North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Commit An Act Of Terrorism Transcending National Boundaries

The U.S. Justice Department released the below link:

Justin Nojan Sullivan, 20, of Morganton, North Carolina, appeared in federal court in Asheville, North Carolina today and pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries.

The announcement was made by Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose of the Western District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI’s Charlotte, North Carolina, Division.  U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger presided over Sullivan’s plea hearing. 

“Sullivan was in contact and plotted with now-deceased Syria-based terrorist Junaid Hussain to execute acts of mass violence in the United States in the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),” said Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord.  “Counterterrorism remains our highest priority and we will continue to identify and hold accountable those who seek to commit acts of terrorism within our borders.”
            
“Sullivan admitted in court today that he attempted to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries by planning mass casualty shooting attacks on behalf of ISIL against innocent people in North Carolina and Virginia.  Sullivan also admitted he had frequent and direct communications with Junaid Hussain, one of ISIL’s prominent members in Syria, who asked Sullivan to make a video of the deadly attack,” said U.S. Attorney Rose.  “There is no more important work that we in the Department of Justice undertake than the fight against terrorism.  It is frightening to know that the defendant in this case was able to use social media to contact and seek advice from ISIL, a murderous organization.  Yet, it emboldens us to be fiercely aggressive and diligent in our efforts to combat this special kind of evil.” U.S. Attorney Rose added.       
            
“Justin Sullivan planned to kill hundreds of innocent people.  He pledged his support to ISIL and took calculated steps to commit a murderous rampage to prove his allegiance to the terrorist organization.  There is no higher priority for the FBI than to thwart the next terrorist attack.  This case is proof of what law enforcement agencies can accomplish to disrupt terrorist activities of any kind,” said Special Agent in Charge Strong.         

According to information contained in plea documents, starting no later than September 2014, Sullivan watched violent ISIL attacks on the Internet, such as beheadings, and collected them on his laptop computer.  Court records indicate that Sullivan openly expressed support for ISIL in his home and destroyed religious items that belonged to his parents.  

Beginning no later than June 7, 2015, Sullivan conspired with Junaid Hussain, a prominent ISIL member responsible for online recruitment and providing directions and inspiration for terrorist plots in Western countries, to plan mass shooting attacks in North Carolina and Virginia.  Sullivan discussed those plans on social media with an undercover FBI employee (UCE), who Sullivan attempted to recruit to join in such attacks.

Court documents indicate that Sullivan told the UCE via social media that it was better to remain in the United States to support ISIL than to travel.  Sullivan suggested that the UCE obtain weapons and told the UCE that he was planning to buy a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle at an upcoming gun show in Hickory, North Carolina.  On or about June 20, 2015, Sullivan attempted to purchase hollow point ammunition to be used with the weapon(s) he intended to purchase.  

According to court records, Sullivan had researched on the Internet how to manufacture firearm silencers and asked the UCE to build functional silencers that they could use to carry out the planned attacks.  Court records show that Sullivan told the UCE he planned to carry out his attack in the following few days at a concert, bar or club, where he believed as many as 1,000 people would be killed using the assault rifle and silencer.  

Filed documents indicate that over the course of Sullivan’s communications with Junaid Hussain, Hussain had asked Sullivan to make a video of his planned terrorist attack, to which Sullivan had agreed. 

On or about June 19, 2015, the silencer, which was built according to Sullivan’s instructions, was delivered to him at his home in North Carolina, where Sullivan’s mother opened the package, according to court records.  Sullivan took the silencer from his mother and hid it in a crawl space under his house.  When Sullivan’s parents questioned him about the silencer, Sullivan, believing that his parents would interfere with his plans to carry out an attack, offered to compensate the UCE to kill them.   

In filed plea documents, Sullivan admitted that he took substantial steps towards carrying out terrorist attacks in North Carolina and Virginia by: (1) recruiting the UCE; (2) obtaining a silencer from the UCE; (3) procuring the money that would have enabled him to purchase the AR-15; (4) trying to obtain a specific type of ammunition that he believed would be the most “deadly”; (5) identifying separate gun shows where he and the UCE could purchase AR-15s; and (6) obtained coupons for the gun shows he planned for himself and the UCE to attend on June 20 or 21, 2015.  

According to filed documents, on June 19, 2015, Sullivan was arrested at his parents’ home, where law enforcement also executed a search warrant for the silencer and other items.  Law enforcement interviewed Sullivan on separate occasions following his arrest. Sullivan also provided false statements on his involvement in the murder of his neighbor, John Bailey Clark, who had been killed in December 2014.  Sullivan later admitted that he had stolen the rifle from his father’s gun cabinet and hid it in the crawl space.  Forensic testing shows that the .22 rifle hidden by Sullivan was used to murder Mr. Clark.  

The grand jury alleged that Sullivan also killed Mr. Clark, but Sullivan did not admit to this act in his plea today.  However, in the plea documents filed, the United States Attorney set forth evidence supporting this allegation and specifically reserved the Government’s right to prove this additional conduct at Sullivan’s sentencing hearing.  

The District Attorney’s Office for North Carolina’s 25th Prosecutorial District, which includes Burke, Caldwell and Catawba Counties, is handling North Carolina’s prosecution of Sullivan for Clark’s murder.  
            
Sullivan is currently in federal custody.  According to the filed plea agreement, Sullivan pleaded guilty to Count Nine of the Superseding Indictment, which charged him with attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.  Under the plea agreement, the parties have agreed that a sentence of life in prison is an appropriate sentence.

