Martin Forgues

Looking at the way the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has now taken over roughly a third of Syrian territory, while also controlling a quarter of Iraq, I can’t help but see a strangely familiar scenario since this Islamic Caliphate has now been proclaimed. Last week, I watched VICE News’ feature documentary, “The Islamic […]

Despite being crushingly defeated by the joint efforts of a French/Malian/West African military effort last year, Northern Mali Jihadists may be slowly crawling out of their hideouts, like desert ghosts, as France prepares to launch a new mission to fight those groups. Earlier this month, Ansar Dine’s leader, Iyad Ag Aly, resufaced in a rare, […]

(This is the second part of an analysis on Jihadist propaganda efforts. Part 1 can be found here). Jihadist propaganda can be found everywhere on the internet – Twitter accounts, YouTube videos, discussion forums, etc. Catching a glimpse of suicide bombers attacking a military convoy while the voice of an off-screen narrator chants the praise […]

Should there a multinational Rapid Deployment Force to deal with crises like the current genocide happening in the Central African Republic?

“The Canadian government has no obligation to its veterans.” How is it that countries like the US and Canada treat their veterans so badly?

Twitter has launched an offensive against Jihadist propaganda by closing down accounts belonging to Islamic extremist groups, mostly those affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), now rebranded as a self-proclaimed caliphate, or Islamic State. Back in my PSYOPS days, about 5 years ago, part of our job was to conduct “counter-PSYOPS” […]

The nature of the crimes committed in CAR since the end of 2012 clearly fall into the category of international crimes…

Much has been written about counterinsurgency (COIN) strategies and tactics being used in Afghanistan and Iraq – or rather not. Back in my army days in Kandahar in 2007-2008, I remember  commanders endlessy bragging about how “we totally nail that COIN thing,” keeping on gargling out quotes from the likes of COIN scholar David Galula, […]

Much has been written about counterinsurgency (COIN) strategies and tactics being used in Afghanistan and Iraq – or rather not. Back in my army days in Kandahar in 2007-2008, I remember  commanders endlessy bragging about how “we totally nail that COIN thing”, keeping on gargling out quotes from the likes of COIN scholar David Galula, […]

Much has been written about the counterinsurgency (COIN) strategies and tactics being used in Afghanistan and Iraq—or rather not. Back in 2007-2008, during my army days in Kandahar, I remember  commanders endlessly bragging about how “we totally nail that COIN thing,” always gargling out quotes from the likes of COIN scholar David Galula. He was a […]

Shortly before next fall, 10,000 United Nations peacekeepers from a still-unspecified number of contributing countries will set boots, tires and tracks on the ground in Central African Republic – a noble gesture stemming from the UN Security Council which voted the resolution enabling the mission. But the decision to send blue-helmet soldiers into an active […]

Unlike other commodities like grain or cars, selling weapons comes with a moral price tag – thus one should definitely pick their clients wisely and try to keep their deals legal. The Canadian government approved a deal allowing General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to close a 14-year, 10-billion-dollar contract with Saudi Arabia for light armoured […]