
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
264 episodes
Episode 282 - How a cipher clerk opened the door on Soviet spying in the West
Ah the Cold War! Those were the good old days when we knew the enemy and he knew us. Few know that the decades-long slowly simmering conflict began in Ottawa when Igor Gouzenko defected from the Soviet Embassy with a treasure trove of sec...
•
23:46

Episode 281 - What does a Houthi-Al Shabaab alignment entail for regional security?
To say that the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia) is unstable is an understatement. Whether we are talking about war, famine or terrorism, the region has had its challenges for decades. Now a working relationship between Al Qaed...
•
24:33

Episode 268 - Did Canada just dodge a RW bullet?
If you listen to many 'experts' the biggest threat to world safety emanates from the far right (what normal people call right-wing terrorism (RW) but the Canadian government calls IMVE - ideologically-motivated violent extremism). Recent ...
•
10:22

Quick Hits Episode 267 - Was 7/7 a UK intelligence failure?
When it comes to major terrorist attacks that grab the world's attention a few rise to the top. 9/11 (of course!), the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, the Bataclan/Stade de France massacre and the Madrid metro attack in 2004 would...
•
11:13

Episode 280 - A deep look at how drug gangs are abusing the homeless in Canada
When we talk about national security and public safety most people would likely go immediately to issues such as terrorism and espionage. And yet, there are many other things that pose a more immediate threat in most societies. Drug traff...
•
27:23

Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 39: Pigeons, parrots and the fowl side of intelligence
What do pigeons and Farsi-speaking parrots have in common? You will find out when you listen to the periodic question episode! Seriously, a Farsi-speaking parrot?
•
39:13

Episode 279 - How serious is the jihadi threat in Mozambique?
Mozambique achieved independence in 1974 after a long civil war with its former Portuguese colonial power. Like most African nations, however, peace and stability are not that common in the post European power era. The southeastern countr...
•
22:15

Quick Hits Episode 266 - Why did Canada's protectors not prevent a terrorist attack by Sikh extremists in June 1985?
For those of us who work(ed) in national security the job boils down to one thing and one thing only: stop bad things from happening. So what gives if we screw up and a bomb on an aircraft kills 329 innocent people? My personal reflection...
•
11:54

Episode 278 - How bad is anti-Jewish violence going to get?
You would have to be asleep over the past year and a half to not notice a precipitous rise in anti-Semitic attacks in the West. Some of this is tied to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the deaths of thousands of civilians and some is just...
•
23:17

Episode 277 - Forty years after the Air India attack and a few years after an Indian killing of a Sikh extremist on Canadian soil
Everyone remembers 9/11. That single event has become a 'where were you when' moment in human history. Few know, however, that prior to that cataclysmic attack, a bomb on an Air India flight placed by Canadian Sikh extremists was the sing...
•
26:50

Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 38 - WWJD? Don't ask a Christian extremist!
This week the lads weigh in on the killing of two politicians in Minnesota, US Emperor Cheetoh's dismissal of his own nation's intelligence and what to do if a peeler dressed as a cop shows up at your bachelorette party (hint, hint, ask f...
•
35:17

Episode 276 - How do you adequately police the world's second largest country?
Federal police. Provincial police. Regional Police. Municipal police. A real dog's breakfast in Canada. Does in work? Does it need a re-think? Phil talks with a former RCMP officer and municipal police chief about these issues.
•
27:34

Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 37 - Iran so far away: now I'm flocked
The guys talk about Israel's decision to take out Iranian nuclear facilities, why the Carney government decided to appoint a Public Safety minister who is unwilling to look at certain files, and why is Al speaking in a faux German accent?...
•
41:18

Episode 275 - Is there a link between bad governance and terrorism?
Of all the frustrations in life red tape has to be one of the worst. Whether it is renewing your driver's licence or registering your dog, being faced with bad bureaucracy is frustrating for sure. But can it actually be a factor in liftin...
•
25:11

Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 36: Fans like spies
This week the lads are joined by a fan (yes we DO have them), Eric von Stackelburg, and we chat about all things hybrid warfare, government inaction on national security and public-private interactions. Oh and what Phil likes in a blonde ...
•
32:28

Episode 274 - Does Israel understand Arabs and Islam enough?
Israel has faced an existential threat for decades from jihadis in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon, as well as further abroad. The country's security intelligence and military communities are amongst the best and one would assume that the...
•
40:36

Quick Hits Episode 265 - The Trump wankers descend to using disinformation...against US citizens
Disinformation is a growing scourge around the world as states and sub-state actors try to get people to believe in certain things. Much coverage has been devoted to what Russia and others are doing to mislead citizens to further the form...
•
10:13

Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 35: Here's the score: terrorist arrest 488, foreign agent registry 0
This week the guys bask in new-found attention by selfie-seeking fans and, on a more serious level, talk about a humungous increase in terrorism arrests and Israel warning Jews not to travel to Canada. Oh and Al ends up being the optimist...
•
Season 2
•
Episode 35
•
37:51

Episode 264 - Everyone seems to want to be a terrorist, but are they really?
Terrorism has been dominated for ages by well-defined groups and ideas ranging from far right, far left and jihadi proponents. These days, it seems, we are seeing more acts carried out by people who seem to adhere very loosely to ideology...
•
10:05

Episode 273 - Once an AQ jihadi always an AQ jihadi?
The world rightly celebrated the ouster of Bashar al Assad, the brutal Syrian dictator, in December 2024 when a motley crew, including jihadis, took the capital, Damascus. Syrians who had engaged their autocrats in a bid for freedom since...
•
21:42

The podcast where everyone knows your name...but it is an alias
This week the guys talk cast off the covers on cover names, challenge CT success claims, and honour the best-known guy to hang out in a bar talking about life with his buddies.
•
32:38

Episode 263 - If intelligence doesn't jive with your world view, maybe that view has to change
We are inundated with information at levels impossible to process. Much of this is dis- or misinformation and it is a full-time job just trying to distinguish fact from fiction (AI-generated garbage and deep fakes, both of which are becom...
•
11:55

Episode 272 - What will the German government decision to label the AfD backfire?
That extremist/terrorist groups can form political parties - and in some cases actually govern - is not unknown. Hamas ran Gaza until the Israeli invasion in October 2023, Hizballah controlled much of southern Lebanon and even ISIS create...
•
23:15

Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 33 - Is US 'transactional intelligence' just 'plane' stupid?
Back in the saddle after a short last week, the guys delve into the undermining of the US intelligence community by the Trump administration, the dangers of accepting airplanes as 'gifts' and why Latvia is helping its citizens identify Ru...
•
31:20

Episode 271 - The journey from military practitioner to author
Yes I am biased - as a 32-year veteran of intelligence - but I do think (ex)-practitioners have a lot to say when it comes to national security and international affairs. Those who were 'at the coalface' have a lot to say and have the advantage...
•
30:59