In making today’s announcement, Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord and U.S. Attorney Rose thanked District Attorney David Learner for his office’s continued assistance and coordination.  Both also praised the investigative efforts of the FBI, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation in this case.  Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord and U.S. Attorney Rose also thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Charlotte Division, the U.S. Secret Service, the North Carolina Highway Patrol, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Virginia, the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Hickory Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Savage of the Western District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Gregory R. Gonzalez of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism section. 

Ohio Man Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Plot To Attack U.S. Government Officers

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

Munir Abdulkader, 22, of West Chester, Ohio, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and lifetime supervised release, for plotting to murder a military base employee and attack a Cincinnati area police station in the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord, U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman for the Southern District of Ohio, Special Agent in Charge Angela L. Byers of the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Division, Police Chief Joel Herzog of the West Chester Police Department, Superintendent Colonel Paul A. Pride of the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Police Chief Eliot Isaac of the Cincinnati Police Department announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.

“Using social media to communicate with the now-deceased Syria-based ISIL terrorist Junaid Hussain, Abdulkader coordinated and planned violent murders of military members and police officers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord. “Identifying and stopping such ISIL-directed and inspired plots is and will remain one of our highest priorities.”

“Abdulkader placed himself under the direction and control of an evil foreign terrorist organization and plotted with that organization to conduct multiple murderous attacks in the Cincinnati area,” said U.S. Attorney Glassman.

Abdulkader previously pleaded guilty to attempting to kill officers and U.S. government employees, conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Abdulkader’s plan was to murder a specific employee of a military base at the employee’s home. He planned to videotape the murder so that it could be used in an ISIL propaganda video to further ISIL’s cause. Following the murder, Abdulkader would then launch a violent attack on a police station in the Cincinnati area.

In preparation for the attacks, Abdulkader conducted surveillance of the police station, received a targeting package about the victim, went to a shooting range, learned how to operate certain firearms and practiced shooting the firearms. He also bought an AK-47 assault rifle for the attack.

According to the statement of facts admitted by Abdulkader at the plea hearing, beginning in at least July 2014 and continuing into 2015, Abdulkader expressed his support for ISIL on Twitter accounts. From approximately March 2015 to mid-April 2015, Abdulkader began speaking with a Confidential Human Source (CHS) about his desire and intention to travel to Syria in order to join ISIL as a fighter. 

During that same time, Abdulkader made plans and preparations to travel to Syria to join ISIL as a fighter.  Namely, he secured a passport, saved money for the trip and researched the logistical details of traveling to Syria and joining ISIL. In late April, though, Abdulkader expressed concerns about the ability to travel and postponed his original departure date of May 2, 2015.

During May 2015, Abdulkader was in electronic communication with one or more individuals located overseas who he understood were members of ISIL. One of those individuals was a member of ISIL identified as Junaid Hussein. Through their communications, Junaid Hussein directed and encouraged Abdulkader to plan and execute a violent attack within the U.S.

Abdulkader communicated with Junaid Hussein and the CHS about a plan to kill an identified military employee on account of his position with the U.S. government. The plan included abducting the employee at the employee’s home and filming the execution of the employee.

After killing the employee, Abdulkader planned to execute a violent attack on a police station in the Southern District of Ohio using firearms and Molotov cocktails.

Abdulkader was arrested on May 21, 2015 by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), after a controlled purchase and possession of the AK-47 assault rifle.

The defendant was charged by criminal complaint on May 22, 2015 and a bill of information was filed on March 2. Abdulkader pleaded guilty to the three charges in the information on March 24 before U.S. District Judge Barrett. The court documents and proceedings were unsealed in July.

Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord and U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the JTTF. The JTTF is made up of officers and agents from the Cincinnati Police Department; Colerain Police Department in Cincinnati; Dayton Police Department in Dayton, Ohio; Ohio State Highway Patrol; University of Cincinnati Police Department; U.S. Air Force OSI; FBI; U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement; IRS; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; West Chester Police Department in West Chester, Ohio; and Xenia Police Department in Xenia, Ohio.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Mangan for the Southern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Michael Dittoe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. 

DoD Secretery: 600 Troops to Deploy to Enable Iraqis to Retake Mosul From ISIL

Terri Moon Cronk at the DoD News offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2016 — About 600 American troops will be deployed to Iraq to further enable local security forces as they prepare to retake the key Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said today.

In a statement, the secretary said in anticipation of the Mosul fight, the U.S. and Iraqi governments have agreed that additional U.S. and coalition capabilities could help accelerate the campaign at this critical phase.

Carter said he and Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recommended deployment of the additional troops to President Barack Obama to further enable Iraqi forces, and that the president authorized it with the support and approval of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Gearing Up for Mosul Offensive

The U.S. troops will work in close coordination with the Iraqi government to provide specific capabilities, such as logistics and maintenance support, and train, advise and assist teams for Iraqi security forces and Kurdish peshmerga for the upcoming Mosul operation. Expanded intelligence resources will be used to disrupt ISIL's terrorist network in Iraq and beyond, Carter said.

“The coalition to defeat ISIL continues to achieve results on the battlefield, and I congratulate Iraqi security forces on their recent progress, including the operation to free Sharqat,” he said. “The coalition will continue to increase the pressure on ISIL in Mosul and wherever it seeks refuge in Iraq.”

Increasing Pressure on ISIL

The addition of more than 600 additional troops in the coming weeks will bring the force management level to 5,262 U.S. troops as of today, said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, director of Pentagon press operations.

“We are continuing to increase pressure on ISIL in Mosul in particular and in anticipation of that coming fight … as we close in on Mosul,” Davis said.

While most specific locations cannot be released for security reasons, Davis said, he identified two air bases where the American troops will be sent with specific missions: Al-Asad Air Base in the Euphrates River Valley north of Baghdad, and Qayyarah Air Base near Qayyarah City.

