Jeff Seldin Profile picture
Jul 8, 2020 11 tweets 9 min read Read on X
"We are an important base for US troops" #Germany Defense Minister @akk Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer tells #EUDefense in prerecorded interview when asked about impending US pullout

"We on German soil are also contributing to American security"
"What we are discussing is the security of the [@NATO] alliance" per @akk "If there are troop reductions in #Germany, which we regret, if the decision is being taken, then the question is where do the soldiers deploy?"
"If they were redeploying within #Europe then that would mean that the strong commitment of the United States in the transatlantic partnership and the focus on Europe would remain, and that would be an important message for @NATO" per #Germany's defense minister
"We see that #Russia is more assertive, more aggressive but I think the strength of @NATO is also that we don't play tit for tat" per #Germany DefMin @akk
"America needs allies. America need like-minded allies based on the same values and those are especially the states in #Europe" per #Germany DefMin "These states will only be able to maintain their independence & their values if they have strong defense foundations..."
"#China indeed is a systemic challenge for us...with a regime that shows you can work successfully economically without needing to have the same standards in terms of human rights" per #Germany DefMin @akk "That is a first for mankind"
On issues like #climatechange, "addressing that without #China is not possible" per #Germany DefMin @akk

"We must find a way to use our economic ties to demonstrate our views, our values...We must send clear messages"
"If we see that #China is trying to increase its influence in int'l organizations, not to further multilateralism but to push its own interests, then we must not weaken the int'l organizations" per #Germany DefMin @akk

"On the contrary, we must engage stronger there"
"It's easy & it gives you a good feeling inside if you use strong words but we also know that this approach is often one that blocks every contact & every possible influence" w/#China, per #Germany DefMin @akk, saying Germany is constantly working quietly behind the scences
#Africa #Sahel #terrorism #migrant issues exacerbated by #climatechange - "That 1st & foremost affect European security interests & that is why Europeans needs to give a stronger response" per #Germany DefMin @akk "We need to be better able to act"
"What we're lacking is a common strategic compass" per per #Germany DefMin @akk "We haven't got a common threat perception yet of how to approach operations"

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More from @jseldin

Feb 13
ISIS-Somalia has dug in - operating out of Buur Dhexaad, described by the UN sanctions monitoring team as "a strategic base secured by natural caves and defensive structures safe from aerial and ground offensives"
ISIS-Somalia leader Abdul Qadir Mumin has also sought to limit unnecessary exposure while focusing on boosting the affiliate's finances thru increased extortion campaigns, per the UN report
Some of that money has been poured into advanced weaponry and drones

ISIS-Somalia has "employed unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance and limited explosive deployment" per the UN. with an aim at "building suicide unmanned aerial vehicles"
Read 5 tweets
Feb 13
NEW: "Growing confidence" that the global leader of ISIS is Abdul Qadir Mumin, also the head of ISIS-Somalia, per new UN sanctions monitoring team report

"But doubts continued to be expressed by other Member States"
If Somalia's Mumin is ISIS leader Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, "it may signify a deliberate pivot towards a more decentralized operational structure, further from the core conflict zone" per the UN report
Of the 9 regional offices set up by ISIS, only 2 remain active in Africa:

- the al-Karrar office in Somalia, which serves as a key financial hub
- the al-Furqan office in Nigeria

per UN report
Read 14 tweets
Jan 30
HAPPENING NOW: Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing for Tulsi Gabbard to serve as US Director of National Intelligence
"It’s fair to say Ms. Gabbard’s nomination has generated a bit more interest and attention than do most nominees before this committee" per Senate Committee Chairman, Tom Cotton
"But I want to stress that Ms. Gabbard has been and will be treated with the exact same respect, consideration, and professionalism that we have extended to every other nominee" per Cotton
Read 65 tweets
Jan 10
NEW: US intelligence agencies pushing back vs claims health ailments linked to Havana Syndrome were caused by a foreign adversary

"The intelligence does not link a foreign actor to these events. Indeed, it points away from their involvement" per a US intelligence official
"5 elements of the intelligence community continue to assess that it's very unlikely of foreign actors responsible" per the US intelligence official

BUT 2 intelligence agencies have reevaluated - "shift from unlikely w/low confidence to roughly even chance with low confidence"
The US intelligence official, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity, describe the shift in view about the possible involvement of foreign adversaries as "subtle" - "They have a low confidence in their judgments"
Read 9 tweets
Nov 20, 2024
NEW: Islamic State-Somalia getting boost from an "influx of foreign fighters"

A just-issued UN sanctions monitoring team report warns the foreign fighters "have expanded and enhanced the group’s capabilities against al-Shabaab"
Influx of foreign fighters to IS-Somalia " has coincided with the re-emergence of the Al-Karrar office as a
key administrative and financial hub for [ISIS] globally" per the UN report
IS-Somalia being led by "a cadre of former al-Shabaab
militants based in the Bari region of Puntland" per UN report

Abdirahman Fahiye Isse Mohamud is the emir of IS-Somalia, per report, "responsible for [ISIS] operations in Somalia"
Read 11 tweets
Nov 15, 2024
NEW: Senate Democrats ask @DeptofDefense @TheJusticeDept to look at Elon Musk's reported contact w/Russian officials - "determine whether this behavior should force a review of Mr. Musk’s
continued involvement in SpaceX’s varying contracts" w/the US government Image
Image
"Communications between Russian government officials and any individual with a security
clearance have the potential to put our security at risk" per @SenatorShaheen @SenJackReed

"We urge you to take appropriate action immediately"
Musk's alleged contacts with Russian officials was first reported by @WSJ, which cited current and former U.S., European and Russian officials
Read 5 tweets

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