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.
Episodes
298 episodes
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 11: For the sake of the FBI and the US, Patel should 'kash' out
While Al is AWOL - didn't he just get back from vacation? - Neil and Phil fill (!) in ably and are joined by former FBI Agent Lauren Anderson to talk about what the heck if happening at the FBI. No fake guns or challenge coins were harmed...
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42:21
Episode 302 - How hard is it to leave a terrorist group?sode
Joining a terrorist group has to be one of life's more complicated decisions. Do I believe in the cause? Am I aware of what the group actually does? What if I change my mind? Can I get out or will I be killed for trying? I talk to a forme...
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20:59
Episode 301 - Do we need to create a new class of terrorism, or is this overcomplicating matters?
We have all become too familiar with terrorism over the decades, especially since 9/11. There are all kinds of groups which use violence in the pursuit of all kinds of goals and they all have some form of ideology they use to justify thei...
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24:23
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 10 - It's a national security day in Mr. Roger's neighbourhood
An Al-less trio - which makes Neil and Phil a dynamic duo! - weighs in on CSIS Director Dan Rogers first ?annual? threat overview speech and what Canadians should take away from it. From terrorism to foreign interference to transnational repres...
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35:38
Episode 300 - What do Arctic nations need to do to protect their security?
Canada is one of few nations which actually borders the Arctic (unlike China which describes itself as a 'near-Arctic nation). Long considered marginal because of snow and ice, the region is garnering more interest thanks to global warmin...
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24:22
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 9 - Remembering those who fought for Canada
To mark Remembrance Day, an important time to pay their respects to the Canadian women and men who paid the ultimate sacrifice, the lads talk about the role that intelligence played in the Afghan conflict.
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32:14
Episode 299 - Is there really a 'Christian genocide' in Nigeria? No!
It seems like the word 'genocide' is thrown around a lot these days. Whether it applies in all cases remains a contentious issue (look at the claim that Israel is engaged in a 'genocide' against Palestinians). The US now says Nigeria is a...
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28:05
Episode 298 - Have we entered the era of 'violent populism'?
When it comes to language there are lots of opposites: black and white, up and down, in and out, right and left. The latter terms are often thrown around when talking about political movements (and this usage apparently dates back to the ...
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30:00
Season 3 Episode 8 - There's no fun in the UAE but lots of funny business in Indian actions abroad
After attending an early Remembrance Day ceremony at the National Beechwood Cemetery, the guys keep the serious tone by looking at why the UAE is sponsoring genocide in Sudan, why India is sponsoring assassinations abroad and why the worl...
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40:55
Episode 297 - Wait, AQ is still active in Afghanistan?
I cannot recall how many times I have heard a world leader, or a self-styled 'terrorism expert', expound that a given terrorist group has been 'totally defeated' (that is exactly what Donald Trump said about ISIS in Iraq and Syria in 2019...
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23:40
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 7 - There is nothing scarier than bad immigration
In a special (post) Hallowe'en edition of 'Spooks Like Us', your favourite ex-spies weigh in why the Brits are frightfully good at prosecuting sabotage, why Canada is horror-ible at removing threats to national security, and whether anyon...
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35:16
Episode 296 - Does diversified trade trump security in Canada?
To say that Canada-China relations have been rocky would be putting it mildly. From the heyday of the first Trudeau (Pierre) to the depths of the PRC's kidnapping of two Canadians several years ago, it has not been an easy road. Furthermo...
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23:40
Episode 295 - Afghanistan is not known as the 'graveyard of empires' for nothing
After 9/11, the US, Canada and many other nations sent troops to Afghanistan to find and punish Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden and bring 'democracy' to the country. Thousands of casualties - on both sides - later, the US pulled out in th...
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20:23
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 6 - Dutch to do about nothing for US intel
Why tulips are better than one in intimate intelligence sharingThis week your favourite Canadian ex-spies weigh in on why the Dutch are not paying for their dates with the US, yet again why Canada cannot decide on the paint colour for th...
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26:22
Episode 294 - What is the current state of ISIS and how worried should counter-terrorism agencies be?
In 2019 then US President Trump stated that ISIS had been 'totally defeated'. While it was true that the so-called 'Caliphate' had for all intents and purposes been destroyed, the group was anything but gone. It is still very active in Ir...
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19:49
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 5 - A buttload of review
After the Thanksgiving break, the lads are back to talk about 'eternal' peace in the Middle East thanks to Emperor Cheetoh, why are Canadian spy agencies subject to so much review and would you go to an Indian crime syndicate for communit...
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40:47
Episode 293 - Is the Trump Administration undermining those agencies tasked with keeping it safe?
Security intelligence and law enforcement agencies do very important jobs in investigating threats to our nations. As a consequence, they have to have the resources to do that, without interference for political reasons. What is happening...
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27:40
Episode 292 - What ever happened to cracking down on Chinese interference in Canada?
Remember the Hogue Inquiry? Canada went through a soul search into Chinese actions in our country, what we knew and what we ignored (i.e. decades of intelligence that was rejected or not even read) and came up with a whole bunch of recomm...
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20:48
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode - Canada's a pal to Palestine but kneecaps Kneecap
In episode 3 of season 3 the lads weigh in on the implications of the Canadian government's recognition of Palestine, why Canada kneed an Irish hip hop band in the...knee, and what has Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said now?&...
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33:59
Episode 291 - What was life like for women under the Taliban?
If it is one thing jihadi terrorists are known for it is their hatred of women. While they claim to be 'pure' Muslims who treat women in accordance with Islamic law they are in fact vile misogynists. Of these extremists there is no better examp...
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25:15
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 2 - Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right
While drug-addled Al deals with a centipede from the seventh layer of hell, the boys (sober for once) delve into the rhetoric over the far left/far right in the West, why labeling organised crime groups terrorists is a 'terror-ible' idea ...
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35:12
Episode 290 - What is next for the US after the killing of Charlie Kirk?
The US is, alas, no stranger to political violence. Three presidents have been assassinated as have several public figures like Martin Luther King. The political atmosphere of hate and retribution is magnified in today's world of social m...
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20:50
Spies Like Us Season 3 Episode 1 - Queen of Canada or Empress of Idiots?
The guys are back in the virtual bar for another season! After two months of R&R they delve into the arrest of a self-appointed 'Queen of Canada/World", counselling sessions for ISIS terrorists ('couch jihadis'?) and why 'native extre...
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34:52
Episode 289 - One nation's success against Islamist extremism could serve as a model
The Philippines has long been beset by jihadi groups such as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Front (BIFF) and the one bunch with the unintended acronym MILF - the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Of late, one does not h...
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24:11