Bringing Capabilities to Air Bases

At Al-Asad Air Base, American troops will provide logistics and maintenance, and help with airfield operations to bring the base to a level that can support a greater pace of operations as the Mosul effort progresses.

Military logisticians will work at Qayyarah Air Base similarly to help the base function as the significant throughput point for the Iraqi forces as they move farther north, he said.

“Mosul is very isolated from the major population centers in Iraq, and to have a throughput point in Qayyarah will allow for greater enabling of our operations there,” Davis said.

The press operations director clarified that the additional train, advise and assist teams and additional intelligence support come under existing authorities. “Nothing is changing in regard to the role of our mission, with the role of what our authorities are to do there,” he noted. “This does not mean any greater role for [U.S.] service members in terms of what their mission is.”

Davis added that the fight remains Iraq’s, and “everything we do there is to support and enable them. They will continue to be the primary trigger-pullers.”

Double-Edged Goal

Two things going on: the retaking of Mosul, and helping to ensure a lasting victory for the Iraqis, Davis said.

“From our perspective, this [force management level] increase has been long anticipated [and] long planned,” he added. “We’ve known there would need to be another additive of capabilities prior to the final push [to Mosul].”

The roughly 600 additional U.S. forces are the number of forces expected to enable Iraq to take on its next major objective of Mosul, Davis said. “There are no major objectives after that,” said he added. “This is it. This is the last big holdout in Iraq for ISIL.”

Note: In the above photo by Marine Corps Army Captain Ryan E. Alvis Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, visiting Task Force Strike, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Qayyarah West Airfield, Iraq on Sept. 23, 2016. 

Elimination Of Adnani Would Be 'Significant Blow' to ISIL, Pentagon Spokesman Says

Lisa Ferdinando a the DoD News offers the below report:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2016 — The elimination of Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani from the battlefield would be a significant blow to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said today.

The coalition targeted Adnani in a strike yesterday near Al Bab, Syria, Cook told reporters at a Pentagon press briefing. Officials are still assessing the results of that precision action, he said.
The coalition had been actively looking for Adnani for some time, he said.

"This is someone who has been a senior leader in ISIL," Cook said. "He's been responsible for ISIL's external plotting and directly responsible for recruiting foreign fighters."

The ISIL senior leader was a spokesman for the terrorists, and was responsible for encouraging attacks against civilians and military personnel in the West, Cook said.

"His elimination would be a significant blow to ISIL,” Cook said, as well as a “significant blow to ISIL's leadership.

The terrorist’s demise also would constitute “a significant step in reducing ISIL's ability to conduct external attacks outside of Iraq and Syria,” the spokesman added.

Successful Precision Strikes

Precision strikes are a key part of the campaign to defeat ISIL, Cook said. The coalition has been focused on and very successful at these strikes over the last months, he said.

"We're going to continue to target ISIL leaders as we have, because we think it has taken a toll on the organization as a whole," Cook said. "It's an important means by which we can weaken ISIL and we're going to continue to do that."

Cook said he had no information to support a Russian claim that its forces had carried out a strike against Adnani.


Regarding the Russian claim, Cook said he wasn’t "going to wager a guess as to why they might have a motive to engage in this and to discuss this and maybe it's just a misunderstanding on their part."

Note: The above U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class J. Alexander Delgado
shows an F/A-18E Super Hornet launching from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Arabian Gulf on Aug. 8, 2016. The Super Hornet is assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 105.

Marine General Dunford Details Implications Of Today’s Threats On Tomorrow’s Strategy

Jim Garamone at the DoD News offers the below piece:

FORT McNAIR, D.C., Aug. 23, 2016 — National security leaders must be able to confront today’s threats, and they must develop and maintain the personnel, strategies and equipment needed for an ever more uncertain world, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the new class at the National Defense University today.

Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford also shared with the members of the class of 2017 his thoughts on the strategic landscape, and the implications to the joint force.

Dunford agrees with assessments that the world is in the most uncertain time since the end of World War II. Still, the U.S. military “is recruiting and retaining quality people,” the chairman said.

“Across the board,” he added, “they are focused. They are committed. They are high quality.”

There are signs of wear in some military specialties and Dunford cited a pilot shortage and the near constant deployments of special operators and other small, but crucial specialties, specifically. But, he noted the closer to a combat environment, the higher the morale.

Assessing Risk

“In the environment we are in today, with the complexity and volatility and variety of challenges we have, how do we assess risk?” he asked. “How do we assess the capabilities or capacities that must exist in the joint force? A part of this is also how to prepare for the unexpected.”

The threat baseline, he said, is four-plus-one: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and violent extremism. Four are nation states that can cause varying degrees of concern. The fifth threat, terrorism, can flare up in any part of the world.

“We use those four state actors and one nonstate actor … to get an appreciation for where is the force relative to where it needs to be,” Dunford said.

He addressed each of the threats starting with the campaign against the core of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraq and Syria. The military campaign against core ISIL is going well, he said. Iraqi security forces have proved in Fallujah and Ramadi that they can take on ISIL and win. They have set the stage for the battle against the terror group in Mosul -- Iraq’s second-largest city and the largest city anywhere under ISIL control.

Fighting ISIL in Iraq

Now, he said, “it is no longer the military campaign that is going to be the determining factor in the success in Iraq. The interactions of governments in Iraq, the role of Shia militia forces, the relationship of the Peshmerga in the north with the Shia and government -- all those things have to be sorted out.”

Meanwhile, the United States is supporting 14,000 Arab fighters and upwards of 30,000 Kurds during the counter-ISIL campaign in Syria, said Dunford, who noted there’s been much ground retaken there from ISIL.

