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What a week it has been! The CEO of Nvidia can't seem to remember he is in a committed relationship, US President Trump can't seem to remember being briefed on a Chinese spy, and Canada can't seem to remember we already have foreign intelligence capabilities. And we cannot remember which real Mexican tequila watering hole Neil said he was going to! Want to hear what ex-spies think of all this? Well, pull up a stool at the virtual bar, order yourself a drink, and listen in!

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We passed the 25th anniversary of 9/11 a few weeks ago and saw the expected stories: remembrance of where we were on that day, the Global War on Terror, the killing of Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden a decade later, etc. Since then, crickets. Has the world and mainstream media moved on from jihadi terrorism and, if so, is that a good idea? I am joined by a BBC Monitoring specialist on Islamist terrorism to discuss whither this form of violence.

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What does it take to write a really good spy book? Does a career in intelligence help or hurt? Does one need to have been at the coalface to be seen as credible? Or can anyone write in this genre? A great chat with a former colleague who has begun writing a spy thriller series.

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I am old enough to remember when the best technology was in the hands of states/governments. During the Cold War, satellite imagery was used by both sides to keep an eye (literally!) on each other and the best image resolution was guarded by the military and intelligence services (the first computers were as well: see the Bletchley Park codebreaking example in WWII). Now, private enterprises rule the roost and seem to have the best kit. What, then, if these companies decide on a whim to limit its access in times of conflict...

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If there is one nation that suffers disproportionately from an existential terrorist threat, it is Israel. Going back to the very creation of the state of Israel, a variety of groups have clearly indicated their intention to destroy that nation. Following the heinous Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel has upped its counter-terrorism game. Alas, the Netanyahu government has also given free rein to Jewish terrorism against Palestinians in the West Bank, thanks in part to two extremist ministers (Smotrich and Ben Gvir). Now that the national elections have been held...

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If there is one nation that suffers disproportionately from an existential terrorist threat, it is Israel. Going back to the very creation of the state of Israel, a variety of groups have clearly indicated their intention to destroy that nation. Following the heinous Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel has upped its counter-terrorism game. Alas, the Netanyahu government has also given free rein to Jewish terrorism against Palestinians in the West Bank, thanks in part to two extremist ministers (Smotrich and Ben Gvir). Now that the national elections have been held...

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When it comes to terrorism you think you know what it is and what it isn't. Attacks are planned and/or carried out by groups or individuals who see themselves as either part of the group or inspired by it. So what happens when an alleged ISIS bunch shoots up a family restaurant - is it a terrorist attack? I interview a Canadian journalist who covered a bizarre crime in Toronto.

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Former heads of services talking to our enemies, Elon Musk dialing back Internet services to Ukraine...what the hell is going on? These incidents have huge implications for national security. What do three ex-spies think about this? We are sure you are dying to know. Grab a drink and have a listen!

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 If there is one thing I know about 'expertise' - a term that is vastly overused IMHO - is that it takes time, a lot of time to acquire. One does not become an 'expert' in anything overnight (no matter what Holiday Inn Express tried to tell us years ago!). Expertise gained is valuable and once it is lost it can be all but irreplaceable. So why is the Trump Administration firing hundreds of seasoned specialists from its law enforcement and security intelligence agencies? I talk with a former US presidential daily briefer a...

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 On some occasions a person arises who dominates the headlines, and not necessarily for good reasons. When it comes to bad guys, though, and more narrowly terrorists, there are few more famous than Carlos Ilyich Ramirez, i.e. Carlos the Jackal. What was he all about? I talk to a journalist who has written a new biography on this global terrorist. 

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 Another week at the virtual bar - is Neil drinking water or vodka at 11 AM? - and the boys deliver their usual combo of insight and banter into current national security issues. In this episode we discuss the US withdrawal of Iraq (were they still there?), the flyDubai terrorist incident and why Canadian security services are begging for people (hint, hint: three formers are willing to come back..). And a poem to honour FBI Director Kash Patel's penchant for animals. 

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 Mozambique does not garner a lot of attention on the world stage. The former Portuguese colony is tucked into the southeast corner of the African continent and tends to fly under the radar. And yet, like far too many African states, it has been beset by a jihadi movement for decades, in this instance a "province" of ISIS known as Islamic State Mozambique (ISM). I talk to a regional specialist on where this threat is headed. 

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 In its never-ending quest to spread the terrorist listing wealth, the Trump Administration has made some odd moves of late. First, there was the decision to call drug cartels 'terrorists', despite the unfortunate reality that they are not terrorist groups but rather criminal organisations. Then, there was the complete absence of any mention of the far right, and even the pardon of RW extremists involved in the January 2021 riot at the US Capitol. Now, left-wing terrorism seems to be the flavour of the day with the pronouncement that Antifa is the source of a...

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 'Sanction' is one of those words that has two opposite meanings. On the one hand it means to support something; on the other it means to condemn something (or someone). In the latter case, we are usually talking about actions taken by states. China is one of the most egregious actors in this regard, having sanctioned many Canadians for pointing out its illegal acts and violations of human rights. What does this imply? I talk to a friend who has been subject to this tool. 

