In this podcast, Marc and Tom take a hard look at the concept, and reality, of ‘terrorism’. We start with a look at when terrorism as a tactic, makes strategic sense in historical and techno-social contexts. Moving into the operational level, we then look at how terrorist acts and narratives are woven together both by the attackers and by the defenders. This is followed with a wide ranging discussion with Mubin Shaikh, a man who knows from first hand experience how terrorist narratives – the logics that validate the use of terror tactics – operates and how to counter them.

Broken Mirrors - Episode Three

This is the first of a two-part podcast set on the concept, and uses, of Strategic Intelligence. In this episode, Marc and Tom lay out the actual, social function of Strategic Intelligence and look at its place in the long history of divination. Strategic surprise, or intelligence failures, often are neither: a surprise or a ‘failure’, at least on the part of Intelligence Agencies. What they often are is a breakdown in communications between the players involved; a breakdown that is often facilitated by a gross misunderstanding of what Strategic Intelligence can and cannot do.

In the second segment, we sit down for a long discussion with Steven Strang, Director of Research and Innovation at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Steven is one of the top people in Canada when it comes to understanding how certain groups, mainly terrorists, communicate to their audiences and how this communication can, and should be interpreted by Intelligence Agencies. Steven has also trained many of the analysts working in the various Canadian agencies, and has presented world-wide.

Broken Mirrors - Episode Four: Strategic Surprise, Intelligence and Terrorism

Our flagship podcast, Broken Mirrors aims to provide a unique set of views in the larger foreign policy, intelligence and security milieu encompassing grand strategic, operational, and current event discussion and commentary. Each episode appears first at War On The Rocks, a platform for analysis, commentary, and debate on foreign policy and national security issues through a realist lens.  The episodes are subsequently published here.

The name ‘Broken Mirrors’ came to Marc and Tom during an in-depth discussion over pints of problems in the intelligence world. They believe that the practice of mirror imaging, one of the most pernicious flaws in the field, requires someone to break those mirrors.

Broken Mirrors Podcast