ISIL in Libya

ISIL is not limited to Iraq and Syria and the United States is helping government forces in Libya strike at ISIL in Sirte, Dunford said. The U.S. needs to eliminate the group from the region for ISIL in Libya could be the headquarters for the group throughout Africa and for attacks into Europe, he said.

Dunford said the counter-ISIL campaign in Libya is making progress. “The trajectory that ISIL was on in Libya in January and February was concerning to me, but it is less so today,” the chairman said.

ISIL is also in Afghanistan, West Africa and is trying to gain adherents in Southeast Asia. The United States will confront the group wherever it goes, Dunford said.

The chairman discussed the capabilities that Russia and China are developing. “When I look at Russia, they are modernizing their nuclear enterprise, they are modernizing their submarine force, they are modernizing their conventional capabilities,” he said. All this is being done, he said, despite significant demographic and economic challenges facing Russia.

The U.S. competitive advantage in many of these areas is getting smaller, the chairman said.

Russian Actions

Dunford said he’s concerned about Russia’s behavior, including its annexation of Crimea, its actions in Eastern Ukraine, it threats to Georgia and Moldova, and its aid to Syria.

Russia is engaging in these actions in an attempt, Dunford said, to “undermine the most successful alliance in history -- the NATO alliance.”

He added: “From a U.S. perspective, I would tell you I believe our center of gravity as a nation, through a security lens, is the network of alliances. Russia is trying to erode that.”

Russia and China are separately concentrating on anti-access, area denial strategies, but for similar ends, the chairman said.

The Question of China

China is a bit more opaque, Dunford said. China has invested significant sums in building up its military, including its nuclear enterprise. Its actions in the South China Sea are cause for concern to the United States, the chairman said.

Meanwhile, Iran is trying to spread its influence across the Middle East, he said, and must be carefully monitored. And, the chairman said, North Korea is still building nuclear capabilities and intercontinental missiles and is the most unpredictable nation on the list.

All these risk assessments have implications for the joint force. The first, Dunford said, is the United States must have balanced capabilities. “In other words, we have to have capabilities that range from the nuclear down to conventional and special operations capabilities,” he said. “We as a nation with the challenges out there cannot afford not to have a robust capability.”

Another implication is the United States has to do better at integrating all aspects of the government into strategy and integrating allies and partners into plans, the chairman said.

Finally, the chairman believes any disagreement has the potential to grow to a transregional, multi-domain conflict. 

He cited the example of North Korea. In the 1990s, it was possible that if the armistice broke down, the conflict could be limited to the Korean Peninsula. With ballistic missiles, the cyber threat and conventional attacks, any conflict with North Korea would soon escalate to include the rest of U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Cyber Command.

This calls for a much greater degree of strategic integration in the future, Dunford said. The decision-making processes need to be streamlined, and leaders need a common operational picture. All this requires a strategic framework to build the plans for global operations.  

U.S. Army Lt. General Townsend Takes Command of Operation Inherent Resolve

The Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve Released the below report:

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Aug. 21, 2016 — Army Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commanding general of XVIII Airborne Corps based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, assumed command of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve from Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the commander of III Armored Corps based at Fort Hood, Texas, during a transfer of authority ceremony held here today, according to CJTF-OIR officials.

Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel, U.S. Central Command’s commanding general, presided over the ceremony that was attended by hundreds of U.S. and coalition soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

Pressuring ISIL

Votel expressed confidence in the team from Fort Bragg to continue pressuring the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

"We are very fortunate to be welcoming another great team in Lt. Gen. Steve Townsend and Command Sgt. Maj. Benjamin Jones," Votel said. "The XVIII Airborne Corps has very big shoes to fill, but I know they are up to the task and raring to go!”

Over the last several months, officials said, soldiers from the XVIII Airborne Corps conducted intense training to prepare for the mission.

Townsend highlighted the incredible work already accomplished in the region.

"Over the past year, CJTF-OIR, led by my good friend Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland and his III Armored Corps, and our coalition and regional partners, have done incredible work to degrade and dismantle ISIL's oppressive and brutal regime,” Townsend said.

“Their combined efforts on the ground and in the air have accelerated” the counter-ISIL campaign, Townsend said, pushing ISIL back across the battlefield and achieving remarkable momentum towards ISIL’s ultimate defeat.

MacFarland reflected on the turning point in the campaign against ISIL as Iraqi security forces drove them out of Ramadi, Iraq, in December 2015.

“Now the enemy is in retreat on all fronts and the Iraqi security forces have demonstrated that they can conduct complex and decisive operations," MacFarland said.

Counter-ISIL Accomplishments

Some key accomplishments achieved during the III Armored Corps tour include:

-- Trained more than 13,500 members of the Iraqi security forces including over 4,000 Iraqi soldiers, 1,500 counter-terrorism service soldiers, 6,000 Peshmerga, almost 1,000 federal police and 300 border guards.

-- Increased emphasis on police training and recruiting tribal forces, adding 5,000 trained local police and over 20,000 tribal fighters enrolled.

-- Conducted about 50,000 counter-ISIL sorties in the past year, in which more than 30,000 munitions were dropped on the enemy with approximately two-thirds of those in Iraq and about one-third in Syria.

-- These strikes have enabled the liberation of more than 25,000 total square kilometers from ISIL. That's nearly half of the territory the enemy once controlled in Iraq and 20 percent of the territory they once controlled in Syria.

-- Conducted more than 200 strikes against oil and natural gas activities of the enemy, which reduced their oil revenue stream by approximately 50 percent.

-- Vigorously attacked enemy leadership, command-and-control and weapons manufacturing capability, to include more than 25 bulk cash storage sites, resulting in at least half-a-billion dollars destroyed.