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After a summer hiatus, the retired spies are back!  Al, Neil and Phil shake off the dust and dive right back in to discuss national security issues amid good-natured (?) banter.  From the FBI's new ?policy? on bestiality, to the final (!) creation of the Foreign Agent Registry in Canada to Russian (and American!) interference in Canadian affairs, there is nowhere these ex-spooks will not go.  Grab a seat at the bar and have a listen!

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 In politics, right and left are relative terms. Most people may self-describe as 'centrist', but we all have issues on which we lean more right (conservative) or more left (liberal). This is all natural, but what is not - and more importantly worrisome - is when either side goes further right/leftward and starts to think violence is an acceptable expression of their views and/or demands. In the US today there is a lot of talk about 'political' extremism, but not about one aspect of it: the far right? Is the US s...

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 Dr. Sara Harmouch is the CEO of H9 Defense, a research and advisory consultancy specializing in counterterrorism, national security, geopolitical risk, threat assessment, and open-source intelligence (OSINT). She is also an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University and a Non-Resident Fellow in its Program on Extremism, where she focuses on global jihadism. She is a Security Fellow at the Frontier Security Institute, where she works on the intersection of AI and terrorism.  

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 We have all seen terrorist incidents unfolding before our very eyes, even if it is in the form of newscasts. Take 9/11, for instance. It is hard - if not impossible - to forget the image of fully-laden passenger aircraft commandeered by Al Qaeda terrorists steered into the two towers and the subsequent collapse of those buildings. But as more time passes, does the average person become numb to those events? Not if you are related to a victim who died or was injured in one of them. 

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 Remember the Northern Alliance? Founded in 1996, this group, led by Ahmad Shah Massoud, fought the Taliban jihadis until 2001 but seemed to disappear after Massoud was killed, two days before 9/11. Well, the group is back, sorta, and is led now by Massoud's son. I talk to a Jamestown analyst about this new instantiation of the organisation known as the National Resistance Front (NRF) to see just how much they can push back against the misogynist Taliban. 

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 National security is one of those sectors that is normally shrouded in secrecy and that is frustrating to many. Spy agencies do their jobs in the shadows and don't disclose much but there is a need to know. Some of the gaps can be covered by those who work in journalism and we in Canada have had some very fine men and women who report on this beat. I talk to one of those giants in Canada about his career reporting on things that go bump in the night. 

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 One of the most popular buzzwords in the post 9/11 period is 'radicalisation'. Though it has been around a long time, it has come to refer to the 'process' whereby individuals and/or groups adopt extreme ideas upon which they may plan acts of violence (i.e. terrorism). While there are a lot of theories about what to do about this, one of the most renowned programmes is the UK's CONTEST, which has four pillars: prevent, pursue, protect and prepare. How has the programme evolved over the decades? I talk with a UK academic o...

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 I am not a military specialist but I am aware of the great Prussian strategist Carl von Clausewitz. Among his many famous statements were this gem: "War is the realm of uncertainty; three quarters of the factors on which action is based are wrapped in a fog of greater or lesser uncertainty." Afghanistan certainly seems to fit that phrase. What began as an inevitable need to find Usama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda cohorts after 9/11 and punish the Taliban for hosting them, turned into two decades of war, hundreds of thousands of c...

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 Just when you think you have heard enough about foreign interference in Canada something else pops up. This time, it is not about diaspora harassment or "police stations", but whether Alberta will vote in a referendum to leave Canada. As in other cases of FI, Russia is at the forefront, but there is also a surprising actor. I talk with the head of a Regina-based centre looking at this national security threat. 

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 If you follow the news at all you know that China has been very aggressive over the past decade or so in trying to spread its influence internationally. Much of that is economic - think of the so-called Belt and Road Initiative - but some of it is tied to security. Some nations see China as a model to emulate and the PRC is all too happy to export its way of doing security (mass surveillance for instance). Why are they doing this and why should we care? I speak with a US p...

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 China is a big country - really big! It may no longer have the most people - it seems to have been passed by India in that regard - but it still exerts a lot of power and influence. Within the country itself there are many ethnic groups, although the Han dominate, and the government wants to subject minorities to majoritarian rule. Part of this effort involves forcing children to attend Mandarin language schools and forget this culture. And these efforts are taking place not just in the PRC. I talk to a C...

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 James Bond. Jason Bourne. Jack Reacher. Johnny English. All men who have names starting with 'J' and all spies - at least of the fictional variety. Nary a female among them. Where are all the women in intelligence? They have played critical roles historically and are beginning to show up in recent fiction. I speak with a Canadian author whose protagonist is a former member of Britain's WWII military spy network. 

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 Mali. Niger. Burkina Faso. Nigeria. All these Sahelian and West African states are beset by violence emanating from jihadi groups tied to Al Qaeda and Islamic State. A little further west, Togo, Benin and Senegal have also seen incidents tied to these actors. What about Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)? Is it next? I talk to a specialist from ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project) on this matter. 

