radicalization

Friday August 19, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday August 19, 2016 Ottawa pledges deradicalization hire despite skepticism at anti-terror effectiveness Following the fatal police shooting of would-be suicide bomber Aaron Driver, CanadaÕs Public Safety Minister says the Liberals will Òup our gameÓ in the fight against terrorism by imminently hiring a deradicalization adviser. ÒWhat the incident in Strathroy demonstrates is that this is important,Ó Ralph Goodale told reporters on Wednesday. He said the new adviser will be hired within weeks and could succeed in counter-terrorism challenges where police and intelligence services are falling short. Mr. Driver, 24, from Strathroy, Ont., was killed last week. Federal authorities had red-flagged him as an aspiring terrorist, but nothing could make him reconsider his sworn allegiance to the Islamic State. Despite a degree of monitoring, he had managed to put together an improvised bomb and a video in which he promised to shed Canadian blood for the terror group. The creation of a deradicalization adviser, who will run a $10-million-a-year office, fulfills a 2015 campaign promise by the Liberals. At the time, the party criticized the then-Conservative government for its law-and-order approach to fighting terrorism. Details are under wraps, but observers are keen to see how the approach will take shape, especially since the global track record of such initiatives is mixed. ÒThere are all kinds of these programs all over the world. EveryoneÕs got one,Ó said Phil Gurski, a former analyst at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. And yet, he added, no one has really figured out the best approach. CSIS recently canvassed outside experts for feedback on which governmentsÕ deradicalization Ð or Òcountering violent extremismÓ (CVE) Ð programs are working best. Many replied that none are known to be working particularly well. ÒSome expressed skepticism as to the relevance of CVE initiatives, highlighting

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday August 19, 2016

Ottawa pledges deradicalization hire despite skepticism at anti-terror effectiveness

Following the fatal police shooting of would-be suicide bomber Aaron Driver, Canada’s Public Safety Minister says the Liberals will “up our game” in the fight against terrorism by imminently hiring a deradicalization adviser.

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday November 17, 2015 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will "do its part" in the military fight against ISIS, but remains committed to withdrawing warplanes from the mission. During a news conference at the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, Trudeau said Friday's attacks in Paris will not prompt the government to reverse course on a plan to pull out Canada's fighter jets. Instead, Canada will step up training of local troops, he said. "I know that Canada will continue to, and be seen to be continuing to, do its part in the fight against this terrorist scourge," he said. The Liberal platform during the campaign for the recent federal election committed to end the combat mission and "refocus" on training local forces in Iraq. Trudeau said that commitment remains, but he has not set a timetable for when Canada will withdraw from the U.S.-led air combat mission. "We made a clear commitment in the campaign to stop the bombing mission by Canadian jets and replace it with a role for Canada that is still a serious military role, but leaned more towards training of local troops to be able to bring the fight directly to ISIL," he said, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). "That's the commitment we made very clearly throughout the campaign and we have a mandate to do that." On Sunday, two of Canada's fighter jets were involved in a strike against an ISIS fighting position in Iraq, according to the Department of National Defence. The G20 leaders released a joint statement at the G20 summit, calling the attacks in Paris "an unacceptable affront to all humanity" and reaffirming solidarity in the fight against terrorism as a major priority. The statement says counterterror actions must be part of a comprehensive approach that includes fighting radicalization and recruitment, hampering terrorist movements and preventing terrorists from exploiting the internet. "The direct or ind

November 17, 2015

“What the incident in Strathroy demonstrates is that this is important,” Ralph Goodale told reporters on Wednesday. He said the new adviser will be hired within weeks and could succeed in counter-terrorism challenges where police and intelligence services are falling short.

Mr. Driver, 24, from Strathroy, Ont., was killed last week. Federal authorities had red-flagged him as an aspiring terrorist, but nothing could make him reconsider his sworn allegiance to the Islamic State. Despite a degree of monitoring, he had managed to put together an improvised bomb and a video in which he promised to shed Canadian blood for the terror group.

The creation of a deradicalization adviser, who will run a $10-million-a-year office, fulfills a 2015 campaign promise by the Liberals. At the time, the party criticized the then-Conservative government for its law-and-order approach to fighting terrorism.

Details are under wraps, but observers are keen to see how the approach will take shape, especially since the global track record of such initiatives is mixed. “There are all kinds of these programs all over the world. Everyone’s got one,” said Phil Gurski, a former analyst at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. And yet, he added, no one has really figured out the best approach.

CSIS recently canvassed outside experts for feedback on which governments’ deradicalization – or “countering violent extremism” (CVE) – programs are working best. Many replied that none are known to be working particularly well.

“Some expressed skepticism as to the relevance of CVE initiatives, highlighting the lack of supporting empirical evidence thus far to measure their effectiveness,” says a CSIS discussion paper recently published online. Other experts told CSIS such programs are only valuable “provided that their implementation is not led by governments … [because] governments are not credible messengers.”

Speaking to reporters after a speech to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police on Wednesday, Mr. Goodale said he is mulling over who among two or three short-listed candidates will lead the government’s newest office. “We will be making the selection shortly,” he said. “That person will be directing a very important effort to up our game in Canada in terms of recognizing and understanding the process of radicalization.”

The minister said the new adviser will focus on how to nip extremism in the bud, as well as on how to unlock the psyches of hardened extremists. Mr. Driver was for years an active cheerleader of the Islamic State on Twitter. Last year, police compelled him to appear in court to swear a specialized peace bond that exists for terrorism suspects. (Source: Globe & Mail)

 

Wednesday October 22, 2014

Wednesday October 22, 2014Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 22, 2014

Conservative government orders studies into homegrown terrorism

Thursday October 2, 2014A day after committing six fighter jets and hundreds of personnel to the fight against the Islamic State, the federal Conservatives are commissioning five new studies into homegrown terrorism and terrorist financing.

Public Safety Canada issued a call for five new research projects into a variety of terrorism-related topics Wednesday, including the domestic impact of international conflict and the role of the internet in terrorist recruiting.

“A prominent threat facing Canada’s national security . . . is radicalization leading to violence, including homegrown violent extremism,” reads the call for proposals.

“These cases are rare, but the impact of an act of terrorism is potentially enormous, with serious and lasting psychological and emotional harm to a large number of individuals, as well as economic impact and/or the creation or escalation of tensions between communities and countries.”

The research will consider a number of questions:

  • How does the “psychology of the internet” play into terrorist activities and recruitment?
  • What are the domestic impacts of international conflicts, such as the war in Iraq?
  • What are the gender dynamics involved in radicalization to violence?
  • How are resources transferred to terrorist organizations? How are those resources moved and used?
  • What makes people susceptible to recruitment into violent extremism?

Friday, April 19, 2013The research will be funded by the Kanishka Project, a five-year, $10 million fund created in 2011 to study security issues.

Despite the government’s mockery of political opponents for searching for the “root causes” of terrorism or “engaging in sociology,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has committed around $5 million to similar research over the last three years. (Source: Toronto Star)