Townsend shared his vision for the CJTF-OIR mission ahead.

“Let me say for all to hear -- friend and foe alike -- we will continue the attack against ISIL, and we will defeat them in Iraq and Syria on our watch," Townsend said.

The XVIII Airborne Corps most recently returned from deployment in Afghanistan in December 2014, where in Afghanistan it led the NATO operational headquarters in Kabul, the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command.

Note: In the above DoD photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brigitte N. Brantly, Defense Secretary Ash Carter appears Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend.

Cincinnati-Area Man Pleads Guilty To Terrorism Charges

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

Christopher Lee Cornell, 22, of Green Township, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to one count of attempting to kill government employees, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

The plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman of the Southern District of Ohio and Special Agent in Charge Angela L. Byers of the FBI’s Cincinnati Division.  Cornell pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith of the Southern District of Ohio.

Cornell was originally charged by an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Jan. 21, 2015.  On May 7, 2015, Cornell was additionally charged by superseding indictment with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.  

According to the plea agreement, from on or about August 2014 through January 2015, Cornell plotted, planned and attempted to travel to Washington, D.C., in order to attack the U.S. Capitol during the State of the Union Address on January 20, 2015.

Cornell admitted that he conducted online research of weapons, the construction of bombs, the U.S. Capitol and other potential targets in the Washington, D.C., area.  Cornell intended to kill officers and employees of the United States, and possessed two semi-automatic rifles and approximately 600 rounds of ammunition, according to the plea agreement.

The defendant admitted that his planned attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attempt to provide material support and resources – both personnel and services – to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The material support count carries a potential maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.  Attempted murder of government employees and officials is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.  Possession of a firearm in furtherance of an attempted crime of violence is a crime punishable by a mandatory sentence of five years in prison.

Cornell was arrested on Jan. 14, 2015, by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).  After his arrest, he posted statements online that included a call for others to join him in violent jihad against the United States and its citizens on behalf of ISIL, according to his admissions in the plea agreement.

The JTTF is made up of officers and agents from the Cincinnati Police Department; Colerain, Ohio, Police Department; Dayton, Ohio, Police Department; Ohio State Highway Patrol; University of Cincinnati Police Department; U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations; FBI; U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Internal Revenue Service; U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; West Chester, Ohio, Police Department; and Xenia, Ohio, Police Department.

Assistant Attorney General Carlin and Acting U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the JTTF for its investigation of this case.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Michael Dittoe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Mangan of the Southern District of Ohio. 

U.S. Apache Helicopters Join Counter-ISIL Fight, Defense Secretary Carter Says

The DoD News offers the below report:

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2016 — U.S. Apache helicopters have entered the fight in Iraq against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters yesterday.

"Commanders have used the Apache capability that we positioned there and that [President Barack Obama] authorized them to use some months ago," Carter said as he traveled to Brussels for meetings with his fellow NATO defense ministers. .

An ISIL target in Iraq was destroyed in an Apache strike, Carter said, noting this is the "first time that it's been called into action, and effectively" in the ISIL fight.

U.S. and Iraqi commanders decided the aircraft "could be effective in helping those forces that are positioning themselves for the two-forked envelopment of Mosul," Carter said.

"That's what it was used for -- to help them along their way," he added.

The June 12 strike was in support of Iraqi security forces operating in the Tigris River Valley, a Defense Department spokesman said, adding that the strike was vetted and approved through the same process the coalition uses for all strikes.

"The Apache strike destroyed [an ISIL] vehicle-borne improvised explosive device near Qayyarah, Iraq," the spokesman said.

Note: In the above A U.S. Army photo taken by Staff Sgt. Ian M. Kummer, AH-64 Apache helicopter from the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade takes off from Forward Operating Base Dahlke, Afghanistan on May 18, 2016.

An American Hero: Military Spokesman Describes Battle That Left Navy SEAL Dead In Iraq

Terri Moon Cronk at the DoD News offers the below report:

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2016 — The Navy SEAL killed in a battle yesterday with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters responded to an early attack on peshmerga units about 2 miles behind the forward line of troops, Army Col. Steven Warren, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, said today.

Defense Department officials today identified the Navy SEAL as Petty Officer 1st Class Charles H. Keating IV, 31, of San Diego (seen in the above U.S. Navy photo).

In a teleconference briefing with Pentagon reporters from Baghdad, Warren said Keating responded to the ISIL attack on the peshmerga forces as part of a U.S. quick-reaction force in the village of Tal Asquf at about 7:30 a.m.

“ISIL forces breached the peshmerga forward lines,” he said. “At [7:50 a.m.], the Americans there became involved in the ensuing firefight and called in a quick-reaction force,” he said.

“It is a group of very well-armed, very well-equipped, very well-trained American service members whose mission is to stand by, stand at the ready, when American forces are operating,” he said.
Keating was struck by direct fire shortly after 9:30 a.m., and though he was evacuated within what Warren called the “all-important golden hour” between being wounded and receiving medical treatment, his wound was not survivable.

“Our deepest heartfelt condolences go out to that American service member and his family,” Warren said. “He is an American hero. This is a reminder of the risk our men and women face every day supporting the fight against ISIL.”

ISIL Attack Was Large-Scale

“We think there were at least 125 enemy fighters involved in this fairly complicated, complex attack. So it was a big fight -- one of the largest we've seen recently,” the colonel said.

With several peshmerga outposts in the area, the force rapidly generated its series of counterattack forces, which numbered in the hundreds for the counterattack and regained control of Tal Asquf, Warren added.

No other coalition or American forces were injured, he said, but he added that both medical evacuation helicopters were damaged by small-arms fire. The peshmerga casualty numbers are not yet known, Warren said.

