Jeff Seldin Profile picture
Aug 11, 2020 12 tweets 12 min read Read on X
NEW: "Efforts to reduce extremism in the #Philippines do not appear to have made a substantial difference" per acting @DoD_IG Sean O'Donnell in new report on Operation Pacific Eagle–Philippines
#ISIS-#EastAsia, "other violent extremist groups in the #Philippines that either coordinate with or share members w/ISIS, have remained about the same size & strength for the last few years" per @DoD_IG

"...little change in the capabilities, size, financing, & operations"
#Philippine armed forces "continues to conduct counterterrorism operations that keep #ISIS-EA from spreading, & continues to rely on US-provided intelligence, air assets, & other support to conduct counterterrorism operations" per new @DoD_IG report
"We have seen little progress in improving the economic, social, & political conditions" in southern #Philippines "where separatist groups and extremist groups have existed for decades" per new @DoD_IG report
Indications #ISIS-#Philippines taking advantage of #COVID19 - @DoD_IG notes April 17 ambush vs Philippine military on island of #Jolo, killing 12 soldier, wounding 13

Also, discovery of #ISIS cell in #Manila in June - "This incident appears to be significant" per the report
.@INDOPACOM "had previously reported to the DoD OIG that #ISIS-EA operated almost exclusively in the country’s southern provinces and activity near the capital was extremely rare"
#ISIS-#Philippines seeing less surveillance due to #COVID19

"COVID-19 restrictions, coupled w/force rotations, negatively impacted the amount of US intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance (ISR) support" per @DoD_IG, citing US Special Operations Command–Pacific
Interesting: @INDOPACOM "assessed that #ISIS-Core may never publicly acknowledge a new ISIS-EA leader due to the length of time since the death of ISIS-EA’s first and only recognized leader, Isnilon Hapilon, in 2017" per @DoD_IG
"International ISIS affiliates regard Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, an #ASG [Abu Sayyaf Group] faction leader, as the de facto leader of #ISIS-EA in the #Philippines" per @DoD_IG, citing @DefenseIntel
Per @DefenseIntel assessment, #ISIS-#Philippines has 300-500 members "divided among several factions" - including #ASG, the #Maute Group, #AnsarKhalifah & others, per @DoD_IG report
#ISIS-East Asia big picture? "While ISIS affiliates are now active in the #Philippines, #Malaysia & #Indonesia, ISIS has not been successful in expanding ISIS-EA’s presence into a functional trans-Southeast Asian movement" @DefenseIntel tells @DoD_IG
#ISIS-#Philippines getting help from few #foreignfighters - "The DIA estimated that there are probably fewer than 40 active foreign fighters supporting ISIS-EA in the Philippines, and that most of these are from #Indonesia and, to a lesser extent, #Malaysia" per @DoD_IG

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Jeff Seldin

Jeff Seldin Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @jseldin

Sep 13
BREAKING: US says #Russia's RT has "moved beyond being simply a media outlet"

Intelligence gathered from RT employees shows RT carries out in information & covert influence operations, & military procurement for the #Kremlin
US designating the following #Russia|n people/entities:

-Broadcaster ROSSIYA SEGODNYA & Dir Gen Dimtry Kiselev
-TV-NOVOSTI
- ANO EVRAZIYA &Gen Dir Nelli Parutenko

"Covert influence activities are not journalism" per @StateDept on #Russia's RT, others
US alleges #Russia|n intelligence embedded a #cyber unit within RT "focused primarily on influence and intelligence operations all over the world"

US also charges RT crowdfunded to acquire lethal aid for Russian force in Ukraine
Read 14 tweets
Sep 5
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
Read 6 tweets
Aug 7
US, coalition actions to deter attacks on shipping by the #Iran-backed #Houthis in #Yemen

"We've degraded their capabilities" @US5thFleet VADM George Wikoff tells @CSIS from HQ in #Bahrain

"Have we stopped them? No"
"Our mission remains to disrupt their capabilities" per @US5thFleet's VADM Wikoff

Says it is "very difficult to find the center of gravity" w/which to pressure the #Houthis
"It's the #Houthi's choice" per @US5thFleet's VADM Wikoff "They can stop this any time they want"
Read 7 tweets
Aug 3
BREAKING: @Secdef Lloyd Austin yanks plea deals for 9/11 terror attack mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, 2 others

@DeptofDefense memo released tonight also relieves the official in charge of the military commissions of her oversight in the case Image
The @DeptofDefense first announced the plea deals earlier this week, though details of the deal were not made public
Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash & Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi were charged in June 2008 & then again in May 2012 for their alleged roles in planning the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on #NewYork's World Trade Center & the Pentagon
Read 4 tweets
Aug 1
JUST IN: US issues new National Counterintelligence Strategy

Updated strategy, signed by @POTUS Thursday, based on 3 pillars, per @NCSCgov:

-outmaneuver/constrain foreign intelligence entities
-protect US strategic advantages
-invest in the future Image
"Foreign intelligence and security services & their proxies persist in seeking to acquire our most
sensitive information, technology, and intellectual property" per @POTUS in the just-released strategy

"Non-state actors are following suit"
Foreign intelligence entities "also seeking to take advantage of the proliferation of commercially available tools to conduct surveillance; collect vast amounts of previously unavailable personal data;
& position themselves to disrupt our infrastructure..." per @POTUS
Read 7 tweets
Jun 4
Some nuggets from @FBI Dir. Christopher Wray's appearance Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies...
#ArtificialIntelligence & #Election2024-"We are, of course, seeing & I've been warning about this for some time, the role of AI to enhance efforts that our foreign adversaries have already been engaged in" per @FBI's Wray
"It's not that it [#ArtificialIntelligence] changes fundamentally what it is our adversaries want to do...it allows them to amplify to do it, to make it more sophisticated, more deceptive, cheaper, faster" per @FBI's Wray
Read 18 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(