Most of the focus during the House Homeland Security Committee hearing was domestic but there are some interesting nuggets in the written testimony from #NCTC Dir Miller about #ISIS#alQaida
On #ISIS, #NCTC's Miller assesses despite US successes, "ISIS has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to rebound from severe losses over the past 6 years by relying on a dedicated cadre of veteran mid-level commanders, extensive clandestine networks, & downturns in CT pressure"
#ISIS " has conducted a steady rate of assassinations, & IED & mortar attacks in mostly rural parts of northern & central #Iraq & eastern #Syria" per #NCTC Dir Miller's written testimony
"#ISIS is also working to release thousands of terror group members and their families currently detained in prisons and living in camps in northeastern #Syria, where our foreign partners face growing security & humanitarian challenges" per #NCTC's Miller
Outside #Syria#Iraq, #ISIS "now encompasses approximately 20 branches & networks" per #NCTC's Miller, cautioning "Individually, these ISIS branches and networks have made uneven progress in advancing the group’s agenda"
"#ISIS-inspired attacks in the West have declined significantly since 2015 in part because authorities around the world continue to detain local ISIS adherents some of whom were planning terrorist attacks or attempting to join the group" per #NCTC's Miller
#alQaida's global network "still poses a significant threat to US & allied interests" per written testimony from #NCTC's Miller...
"Several of the group’s remaining senior leaders continue to find safe haven in Iran, & will likely play a key role in the group’s efforts to reconstitute its leadership" per Miller's written statement
NEW: US assesses #alQaida core in #Afghanistan "has been reduced to a few dozen fighters who are primarily focused on their survival, & are probably incapable of conducting attacks outside the country under sustained CT pressure" per #NCTC's Miller
It is also a significantly lower estimate of #alQada core fighters in #Afghanistan than what the @UN reported this past July based on member state intelligence
The UN put the number of AQ core fighters at 400-600
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