Our picksSecret 9/11 Files on Saudi Arabia | Next Physical Attack on Energy Infrastructure | “Havana Syndrome” Attacks, and more
· DHS’ Rigid Security Protocols Contributed to Inadequate Jan. 6 Response, GAO Says
· Election Conspiracies Are Coming to a Head — Again
· Plutonium Pits Are a Critical Obstacle in U.S. Nuclear Plans
· 5 Richest Terrorist Groups in the World: Isis Is Only Top 5
· Pompeo: We Need to Protect the Homeland from Future Terrorist Attacks
· Al Qaeda Re-Appears with Extended Terrorist Plot
· Justice Department Says It Intends to Release Some Secret 9/11 Files on Saudi Arabia.
· Top Foreign Affairs Republican Seeks Sanctions over “Havana Syndrome” Attacks
· Judge Suggests Feds Are Too Lenient Toward Jan. 6 Defendants
· House Republicans Demand Answers from DHS on “Appalling” Border Numbers as Crisis Escalates
· How Terrorists Could Proceed with the Next Physical Attack on Energy Infrastructure
DHS’ Rigid Security Protocols Contributed to Inadequate Jan. 6 Response, GAO Says (Eric Katz, Govexec)
The department is too inflexible to be responsive to “the current environment of emerging threats,” GAO found.
Election Conspiracies Are Coming to a Head — Again (Phillip Bump, Washington Post)
There’s only one actual question about the next few weeks, as the estimated deadline offered by Donald Trump and his allies for his reinstatement as president comes and goes: How dangerous will it be?
On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security released a bulletin warning state and local law enforcement officials of increasing chatter about potential violence that “may occur during August 2021.” Nothing specific was mentioned, but an official who spoke with ABC News noted that the department was offering the warning because of how quickly a threat could emerge.
The warning stemmed from threats “fueled in large part by conspiracy theories and other false narratives” that are spread by “domestic extremist thought leaders,” among others, according to the official. This misinformation is “consumed by individuals who are predisposed to engage in violence,” the official said.
The bulletin itself was more direct: “Some conspiracy theories associated with reinstating former President Trump have included calls for violence if desired outcomes are not realized.”
Plutonium Pits Are a Critical Obstacle in U.S. Nuclear Plans (Cheryl Rofer, Foreign Policy)
Modernization programs need to be realistic—and may be unnecessary.
5 Richest Terrorist Groups in the World: Isis Is Only Top 5 (Renz Soliman International Business Times)
Terrorist groups around the world are seen as a constant threat due to their power and ambitions. Many of the most infamous groups have massive wealth that allow them to fund their endeavors, but which of these groups is the richest? In 2017, which many considered to be one of the deadliest years in terms of terrorist attacks, eight large-scale attacks were executed. Al-Qaeda, ISIS or the Taliban group have been responsible for planning, financing and carrying out six of them. In total, the events resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,500 people in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Egypt and Somalia. About 70% of the worldwide terrorist attacks in 2016 was carried out by these three major terrorist groups, as per the University of Maryland’s Global Terrorism Database.
