"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"
"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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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"
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
"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
JUST IN: Iranian, 2 men from New York charged in connection with plot to kill Americans, including President-elect Donald Trump & a US journalist of Iranian origin
.@TheJusticeDept filed charges against 51yo Farhad Shakeri of Iran, 49yo Carlisle Rivera & 36yo Jonathon Loadholt
Shakeri remains at large in Iran
Rivera & Loadholt have been detained pending trial
@TheJusticeDept US Atty General Merrick Garland, in statement, calls Shakeri "an asset of the Iranian regime who was tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran’s assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump"
Pentagon assesses since February 2022, Russia's suffered 600,000 casualties
This September, "Russian forces sustained more casualties in terms of both killed & wounded in action than in any other month" per a sr US defense official
"#Russia|n losses, again, both killed & wounded in action in just the 1st year of the war exceeded the total of all Russian losses or Soviet losses in any conflict since World War Two combined" per sr US defense official
#Ukraine "have sunk, destroyed or damaged at least 32 medium to large #Russia|n Federation navy vessels in the #BlackSea" per sr US defense official
NEW: US charges American TV presenter for Channel One #Russia & his wife in scheme to evade US sanctions
@TheJusticeDept unsealed the indictment vs 76yo Dimitri Simes & 55yo Anastasia Simes Thursday
They have a home in #Virginia but "remain at large...believed to be in Russia"
Dimitri & Anastasia Simes each charged w/1 count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 1 count of violating the IEEPA & 1 count of conspiracy to commit int'l money laundering
Per @TheJusticeDept, it's a maximum of 20 years per count
Dimitri Simes alleged to have violated sanctions by "serving as a presenter & producer of programming, & by receiving over $1 million, a personal car & driver, a stipend for an apartment in #Moscow... a team of 10 employees from Channel One Russia" per DOJ