Tracking of Domestic Extremism | Boko Haram Leader Killed | Advancing Facial Recognition Tech, and more
Prosecutors have accused him of planning terrorist attacks using that identity with the intention of stoking growing fears over immigration in Germany and triggering a national crisis. The case has become the latest warning for a country that has spent decades atoning for its Nazi past but that also has a track record of turning a blind eye to far-right extremism and terrorism.
The Link Between Extremism and Military Functioning (Marek N. Posard, William Marcellino, and Todd Helmus, Military Times)
The Department of Defense clearly prohibits service members from actively participating in extremist activities. Now, some are proposing that this policy should be broader and include passive forms of participation like possessing extremist literature.
It’s possible that two problems might arise by broadening policy to include passive forms of extremist activities.
First, there seems to be no clear standard for what is (or is not) extremism. For example, past military training materials have grouped together evangelical Christians, orthodox Judaism, and the Ku Klux Klan as extremism.
Second, military commanders are already responsible for intervening when they observe extremist activities. Indeed, current policy on extremism places a tremendous responsibility on commanders: they must enforce the current ban on active forms of extremist participation and also intervene when they observe behaviors that may rise to the level of violating this policy in the future.
DHS Plans Next Rally to Advance Facial Recognition Tech (Brandi Vincent, Nextgov)
Modern systems are getting good at verifying people who are wearing face masks—and DHS wants to make them better.
Centers of Excellence Help DHS Combat Bio Threats, Domestic Terrorism (Amelia Brust, Federal News Network)
How can machine learning help the Department of Homeland Security confront both climate change and biological threats? That is what the agency’s Center of Excellence is trying to figure out.
These issues, as well as domestic terrorism and cyber attacks, are preoccupying the minds of DHS’ science and technology leadership. The pandemic is a recent example of new applications for machine learning and data analytics in national security.
Unleashing International Entrepreneurs to Help the U.S. Economy Recover from the Pandemic (Dan Berger et al., Brookings Institution)
In 2014, then-Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Jeh Johnson issued a memo recommending “policies supporting U.S. high-skilled businesses and workers.” DHS offered a range of policies for updating the employment-based immigration system to encourage economic development. We propose that DHS issue a follow-up memo now focused specifically on international entrepreneurs to help the U.S. economy recover from the pandemic.
U.S. Troops Are Stuck on the Mexico Border with No End in Sight (Jeff Schogol, Task & Purpose)
The new Forever War?
Boko Haram Leader Abubakar Shekau Dies after Clash with IS Terror Group (Yahoo News)
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is dead after he detonated a suicide vest during an ambush by his rival Islamic State terror group, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday citing Nigerian officials and intelligence it reviewed from a West African spy agency.
The report said hundreds of Islamic State fighters attacked Shekau’s base in the Timbuktu region of the Sambisa Forest on Wednesday.
The latest round in the conflict between Israel and Hamas (Hamas fighters have fired large numbers of free rockets into Israel) has been marked by significant tactical and operational misdirection. Much of the known disinformation and psychological operations have come from the Israeli side. One successful effort involved the Israeli Defense Forces’ ability to convince international news media that a ground invasion of Gaza was in progress. It wasn’t, and the IDF didn’t plan to invade, but it wanted Hamas to think so and used various media outlets to spread the operational misdirection. The New York Times reported that this effort was successful.
