Jeff Seldin Profile picture
Sep 9, 2020 24 tweets 18 min read Read on X
#ISIS #alQaida - "#Africa is providing them that venue, that safe haven where they can establish themselves" @USSOCOM #Africa Commander MajGen Dagvin Anderson tells @AEI
#AfricaCrossroad_AEI
"We see Islamic State core really needing these affiliates" in #Africa, per @USSOCOM #Africa's MajGen Anderson, adding #alQaida in Africa is even more dangerous, learning from the mistakes #ISIS made in #Iraq #Syria

"They stay below that threshold"
#alShabaab "has become more aligned w/#alQaida...more responsive" per @USSOCOM #Africa's MajGen Anderson
"This is not a threat that one nation can take care of on its own" @USSOCOM #Africa's MajGen Anderson says of #ISIS #alQaida "We should not underestimate what they're doing"

Says both are threats to the current international order
"They have come in and galvanized these localized groups that were disparate" per @USSOCOM #Africa's MajGen Anderson

#ISIS #alQaida "have the ability to transform the local grievance into an int'l one" he says
US has less than 1,000 personnel working w/#Somalia's forces to fight #alShabab-most of that to help build the #Danab forces, per @USSOCOM #Africa's MajGen Anderson

Also focusing on #alShabaab in #Juba River Valley, where al Shabaab's leadership & external planning ops are
US African partners being forced to invest 15-20% of their GDP in security due to terror threats, which means they are not able to invest that money in other areas like health, education, the economy - #ISIS #alQaida trying to take advantage of the shortfalls, per MajGen Anderson
"The US flag helps build trust. It also builds confidence" in #Africa, per @USSOCOM #Africa's MajGen Anderson
"We're having great effect with a small investment" per @USSOCOM #Africa's MajGen Anderson, also praisinf French forces

#France "has put a lot of blood & treasure into the #Sahel"
"The French are carrying the heavy burden of the fight in the #Sahel" adds per @USSOCOM #Africa's MajGen Anderson
"DoD has continued to conflate competition w/deterrence" in #Africa, Mark Mitchell, ex @DeptofDefense Principal Deputy Asst Sec for Special Ops/Low-Intensity Conflict tells @AEI

"We need to do a much better job of integrating our overall military efforts w/the diplomatic..."
US needs to "look at #Africa as a theater of strategic competition" per Mitchell re #Russia #China
"Where we excel, what special ops' niche is, is enabling out partners" per @USSOCOM #Africa's MajGen Anderson

"That is what other soc-called great powers are unable to do"
"These lines of influence aren't set. They're very fluid" in #Africa, per @USSOCOM Africa's MajGen Anderson
"We have the will & values to engage w/our partners a equals, not to make them feel second class" per @USSOCOM #Africa's MajGen Anderson "That matters"
"If we don't want corrosive dictatorships...then we have to be willing to go out an engage" per @USSOCOM #Africa's MajGen Anderson, adding it cannot be just the US military
"I can't think at any time the VEOs [violent extremism organizations] have benefited from #China or #Russia" in #Africa, per @USSOCOM's MajGen Anderson "That's not in anyone's interest"
"There are places to cooperate" w/#China in #Africa, per MajGen Anderson "I do see opportunities if they are willing to play by the rules"
"We need more energy...We need a coherent narrative & a coherent strategy to engage" in #Africa, per MajGen Anderson "We were brilliant at this during the #ColdWar"
"I think what [#RadioFreeEurope]...#VoiceofAmerica did was absolutely critical" per MajGen Anderson "I know that for a fact..."
"Having unbiased news that we push, that we send out around the world is absolutely vital to what we do" per US Special Ops #Africa Commander MajGen Anderson

"We have the ideals & values that transcend borders that people immigrate to America for"
"Whenever I go to #Africa, there isn't a partner that doesn't ask about how to come study in America, how do I get my kids to America, how do I get there?"
per MajGen Anderson "It's because they believe in what America stands for"
"We've become reticent, I think, to engage in information operations, to engage in news & broadcasts that matter" per MajGen Anderson "That's where as a nation we need to look & not be afraid to talk about who we are as a people"
"That is the strength of America & that is what our founding fathers established & that's what the Statue of Liberty stands for" per US Special Ops #Africa's MajGen Anderson "I don't defend that statue. I defend the words at her feet & the intangibles that that beacon stands for"

• • •

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

Mar 11
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 Image
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 Image
@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
Read 73 tweets
Feb 29
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”
Read 10 tweets
Feb 25
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."
Read 14 tweets
Feb 6
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 Image
Read 13 tweets
Feb 1
NEW: #alQaida expanding in #Afghanistan

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"
Read 16 tweets
Dec 11, 2023
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
Read 5 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!

:(