. â–ºListen to my previous podcast with Atle Mesoy: Episode #126 - Is it time to revisit the mental illness/terrorism nexus? Atle Mesoy is the founder of U-Turn, an Oslo-based NGO working to preven...

03-23
23:27

Episode #131 - The challenge of running a large domestic security intelligence operation

Canada's intelligence agency CSIS has a national presence across the country. That it where the investigations happen and the intel is collected. What it is like to run such a shop? Borealis talks to former senior CSIS IO Dan Faughnan. Dan Faughnan served for over 30 years with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Canadian Armed Forces, retiring as a senior director general. During his long career Dan served in multiple domestic offices and overseas missions, d...

03-16
25:48

Episode #130 - Should Canada bring back ISIS fighters for prosecution here?

Some 40,000 ISIS terrorists joined the group in the mid-2010s from over 100 nations, including Canada. Many are still alive, some languishing in prisons or camps, including women and children. There are those lobbying for their return to their homelands: is this wise? Borealis has a conversation with Dr. Alexandra Bain, a religious studies prof at St Thomas University in New Brunswick. CORRECTION: Dr Bain noted that a returned female ISIS terrorist has been charged and will...

03-09
28:06

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