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 Ah the Taliban, everyone's favourite antediluvian misogynist jihadis. Not only have public executions been on the rise and the complete erasure of women and girls from any real life been institutionalised, but they have lowered the country into a state of disease, starvation and despair. Not surprisingly, this has pissed some off, some which are fighting back. But, who are these groups? I talk with an Australian journalist about these brave souls. 

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 Iran really likes to sponsor Shia groups worldwide. As the world's largest Shia state, Iran sees itself as a protector of sorts, given that Shiites are far outweighed by Sunni Muslims. One of those benefactors is the Houthi group (known by some as Ansarallah) in Yemen, listed by many, including Canada, as a terrorist group. The Houthis have long been involved in fighting within Yemen, but since the Hamas attack in southern Israel in October 2023, and especially since the US-Israeli war on Iran, it has pushed the boundaries by attacking shipping in the R...

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 Imagine you are a cop or a paramedic. On a daily basis, you are likely to have to deal with some very nasty stuff: severely wounded people or dead ones, and some truly evil individuals who like to inflict pain and suffering. Not surprisingly, this leads to some very serious effects in those whose job it is to provide assistance. What is being done to help these important contributors to our safety? I talk with a leading practitioner in this field. 

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 After a successful Spies and Spirits event at the Luckhurst Distillery in Kelowna BC, the lads weigh in on the role Sir William Stephenson (a.k.a. 'Intrepid') played in the creation of the Canadian intelligence community and the 5 eyes, the centenary of the Royal Canadian Legion, why it took the Canadian government a quarter century to act on CSIS intel on Chinese spying in the resource sector, and why it is important to recognise sources through the purchase of their wares. 

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 Anti-Semitic acts are not new, unfortunately. Hatred of Jews goes back millennia, culminating in the Holocaust which led to the industrialisation of mass murder of Jews. Since the Hamas terrorist attack in October 2023 and the subsequent Israeli response in Gaza, it appears that anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise. What can be done to challenge this? I speak with the Director of Parents for Peace on a new helpline. 

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 Canada, like many other nations, needs robust immigration. Our fertility rates are dropping below the 2.1 minimum to keep our population stable and immigrants can help grow our economy. The vast majority of those who seek to move here do so for the right reasons: starting a new life, taking advantage of opportunities, seeing Canada as a great place to live and work. A few, however, have other ideas in mind (criminals, terrorists, those seeking to play out homeland conflicts on our soil). These need to be screened out and prevented from arriving on o...

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 Humans are fallible: that we know. One hopes that those in specialised trades - doctors, lawyers, etc. - get more things right than wrong. If not, it is a legitimate question: should they be in those professions? What about intelligence agencies? Should they have perfect records (no one else does)? Why do we hold these to a higher standard? The public needs to accept that these organisations will make errors on occasion but still listen up when they issue warnings. 

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 The stereotypical view of pirates is undoubtedly heavily influenced by Hollywood. These depictions do not show the very violent actions carried out by pirates. Despite international treaties that define this phenomenon it does get the attention it deserves, especially when it comes to areas where terrorist groups are also active (especially Somalia). I speak with a practitioner with years of experience in this threat. 

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 Of late there have been many attempts - some successful some not - to add more groups to lists of terrorist entities. Those behind such efforts may have good intentions, although I suspect some are just trying to get their own work recognised, but they do have real world implications for law enforcement and security intelligence agencies (resource allocation for instance). One of the latest set of organisations fit the general definition of 'nihilism'. What does this even mean and is this development a good idea? I talk with a specialist in countering v...

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 As a country of immigrants by definition, most Canadians have a positive view on newcomers. I would imagine that the public believes that the proper checks are done to ensure - where possible - we are not importing threats to national security and public safety (criminals, terrorists, etc.). But when immigration under Justin Trudeau went off the scale these views began to change. What is worse, those entrusted with doing security checks were told to 'skip steps' to help get through the backlog (which was unsustainable). What serious country does it this way? A...

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 Ok, I get it. The media want to be first to get a story out and be definitive on what it all means. As a consequence, they tend to reach out to (self-styled) 'experts' to weigh in and provide explanations. Even if not all the facts are in, there are those who want to seem sure, as the 'go-to' person on a particular issue. But what if these aces are wrong? Will they admit to their error? Here is a plea for everyone to check their sources before drawing conclusions and allow the p...

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 If you were to ask the average person about terrorists you would probably hear that the consensus is that there is strong underlying mental illness. Is this true (hint: no)? What, then, can psychologists and other academics do to help counter terrorism professionals identify and prevent such acts from occurring. I speak with a leading psychologist on these issues and co-author of a new handbook on the psychology of terrorism. 

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 After the horror of 9/11 it was logical - and completely justifiable - to go after those behind the attacks. As it turned out, the group responsible - Al Qaeda (AQ) - was based in Afghanistan and was protected and enabled by the Taliban. The US and many of its allies sent military troops and intelligence operatives to that country to locate AQ leader Usama bin Laden and his minions and either bring them to justice or eliminate them. Despite huge successes (UBL was found and killed a decade later, albeit in Pakistan), the U...