US intel report says ISIS will spread worldwide unless defeated in Syria
December 9, 2015 1 Comment
A report compiled by senior analysts in the United States Intelligence Community warns that the Islamic State will spread around the world unless it suffers significant territorial losses in Syria and Iraq. The eight-page report was commissioned by the White House and represents the combined views of analysts from the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and other members of the US Intelligence Community. According to The Daily Beast, which revealed the existence of the repot on Sunday, the document is “already spurring changes” in how Washington is responding to the growth of the Islamic State. The group is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The Daily Beast’s Kim Dozier said the report, which was commissioned prior to the Paris and San Bernardino attacks, offered “a tacit admission” that efforts by the US, Russia, and other countries to thwart the growth of ISIS have failed. Over 60 nations are so far involved in broad efforts to destroy the Islamist group, mostly through air raids and material support for local militaries and militias. The US has also deployed 3,500 troops —including Special Forces— in the area. But this has done little to stop ISIS, which is believed to have attracted over 30,000 foreign recruits in the last 18 months alone.
Dozier said that, after US President Barack Obama was given the intelligence report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), he asked his senior advisors to come up with “new options” to defeat ISIS. These efforts are currently being led by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Marine General Joseph Dunford, who is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. One of the first decisions taken by the White House in response to the ODNI report was the deployment of a 200-strong Special Forces group on the ground in Iraq and Syria. The group is believed to be conducting raids in association with local militias that are fighting ISIS.
The Daily Beast said it spoke to a spokesman from the ODNI, who confirmed the existence of the intelligence report, but refused to elaborate. Representatives from the White House and the US Department of Defense refused to comment on the subject.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 01 December 2015 | Permalink
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US considers launching all-out cyber war against Islamic State
December 22, 2015 by Ian Allen 1 Comment
The report is allegedly being prepared by the US Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), the Pentagon office responsible for conducting what the US military calls “full spectrum military cyberspace operations”. Offensive cyber security planners at USCYBERCOM, which is located at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland, are said to have prepared plans that include proposals to launch numerous computer viruses, denial-of-service attacks and other cyber weapons against computers, internet servers and cell phone networks belonging to the Islamic State. The idea behind the plan is that an all-out online war against the Sunni militant group would hurt its image and prevent it from launching armed attacks against civilian targets abroad.
However, Canadian newspaper The Toronto Star reports that a number of other US agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have voiced objections to the USCYBERCOM plan, arguing that an all-out cyber war against the Islamic State could backfire. Specifically, some US intelligence officials argue that sabotaging online communications nodes, as well as cell phone networks, would make it harder to spy on the Islamic State. Additionally, such a move would hinder the work of aid groups, opposition forces, and even Western-backed rebel forces in the Levant, who rely on the same Internet and cellular networks to communicate with each other. These officials argue instead that the US should opt for surgical attacks on specific computers or cell phones used by senior Islamic State planners.
According to media reports, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is scheduled to meet with USCYBERCOM commanders this week in order to evaluate the possibilities for offensive cyber attacks against the Islamic State. He will then brief President Barack Obama on the available options.
► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 22 December 2015 | Permalink
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