“Coalition air responded with 31 strikes taken by 11 manned aircraft and two drones,” he said. “Air power destroyed 20 enemy vehicles, two truck bombs, three mortar systems [and] one bulldozer, [and] 58 ISIL terrorists were killed.”

ISIL Enters Battle in ‘Technicals’

Operation Inherent Resolve officials believe the attack is likely linked to a string of recent ISIL defeats and ongoing pressure, Warren said, adding that such a pattern has been observed.
“When they are back on their heels, they often will try a high-profile, high-visibility attack to gain some attention,” he told reporters.

ISIL moves into battle with vehicles the coalition calls “technicals,” Warren said, an all-encompassing term for homemade gun trucks. “They throw together these … ‘Jed Clampett’ [vehicles], bolt a machine gun onto the hood of a pickup truck, Gremlin or whatever they can find with four wheels and an engine,” he said.


ISIL troop-carrying vehicles have no standardization, he said. “This is a nonstandard military force that we're facing,” he said, “so it's a little bit of everything, … [and] we've destroyed 20 of them.”

Two Individuals Charged In Superseding Indictment With Conspiring To Commit Acts Of Terrorism Transcending National Boundaries

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

Today, David Daoud Wright, aka Dawud Sharif Abdul Khaliq, aka Dawud Sharif Abdul Khaliq, 26, of Everett, Massachusetts, and Nicholas Alexander Rovinski, aka Nuh Amriki, aka Nuh Andalusi, 25, of Warwick, Rhode Island, were charged in a superseding indictment with conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts and Special Agent in Charge Harold H. Shaw of the FBI’s Boston Division.

This charge, as well as additional conspiracy allegations, were included in a new superseding indictment against Wright and Rovinski today.  A grand jury in June 2015, charged them with conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).  The indictment also charged Wright with conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice. 

Wright and Rovinski are charged with conspiring with each other, known and unknown conspirators, and Usaamah Abdullah Rahim, 26, Wright’s uncle, to provide material support to ISIL and commit acts of terrorism that transcended national boundaries.  On June 2, 2015, Rahim was shot and killed after he attacked law enforcement officers in a Roslindale, Massachusetts, parking lot. 

The superseding indictment alleges that, beginning in at least February 2015, Wright began discussing ISIL’s call to kill non-believers in the United States with Rahim and Rovinski and they began plotting and recruiting members for their “martyrdom” operation.  In March 2015, Wright drafted organizational documents for a “Martyrdom Operations Cell” and conducted Internet search queries about firearms, the effectiveness of tranquilizers on human subjects and the establishment of secret militias in the United States.  Simultaneously, Rahim was communicating with ISIL members overseas, including Junaid Hussain.  On Aug. 24, 2015, Hussain was killed in an airstrike in Raqqah, Syria. 

As alleged in the indictment, beginning in or about May 2015, Hussain allegedly communicated directly with Rahim.  Rahim in turn communicated Hussain’s instructions to Wright, with regard to the murder of an individual residing in New York.  Wright, Rovinski and Rahim each allegedly conspired to commit attacks and kill persons inside the United States on behalf of ISIL.  In preparation for their attack, Rovinski conducted research on weapons that could be used to behead their victims.  Since being arrested, Rovinski has sought to continue their planned attacks and has written letters to Wright from prison discussing ways to take down the U.S. government and decapitate non-believers.   

The charge of conspiracy to provide material support provides a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a lifetime term of supervised release and a $250,000 fine; conspiracy to obstruct justice provides a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine; obstruction of justice provides a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine; conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries provides a maximum sentence of life in prison, lifetime supervised release and a $250,000 fine.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This investigation is being conducted by the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the Rhode Island JTTF with critical assistance from the Boston Police Department; Boston Regional Intelligence Center; Massachusetts State Police; Commonwealth Fusion Center; Everett Police Department; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Rhode Island State Police; Warwick, Rhode Island, Police Department; Rhode Island Fusion Center; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; and member agencies of the JTTF.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Stephanie Siegmann of the District of Massachusetts’s National Security Unit and Trial Attorney Greg R. Gonzalez of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.

Defense Secretary Carter: U.S. Military Targets Key ISIL Terrorists

Cheryl Pellerin at the DoD News offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2016 — The U.S. military killed several key Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists this week, including a senior ISIL leader and finance minister who led certain external affairs and plots, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said here today.

During a Pentagon press briefing, joined by Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Carter said the coalition is systematically eliminating ISIL's cabinet, including Haji Imam.

“He was a well-known terrorist within ISIL's ranks, dating back to its earliest iteration as al-Qaida in Iraq when he worked under [the group’s leader Abu Musab al-] Zarqawi as its liaison for operations with Pakistan,” the secretary said.

Hampering ISIL Operations

“The removal of this ISIL leader will hamper the organization's ability … to conduct operations both inside and outside of Iraq and Syria,” he said.

Carter said Imam is the second senior ISIL leader the coalition has killed this month. Earlier this month defense officials confirmed the death of ISIL's so-called minister of war, Abu Omar al-Shishani, known as Omar the Chechen.

When the fight against ISIL accelerated a few months ago, the secretary said, the coalition began with storage sites where ISIL holds its cash, and now the leader who oversees all funding for ISIL operations is dead, hurting the terrorist army’s ability to pay fighters and hire recruits.

“Our campaign plan is first and foremost to collapse ISIL's parent tumor in Iraq and Syria, focusing on its power centers in Raqqa and Mosul,” he added.

Repelling Counterattacks

In Syria, coalition-supported local forces recently took the town of Shaddadi, repelled ISIL's counterattacks and ultimately severed the main artery between Syria and northern Iraq, making it harder for ISIL's leaders and forces to travel between Raqqa and Mosul, Carter said.

