#Africa - "I see a continent with a lot of countries, very fragile countries...affected by this #COVID19 crisis" @eu_eeas Maj-Gen Hermínio Maio tells #EUDefense
"We need to wait and see what will be really the security impact"
EU Training mission in Mali using social distancing, temp checks, masks, per @eutmmali1's Brig-Gen Frantisek Ridzák in #Mali
Partners are using same precautions
"All of the drivers of instability & all of the challenges that have always existed for us all are still there" @thejointstaff Brig-Gen William Zana tells #EUDefense re #COVID19 in #Africa, #Sahel
"In some areas, we see worsening or greater challenges"
Planning, budgeting, exercises, rotations - "all of those now get compressed in different ways because of #COVID" per @thejointstaff Brig-Gen Zana
@DeptofDefense focus is "to do them in a way where we're not overlapping or creating new gaps & seams"
"We are preparing to resume all those [training] activities" after #COVID19 pause, per @eu_eeas Maj-Gen Maio
Though he says in some cases, like in #Somalia, remote assistance contiued
"We reduced more or less 50% our capacities but we continued to have some essential means on the ground" per @eu_eeas Maj-Gen Maio
"Violent extremist groups, transnational criminal organizations-1 of our challenges has been trying to understand what response those organizations have had, what it is that they're doing or not doing when you add #COVID into the broader context" per @thejointstaff BrigGen Zana
"While it hasn't been tremendously successful, it is an indication of a broader set of ambitions"
#Libya-"I look at with great concern particularly w/#Russia's activities w/Wagner Group & other paramilitary organizations that have been brought in from other countries" per @thejointstaff BrigGen Zana
"#China is doing some things w/peacekeeping operations on the continent" per @thejointstaff BrigGen Zana "I applaud China being a part of a broader set of solutions"
"But I also got to see 1st hand, activities...lasing of aircraft...which are not adhering to int'l norms"
"We need to understand that the problem in those countries is more related w/state-building realities than w/the security & defense realities" per @eu_eeas Maj-Gen Maio on #Africa missions
Added complications from intervention like #Russia's in Central African Republic (CAR) "w/no regulation & no transparency" per @eu_eeas MajGen Maio "What we want when we are in those countries is transparency"
On #migration-"We need to invest in the future, changing mentalities & trying to support the development of those countries" per @eu_eeas MajGen Maio "The Africans, they love Africa. They would like to live in Africa"
"The continued int'l presence in #Mali...is extremely important" per @eutmmali1 BrigGen Ridzák calling training of Malian forces "a long-term process"
"We have to be here and we have to assist...we cannot leave it as it is" per Ridzák "We should be patient"
"Our intervention is not a short term intervention. It is long-term" per @eu_eeas MajGen Maio "We need to change mentalities and this takes time"
"Our intervention is not a short term intervention. It is long-term" per @eu_eeas MajGen Maio "We need to change mentalities and this takes time"
"The US commitment in #Africa continues & its a deep legacy of commitment" per @thejointstaff BrigGen Zana, calling defense assistance as playing a supporting role to diplomatic & other efforts
US review of troop levels in #Africa, elsewhere "are reasonable things to assess" per @thejointstaff BrigGen Zana
"Periodic reassessment of that is healthy, is something that is prudent...There are always going to be greater demands"
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
HAPPENING NOW - US intelligence chiefs testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee:
@ODNIgov Dir Avril Haines
@CIA Dir William Burns
@FBI Dir Christoper Wray
@NSAGov Dir Gen Timothy Haugh
@DefenseIntel Dir LtGen Jeffrey Krause
@StateDept Asst Sec for Intel Brett Holmgren
Noting that the current era is as challenging as ever, with a wide variety of threats, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair @MarkWarner calls for "redefining what we think of" when it comes to national security
@MarkWarner "We are no even seeing the possibility of foreign adversaries weaponizing space" in ways that could be detrimental to US way of life, per @MarkWarner
NEW: @FBI joins White House, Senate intelligence committee chair in sounding alarm about foreign interference in #Election2024
"This election cycle, the US will face more adversaries, moving at a faster pace & enabled by new technology
per Dir Christopher Wray at @INSAlliance
#ArtificialIntelligence advances "lowering the barrier to entry-making it easier for both more & less-sophisticated foreign adversaries to engage in malign influence" per @FBI's Wray
"Making foreign influence efforts by players old and&new more realistic & difficult to detect"
@FBI Where are US adversaries focused?
“The attack surface for the bad guys is the private sector” per @FBI's Wray "The intelligence that we need is in the hands of the private sector, often”
NEW: US worried about #Russia seeking to interfere in #Election2024
"Of course there are concerns" White House Nat'l Security Adviser @JakeSullivan46 tells @MeetThePress
"There's plenty of reason to be concerned" per @JakeSullivan46
"There is a history here in presidential elections by the #Russia|n Federation, by its intelligence services" he says
"We are going to be vigilant"
Concerns about #Russia|n interference in #Election2024 "not about politics" per @JakeSullivan46
"This is about national security. It is about a foreign country, a foreign adversary seeking to manipulate the politics & democracy of the United States of America."
NEW: US confirms #Houthis using "various #Iran|ian-origin missiles & unmanned aerial vehicles" in their attacks on shipping in the #RedSea #GulfofAden
Conclusion based on new analysis by @DefenseIntel
The assessment is based on information current as January 2024 - including a "comparative analysis of publicly available images of #Iran|ian missiles & UAVs to those displayed & employed by #Houthi forces in #Yemen to attack commercial shipping" per @DefenseIntel
US @DefenseIntel on #Iran|ian drones in #Houthi arsenal:
-Sayad (Sammad) - range of 1800km
-Shahed-136 - range of 2500km
-Waid-1 (version of the Shahed-131) - range of 900km
AQ "established up to 8 new training camps in Afghanistan, including four in #Ghazni, #Laghman, #Parwan & #Uruzgan Provinces w/a new base to stockpile weaponry in the #Panjshir Valley" per new @UN report
The new #alQaida camps appear to be "conducting suicide bomber training for TTP [Tehrik-i-Taliban #Pakistan]" per the @UN report
Intelligence provided by @UN member states also notes #alQaida is operating madrasas in #Laghman, #Kunar, #Nangarhar, #Nuristan & #Parwan provinces
AQ also "maintains safe houses to facilitate the movement between #Afghanistan & the Islamic Republic of #Iran"
NEW: @usairforce disciplines 15 Air National Guard members as a result of the so-called Discord intel leak this past April
Inspector General report cited lax inspections, lack of guidance & lack of supervision as contributing factors in the leaks by 21-year-old Jack Teixeira
"The IG investigation found individuals in Teixeira’s unit failed to take proper action after becoming aware of his intelligence-seeking activities..." per @usairforce statement
"...However, the investigation did not find evidence that members of Teixeira’s supervisory chain were aware of his alleged unauthorized disclosures" per @usairforce