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Thomas Juneau Profile picture
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Feb 10 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
This article refers to "Tom Quiggin, a former military intelligence officer who also worked with the RCMP and was considered one the country's top counter-terrorism experts".

No - he left years ago & is widely viewed in the intelligence community as an islamophobe & a buffoon.
I mean
Good example of the kind of character we are talking about here:
I see many references to Quiggin's training & skills, supposedly making him more of a threat. Meh. Over the years he clearly showed he lacks skill and knowledge. I doubt he has more than a marginal impact. (Just look at his "intelligence reports")

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More from @thomasjuneau

Thomas Juneau Profile picture
Jul 13, 2021
Every year Canadian politicians (Harper, Baird) attend the MeK summit. The media then quote them as attending an "international conference" of an "opposition group". But the MeK is a former terrorist group and a cult hated in Iran, not a partner in the fight for democracy there.
Supporting democracy/human rights in Iran and opposing the Islamic Republic is the right thing to do. But to partner with the MeK is counter-productive. Yes, it allows these politicians to tick the "tough on Iran" box for domestic purposes.
cbc.ca/news/politics/…
(It also reportedly pays well, according to multiple media stories).

But history should teach us that allying with the wrong groups, like the MeK, does not advance the cause of democracy and can backfire. There are real democracy activists inside Iran - they deserve support.
Read 6 tweets
Thomas Juneau Profile picture
Jul 10, 2021
It's that time of the year when the MeK, a thuggish cult based in Albania with zero support inside Iran, has its annual summit, where well paid western politicians show up to pretend they support democracy in Iran.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper among the speakers at the MeK summit (not for the first time):

Reminder: you are not supporting the actual cause of democracy and human rights in Iran - a noble cause - by endorsing the MeK, a group that is not democratic by any stretch of the imagination and that has no legitimacy beyond aging Iranian exiles
Read 22 tweets
Thomas Juneau Profile picture
Feb 27, 2021
Insane story by @SarahDadouch, of a Saudi dissident who vanished in Canada.
-This is part of a pattern of pressure on and kidnapping of exiled Saudi dissidents - including, not for the first time, in Canada
-Al Harbi has a lot of information... (1/4)

washingtonpost.com/world/middle_e…
...on other Saudi dissidents in Canada and elsewhere - phone numbers, identities, etc. This can be useful for Saudi security services to try to hack their phones and pressure their families inside Saudi Arabia.
-Not that there was serious doubt, but this story shows that... (2/4)
... the growing foreign policy assertiveness under MbS may have toned down a bit since its peak in 2017/18 (Qatar blockade, kidnapping of Lebanese PM, dispute with Canada, Yemen war...) but clearly continues... (3/4)

For background on Canada-Saudi ties:
washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-ca…
Read 4 tweets
Thomas Juneau Profile picture
Feb 25, 2021
So - Biden finally spoke to Saudi King Salman today. Excerpts, with quick take (1/6):
1. "...address the longstanding partnership": this is meaningful - the statement is full of signals from Biden that this is a deep relationship that will continue.

whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…
2. "they discussed regional security, including the... efforts led by the UN and the US to end the war in Yemen": two things here, an emphasis the US is leading these efforts (which it was not before), and, by saying this is as the 1st item, a signal it is the top priority.
3. "and the U.S. commitment to help Saudi Arabia defend its territory as it faces attacks from Iranian-aligned groups": another clear signal - that the US remains committed to its role as the extra-regional guarantor of Saudi security.
Read 6 tweets
Thomas Juneau Profile picture
Aug 28, 2020
Canada needs to seriously plan for the possibility that the US will not be a liberal democracy anymore. This is not fear-mongering, but a real prospect. A Trump victory in November would be a generational game changer for our security, stability, and prosperity.
And, just to stay on the gloomy side, even if Biden wins, Canada (and the rest of the world) will have to live with the reality that at least 40% of Americans support, and will no doubt continue to support, his Trumpist agenda. That shit is not going to just disappear.
A couple things.
- if you equate Trudeau with Trump, you are blinded by partisanship and are part of the problem. Absolutely fair to be critical of Trudeau, but they are not on the same planet in terms of venality, corruption.
-same if you equate Canada's conservatives with Trump
Read 4 tweets
Thomas Juneau Profile picture
Jul 2, 2020
I have a new article in Comparative Strategy: was Obama a realist? many have said this, approvingly or critically; I evaluated his policies in the Middle East to test the claim.

Answer: Only partly. His policy was somewhat prudent and restrained... (1/5)

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
..., especially in comparison with his immediate predecessor, but it also featured much continuity with the past.

He exercised restraint in the use of force, notably in resisting pressure to intervene in Syria. His policy towards IS was mostly sound. He recognized the threat...
as complex but far from existential; in response, he progressively ramped up until he reached a calibrated and proportional response, keeping a light footprint. His achievement of the JCPOA with Iran was also consistent with realism. In other areas, however, the gap between...
Read 5 tweets

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