Iraqi forces have moved from their staging base at Makhmur and are advancing to new positions as part of the early stages of operations to collapse ISIL's control over Mosul, the defense secretary added.
U.S. Marines near Makhmur now are providing artillery fire there at Iraq’s request, he said, to help protect and support the Iraqi advance against ISIL.

“In both Syria and Iraq we're seeing important steps to shape what will become crucial battles in the months to come,” Carter said.

Relentless Pressure

As local partners move forward, the coalition continues to bring relentless pressure on ISIL commanders in Mosul, the secretary added.

Along with killing Imam, U.S. forces targeted Abu Sara, a top ISIL leader charged with paying fighters in northern Iraq, and several ISIL associates who were directly involved in external plotting and training, he said.

“These precise actions came after recent strikes that destroyed a significant quantity of improvised explosive devices and bomb-making equipment that could have been used against our partners headed for Mosul,” Carter added, noting that the actions are believed to be successful and damaging to ISIL.

Campaign Momentum

The defense secretary said the momentum of the campaign against ISIL is clearly on the coalition’s side.

“The United States military will continue to work intensively with our coalition partners to build on this progress, as our counterparts throughout our governments work to defend our homelands at the same time,” he said.

Carter also announced that yesterday he and his Saudi counterpart, Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman, agreed to convene a U.S.-Gulf Cooperation defense ministerial on April 20 in Riyadh ahead of President Barack Obama's participation in the U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council leaders’ summit there the next day.

“This will be an important forum to build on our counter-ISIL defense ministerial in Brussels last month,” Carter said.


The meeting also will strengthen U.S.-GCC defense partnerships by allowing participants to review and discuss the way ahead for joint regional defense initiatives that all committed to during the 2015 US-GCC Camp David Summit last May, the secretary added.

Note: In the above DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Tim D. Godbee, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, answer questions about efforts against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during a news conference at the Pentagon, March 25, 2016.

Northcom’s First Priority Is ‘No-Fail’ Homeland Defense, Commander Says

Cheryl Pellerin at the DoD News offers the below report:

WASHINGTON March 11, 2016 — Homeland defense is the first priority of U.S. Northern Command, Navy Adm. William E. Gortney told members of the House Armed Services Committee yesterday.

Gortney wears two hats as commander of Northcom and of North American Aerospace Defense Command, both headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The admiral testified before the panel on how the fiscal year 2017 DoD budget request impacts Northcom and NORAD. He also discussed command operations.

Homeland defense, the admiral told the panel, “is a no-fail mission and it's just as important today as when NORAD and Northcom were established, with one single commander responsible for the defense of our homeland through the many domains of air, space, maritime, land and cyber.”
Within cybersecurity, he added, Northcom’s responsibility is to defend its own networks.

Terrorist, Criminal Threats

Gortney named the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and whatever form it takes in the future, and transnational organized criminals who move drugs, people, weapons and anything else that will turn a profit as the most dangerous and likely threats to the nation.

Terrorist organizations and global criminal networks exploit what the admiral calls “seams” between nations in North, Central and South America; seams between the government agencies of those nations; and seams created by inadequate authorities, resources and training of many of the same agencies.

“And yes,” he added, “seams created by the geographic boundaries of our combatant command structure, seams for which [Navy Adm. Kurt W. Tidd, commander of U.S. Southern Command] and I are accountable to close while we work the military-to-military effort or our nation's whole-of-government approach to the many shared challenges within North, Central and South America.”
Today's evolving and resurgent threats are a function of the return to great power competition and the continuing threat of global terrorism, Gortney said.

Evolving Threats

These threats, he said, create vulnerabilities best mitigated through an integrated and binational approach across multiple domains that requires an integrated defense in the air, in space, on and under the sea and on land domains.

As a result, he said, “together NORAD and Northcom have evolved well past our Cold War and 9/11 origins and are today inseparable.”

The commands work seamlessly together to defend the homeland in the air through NORAD and the remaining domains through Northcom, facing the traditional and nontraditional threats in our assigned battle space, Gortney said.

NORAD and Northcom are focused on unity of command and effort, he said, two commands but a single integrated headquarters, organized and trained to face the diverse array of evolving national security threats.

Traditional, Nontraditional Threats

Traditional military threats now exist created by the return of great power competition as illustrated by the recent actions of Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, Gortney said.

Regarding nontraditional threats, the admiral said his main concerns involve homegrown violent extremists who are self-radicalized and don’t actively communicate with ISIL.

“To counter this threat I'm a support team commander to the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the many law enforcement agencies engaged in this crucial fight,” Gortney explained.

“These extremists are targeting soft Department of Defense [targets],” he said, “Department of Defense personnel and facilities and our own fellow citizens. This is what occurred in Chattanooga on a DoD facility and in San Bernardino against our nation's civilian population.”

Close Partners

As the commander accountable for setting the force protection condition of DoD facilities in the continental United States, Gortney said, Northcom works closely with the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps “to balance the enduring nature of this threat with the services' ability to complete the many missions they have here in the homeland.”

Homeland partnerships also enable Northcom-NORAD success, he said.

Northcom partners continuously with the interagency, the admiral said. Partners include National Guard airmen and soldiers, the intelligence community, law enforcement agencies and the Department of Homeland Security, which is Northcom’s closest partner, he said.

“Our mission partners maintain nearly 60 liaison officers in our headquarters and these patriots are fully embedded in … our intel organization,” Gortney said, noting that building partnership capacity is vital to Northcom’s mission.

At Northcom, he added, 70 percent of major exercises -- involving nearly 200 each year -- are focused on mission partners as the primary target audience.


