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
229 episodes
Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 27: Why you might want to check how you share sensitive intel
The Al-less team digs into the recent shit show surrounding the Trump Administration's decision to use Signal to broadcast upcoming airstrikes in Yemen against the Houthis. And in poetry by Phil, yes, there is a rhyme for SCIF!
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25:38
Quick Hits Episode 262 - How the average Canadian can become educated about efforts to undermine our democracy
We are drowning in information at a rate unprecedented in human history. That is a good thing, to an extent. Unfortunately, we are also inundated with mis- and disinformation, including efforts by outside powers to influence populations. ...
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11:42
Episode 264 - Is Iran on the brink of collapse?
If there is one country that has been at the forefront of terrorism and international meddling it is Iran. Since the revolution of 1979, in which a Shia fundamentalist regime replaced the monarchy, it has been a prime sponsor of terrorist...
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20:30
Spies Like Us - Season 2 Episode 27: CIA tells SLU "NO foreign intel collection for Canada? No way!"
The guys are joined by ex-CIA analyst Dave Gioe to talk about why Canada needs a foreign intelligence (HUMINT) agency and how we would go about it (and the guys give a solid two thumbs up to that idea). And Nancy Drew gives Canada g...
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43:33
Episode 263 - The UAE is punching well above its weight in counter-terrorism, but to what end?
The UAE is perhaps best known for its financial strength and glittering skyscrapers, including the Burj Al Khalifa, currently the tallest structure in the world. It is not generally known for its diplomacy or, more worryingly, counter ter...
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18:32
Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 26 - Ask no questions tell no lies...ah go ahead and ask!
The guys have yet another Q&A episode talking about economic security, whether President Trump is a Russian asset or agent, and learn that 'Larry from the US' listens to us!
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38:13
Episode 263 - How bad is the terrorist threat to the UK?
The UK has always been a close ally of us here in Canada, no more so than on the intelligence front. So much is shared and this enables both countries to ensure their safety. But when it comes to threat levels, the UK is menaced by terror...
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34:20
Episode 261 - Is anyone else weirded out by Trump's embrace of Russia?
The Cold War may seem like a historic artifact to many these days but the threat from Russia, much like the threat from the former Soviet Union and its allies, is growing once again (if it ever really diminished). One would think that the...
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11:42
Episode 262 - Terrorism remains a terrible scourge globally
That terrorism is a daily phenomenon somewhere in the world in any given 24-hour period should come as a surprise to no one who follows the news. Tracking terrorist attacks and groups is a full-time job, however. Thankfully, there is the ...
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20:48
Episode 260 - In the teeth of a crisis it is time for Canada to step up
It is only six weeks since the new administration in the US and already Canada has been threatened with annexation (as the '51st state'), expulsion from the 5 eyes intelligence alliance, and a 'redrawing' of the international border with ...
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11:23
Episode 261 - If you want to understand a violent ideology what better source than those who practice it?
Over the past quarter century a lot has been written about terrorism and why people embrace violent ideologies. Much of this literature is academic in nature but some is very practical in nature. Borealis talks to an academic who spanned ...
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25:51
Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 25
The guys are joined by former colleague and ex-senior CSIS official Andy Ellis to talk about why the Canadian government has let intelligence slide and what it needs to do to get back to where it needs to be (and once was). And, importantly, th...
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37:28
Episode 260 - How election monitoring can help national security
Elections are the bedrock of democracy. Having free, fair, unfettered opportunities to choose one's leaders is a privilege that not enough people on earth enjoy. There are, however, countries which claim to hold elections which are neithe...
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25:32
Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 24 - How Canada 'courts' disaster on terrorism cases
The guys devote this episode to the case of Chiheb Esseghaier who with a partner planned to derail a train in Canada back in 2013 and is seeking to stay in Canada. Al plays the bagpipes - kinda - and we all have new nicknames!
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34:22
Episode 259 - Has terrorism as a concept run its course?
Of all the UK counter-terrorism initiatives, the 'early detection' efforts (known as PREVENT and Channel) have been quite controversial. One of the problems lies with how we define terrorism and thus what the public should do to help authoritie...
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28:06
Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 23 - Valentine's Validation
The guys talk about what to do with ISIS returnees, the challenges of recruiting human sources with, shall we say, sketchy backgrounds, and show how Nancy Drew steals a page from Monty Python's "trying hard not to be seen".
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37:48
Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 22 - Canada-US security relations just got B-Czar!
This week the guys talk about the latest brain fart to come from the US on joint border security, Al comes up with a complicated jurisdiction story which he worked on very hard and yes, it is again time for Poetry by Phil
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36:52
Episode 258 - Canada needs to step up its far north game
We in the Great White North proudly describe ourselves as an "Arctic" nation. In truth, we have a large portion of that part of the globe, which is lightly inhabited, but is increasingly becoming strategic in the face of global warming. M...
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23:11
Episode 257 - How to tell non-violent 'radicals' from the violent ones
The field of 'radicalisation' studies has been growing quickly, especially since 9/11. Practitioners and academics have seen this process as a precursor to the actual execution of acts of terrorism. But most of those who radicalise never ...
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25:44
Spies Like Us: Season 2 Episode 21 - Hogus pocus...bogus
The guys are joined by investigative journalist Sam Cooper to dissect the recently released Hogue report on foreign interference in Canada. Suffice to say they ain't impressed and suspect, like the Hardy Boys, that there is much left unsa...
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34:03
Episode 265 - Why is Africa rife with jihadi groups?
Last year the Global Terrorism Index for the first time put an African nation, Burkina Faso, at the top of its list of terrorist attacks. A phenomenon most associate with the Middle East (and West Asia: think Pakistan and Afghanistan) is ...
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24:29
Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 20: Putting the terrorism cartel before the horse?
The guys muse about the US decision to list Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organisations, whether politicians are too timid in labeling terrorist acts as terrorism and what Nancy Drew teaches us about confusion.
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35:58
Episode 255 - Are ISIS terrorists also engaged in what are known as war crimes?
War is part of human history alas. Our penchant for killing one another goes back millennia and, as current events demonstrate (Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan...), it shows no signs of ebbing. Terrorism, on the other hand, is a much more recent ill...
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21:59
Spies Like Us Season 2 Episode 19
The guys delve into Russian antagonistic moves in the West, the abuse of Canada's student visa programme, and encourage Marc Garneau to run for Prime Minister
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37:37
Episode 254 - Does TikTok really pose a 'national security' threat?
That TikTok is a very popular social media platform is not debatable. There are more than 1 BILLION users worldwide and 170 million in the US alone. However, the fact that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company is raising questions. What ha...
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24:19