"We've always made it clear we want a productive, load-bearing relationship" w/#Russia, #Britain Ambassador to US @KarenPierceUK tells @CSIS
"The fundamental question has to be why does Russia reject these overtures" from #UK, other countries
"All these things we're seeing are synonymous w/the rise of President #Putin", per @KarenPierceUK, re poisonings, disinfo campaigns, support of #Syria's use of chemical weapons
"They're putting a lot of effort into undermining" the West, she adds
#Russia-#China: "I doubt very much its a partnership of two equals" per @KarenPierceUK, adding she wonders if Russia is being more manipulative w/China than #Beijing is being w/#Moscow
#Russia - "To halt them, we have to be very firm early on" per @KarenPierceUK "The West is not always as forceful w/Russia as we might be"
"I think they were surprised by the strength of the #Skripal response" per British Ambassador to US @KarenPierceUK "I don't think the Russians expected the hard time they got in the [@UN] Security Council"
But she notes "they're very good at regrouping"
"I fear, & this is just speculation, that they will divert their attention to outer countries whose internal systems are not quite so robust" per #Britain's @KarenPierceUK about pushback vs #Russia by #UK
"Bosnia, I think, is very vulnerable," she says, adding West must continue to strengthen #EU@NATO ties "and probably more government support"
"We could get back to a much more constructive path if the #Russia|ns just wanted to take it" per #UK Ambassador to the US @KarenPierceUK, suggesting more work via the P5...
"I do worry that the Russians just might not want to come into that discussion"
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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