Exigent Foundation

[Larry Maher @larrynmaher]

My latest @nationalpost

[Dean Baxendale @DMCBaxendale]

Having just returned from Israel, where I investigated multiple dimensions of this conflict firsthand, I came away with a far deeper and more sobering understanding of what is actually unfolding. Claims of genocide dominate Western discourse, yet they are often amplified by advocacy narratives and Hamas-aligned propaganda that many foreign journalists absorb uncritically and largely because they lack open, unmediated access to ordinary Palestinians in Gaza.

Those voices exist. They are people who want stability, dignity, and the ability to live their lives in peace and economic security alongside Israel. They are rarely heard, not because they are few, but because Hamas and its sponsors do not permit pluralism, dissent, or transparency. What reaches Western audiences instead is a curated reality, shaped by intimidation, coercion, and information warfare.

What became unmistakably clear is how sophisticated and deeply embedded proxy operations by Hezbollah and Hamas have become; operations strengthened not only by Iranian funding and training, but by Western failure. For years, we transferred billions of dollars into Gaza and affiliated structures with virtually no chain of custody, no meaningful transparency, and no enforceable accountability. We assumed intent without verification and substituted moral signaling for operational rigor.

The result was predictable.

Resources meant for humanitarian relief were diverted into tunnels, weapons, command structures, and propaganda ecosystems. Aid did not produce a pathway to peace or governance reform; it entrenched armed actors whose strategic objective is perpetual conflict. This was not merely naïveté, it was systemic incompetence, repeated despite mounting evidence.

If there is a lesson here, it is that good intentions without controls do not produce peace. They produce capture. And until Western governments are willing to confront how their own policies enabled these proxy networks to thrive, we will continue to misunderstand the conflict, misdiagnose its causes, and finance outcomes directly opposed to the lives and aspirations of the very civilians we claim to defend.

Understanding how these operations are effectively funded is also a key to disrupting their ability to kill at will for no good reason other than a cult with a fanatical ideology steeped in hatred.

Good journalism requires an investment in both time and direct experience in the field.
I along with others gained those insights.

Never Forget, our pledge to, Never Again and yet our reaction post October 7th we have.

[Larry Maher @larrynmaher]

A five day adventure awaits with an amazing group of Canadians.  Writers, vlogger, publisher and investigative reporters.  

@exigentimpact here we go @RealAndyLeeShow @NatashaMontreal @CarymaRules @AmazingZoltan @DMCBaxendale @IsaacLamoureux @explorewithkevs @DMCBaxendale @ShonnOborowsky

[Exigent Foundation @exigentimpact]

Our Canadian delegation was hosted by Deputy Foreign Minister @SharrenHaskel. We had meaningful discussions on regional developments, shared security challenges and the pressures facing liberal democracies. Many in the group voiced concern about Canada's current trajectory. Policy choices over the past decade have left the country increasingly exposed to foreign threats and interference. Canada is way past the "wake up call". Canadians must begin prioritizing its own resilience and start taking care of Canada.

@KevinVuongxMP @Comd_RCN_34 @KoriMoncur @IsraelMFA

[🇨🇦 Mark Norman, Vice Admiral (Ret’d) @Comd_RCN_34]

@KevinVuongxMP @FDD @exigentimpact Honoured to have been given the opportunity to see and learn. We are at serious risk in Canada 🇨🇦 and our friends in Israel 🇮🇱 can “help us help ourselves” if we could just listen before we judge.

[Kevin Vuong 🇨🇦 @KevinVuongxMP]

We must confront extremism in 🇨🇦 head on before it’s too late.

Thank you to @FDD’s Dr. Eyal Hulata, former National Security Advisor to PMs Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, for his candor and insights.

One key takeaway for me is the threat that the same deadly forces and ideology behind the horrors of #Oct7th presents to us back home in 🇨🇦.

We’ve had a number of close calls already that were fortunately thwarted before they could be executed, including an advanced stage ISIS terror plot to attack #Toronto and a pro-Israel rally at Parliament Hill that two radicalized youth planned to bomb.

Canadians cannot afford for our leaders to continue to turn a blind eye to increasing radicalization, especially among our youth.

[Exigent Foundation @exigentimpact]

A real honor to spend time with some great Canadians that served their country. A group that includes several retired Generals, Vice Admiral and security experts from the Canadian Military and Intelligence.