Our picksThe next terrorist threat; Huawei’s long crime list; fixing terrorism legislation, and more

The terrorism that doesn’t spark a panic (Adam Serwer, Defense One)
Americans should react to violence from religious and ethnic minorities with the same sense of proportion they reserve for far-right extremists.

The next terrorist threat (Cipher Brief)
ISIS has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack at a cathedral in the Philippines that left at least 21 people dead and scores injured. Earlier this month, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack in Syria that targeted and killed four Americans, one of them a Green Beret.
Al-Shabab, the terrorist group that has claimed allegiance to Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for a January 15 attack on an upscale hotel complex in Nairobi.  At least 20 people were killed.
More broadly in Africa, the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) has reported 614 terrorism-related deaths in the first two weeks of this year alone.

Congress must move quickly to fix the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (Debra Shushan, The Hill)
In a perversely ironic turn, a law intended to aid American victims of international terrorist attacks will strike a serious blow to counterterrorism cooperation that keeps Israelis (and Americans visiting Israel) safe.
The Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ATCA) will take effect on February 1. Unless it is adequately amended or repealed before then, the law will damage Israeli national security and U.S. foreign policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Time is short, and Congress must take action.

California utility equipment sparked more than 2,000 fires in over three years (Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times)
Destructive wildfires in Paradise, wine country, Ventura County and other areas have prompted California lawmakers to consider new ways to improve regulatory oversight and hold utilities more accountable for prevention.

U.S. charges Huawei and affiliates with extensive list of crimes (Sean Lyngaas, Cyberscoop)
U.S. officials on Monday announced nearly two dozen criminal charges in two separate cases against Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei and its affiliates, escalating a long-running U.S. crackdown on Chinese tech companies over allegations of rule-breaking and spying.

Trump is destroying his own case for a national emergency (Elizabeth Goitein, Defense One)
By waiting for Congress to act, the president is undermining the legal basis for any declaration.

North Korea could accelerate commercial espionage to meet Kim’s economic deadline (Sean Lyngaas, Cyberscoop)
Perhaps more than any other nation-state, North Korea-linked hackers have shown no limits in what they will target – from a Hollywood entertainment company to a Bangladeshi bank. Divining a method to the madness is key to warning potential victims. And analysts say that foreign corporations and defectors have been high on the list of Pyongyang’s potential targets lately.
On New Year’s Day, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un delivered his annual address, telling North Koreans, and the world, what would preoccupy his reclusive regime’s time in the coming months. The message was clear: with its nuclear weapons program well underway, Pyongyang would continue to try to develop its anemic economy.

Trump EPA won’t limit 2 toxic chemicals in drinking water (Annie Snider, Politico)
The decision could complicate acting agency chief Andrew Wheeler’s hopes for Senate confirmation.

The unintended consequences of Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria (Lara Seligman, Foreign Policy)
It has already empowered Russia and Iran while undermining the Kurds.

DARPA outlines adversarial AI defense (Susan Miller, GCN)
As artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly incorporated into advanced systems, they have created new vulnerabilities for adversaries to exploit. When new algorithms are developed, attackers create fresh tools to bypass the latest defenses.