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Home > Open Access Journals > JSS > Vol. 2 > No. 4 (2010)

 

Author Biography

Serge E. Vidalis is a retired Canadian Naval Officer who served in Naval Special Operations and possesses expertise in maritime counterterrorism, mine warfare, and explosive ordnance disposal. His career included a five-year departure from the navy when he served as a police officer in British Columbia, Canada. Vidalis returned to active duty within weeks of September 11, 2001, and was deployed in March 2003 to the Arabian Sea in support of Operation Apollo and Operation Enduring Freedom, where he lead a special protection team. Vidalis holds a Master of Arts Degree in Conflict Analysis and Management with specialization in Political, Ethnic, and Security Issues, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the University of British Columbia researching the Impact of Culture on Western Security Strategies and Terrorism. Serge is also the President of Blue Force Global—Special Services Group Ltd., a firm specializing in strategic security and emergency management services.

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.2.4.5

Subject Area Keywords

Al-Qaida, Counterterrorism, History, Security management, Security policy, Threat assessment

Abstract

With the change in seasons comes the expected change of insurgency operations in Afghanistan as Taliban and al-Qaida fighters mount their spring and summer offensives against both NATO forces and Afghanis sympathetic to foreign troops. As insurgents curtail their seasonal operations with the arrival of fall and winter, is it likely that a threat may arise from Afghanistan to affect the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia? As will be illustrated herein, the threat to the games will not be borne directly from the insurgency in Afghanistan but rather by the universal jihadist ideology of al-Qaida rather than the nationalist beliefs of their fellow fighters, the Taliban. This article aims to call attention to the plausible threat to the 2010 Olympics posed by al-Qaida's far-reaching terrorist network while also offering a focused threat analysis based on the network's preferred tactics. Essentially, the power of al-Qaida lies in their network: the threat to the Olympic Games stems from proxy extremist and terrorist groups linked directly and indirectly to al-Qaida.

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