“We call this state-of-security cooperation within the homeland. This is Northcom supporting our mission partners and our mission partners supporting us,” Gortney said, “which is why we view these homeland partnerships as our center of gravity.”

Note: In the above Air Force photo taken by T.C. Perkins Jr., airmen from the 6th Air Refueling Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., fly a KC-10 Extender mission to support aerial refuel operations for fighter aircraft conducting patrols of the airspace surrounding Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, Calif., Feb. 7, 2016. The refueling operation was part of a North American Aerospace Defense Command mission in conjunction with NORAD’s air component Continental North American Aerospace Defense Command Region. NORAD ensures United States and Canadian air sovereignty through a network of alert fighter, tankers, airborne early warning aircraft, and ground based air defense assets cued by interagency and defense surveillance radars.

You can click on the photo to enlarge.

Information From Captured ISIL Leader Enables Counter-Chemical Strikes

Karen Parrish at the DoD News offers the below report:

WASHINGTON, March 10, 2016 — The U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has launched multiple airstrikes against the terrorist group’s chemical weapons capabilities, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook (seen in the above DoD photo) told reporters today.

Cook said the strikes were based, in part, on information provided by an ISIL captive.

During an operation in Iraq in February, Cook said, coalition forces captured Sulayman Dawud al-Bakkar, also known as Abu Dawud, ISIL's “emir” of chemical and traditional weapons manufacturing.

His capture removed a key ISIL leader from the battlefield and provided the coalition with important information about ISIL's chemical weapons facilities, production, and the people involved, the press secretary noted. Dawud was transferred earlier today into the custody of Iraq’s government, Cook added.

“We’re confident that the strikes that have been conducted have disrupted and degraded [ISIL’s] chemical weapons capabilities,” he said.

Chemical Strikes ‘Another Component’ of Campaign

While the chemical program may not have been “knocked out in full,” Cook said, “we feel confident that we’ve made a difference … and this information was very helpful in conducting these strikes.”
The information collected “will continue to inform our operations in the future,” the press secretary added.

Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve airstrikes have targeted ISIL units, equipment, oil refining and transport operations, cash collection centers and now chemical sites, he said.

“We feel good about what’s been accomplished here,” Cook said. “And … we’re not done.”
ISIL has shown its willingness to use chemical weapons, the press secretary said.


“We’ve seen their use demonstrated in Syria and Iraq,” he said, “and we’re going to continue to do everything we can, working with our coalition partners, and of course the Iraqi government as well, to try and address the use of these agents.”

Special Operators’ Challenges Call For New Priorities Officials Say

Terri Moon Cronk at the DoD News offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2016 — Expanding global conflicts require new priorities for U.S. special operations forces, the principal deputy assistant secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict told the House Armed Services Committee’s emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee here yesterday.

Theresa Whelan, performing the duties of the assistant secretary of defense for SOLIC, and  Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (seen in the above photo), described the existing special operations forces enterprise and U.S. ability to address security concerns with special operations forces today and in the future.

“Our SOF personnel work in an environment where global conflict has expanded beyond the physical to dimensions such as cyber space, the social media sphere and bio warfare,” Whelan said.

“Individuals, illicit networks and terrorist groups such as [the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant] can disrupt economies, interrupt the flow of information and perpetrate significant violence, destabilizing countries and entire regions.”

Other nations, some of which are U.S. peers, she said, also are making use of the new technologies to enhance aggressive, asymmetric tactics.

SOF’s Small Footprint

“In the face of this evolving strategic landscape, the ability of SOF to operate unobtrusively with a small footprint in contested environments is becoming ever more crucial,” she said.

Whelan described some major priorities for special operations forces as they operate in the new environment, such as developing the best personnel and equipping them with cutting-edge technologies.

“Such technologies mean constantly improving existing platforms, equipment and gear, and investing in new, innovative technologies,” she said, and she emphasized the importance of building strong working relationships with allied and partner nations in the special operations realm.

Boosting other nation's special operations capabilities would give the United States potential to leverage such forces along with its unique authorities, Whelan said, citing the Counter Terrorism Partnership Fund, which boosted the nation’s most important tool, the Global Train and Equip Authority.

“Our counterdrug authorities permit SOF and other DoD components to work with U.S. partner-nation law enforcement to help counter drug trafficking and other forms of transnational organized crime, which can serve as a source of funding for terrorists, insurgents, and other threat networks,” Whelan said.

SOF’s Best Asset

“Our people are our greatest asset,” Votel said. “They are adaptive, bold, and innovative. Through persistent presence in harm's way they allow us to see opportunities early and they routinely deliver strategic impacts with the smallest of footprints.”

But sacrifices special operations personnel make do not come without a cost, he said, emphasizing what he called his strongest point by thanking the committee for its devotion to the well-being and resilience of special operators and their families.

“Because of congressional support, their emotional, social, psychological, and physical health are in good hands,” Votel said.

Changing Global Challenges

Votel agreed with Whelan on the changing global environment. “We are in an era of rapidly shifting power, with competition and conflict between both state and nonstate actors -- actors who are increasingly ambiguous and transregional,” he said.

As a result, Votel said, “this past year we focused on gaining a deeper understanding of today's gray zone challenges.  We restructured operational rhythm to focus on the transregional nature of violent extremist organizations. Given this violent -- given this complex security environment, the demand for SOF skills is understandably high.”

Special operations forces should not be expanded or mass-produced because of significant risk, Votel said, noting that the force is deployed with external support and dependent upon its service partners.
“U.S. Socom is fully dependent upon and integrated with our service partners,” he said. “They provide our people much of the equipment we operate and the critical enabling forces we depend upon on a daily basis around the globe.”

Not only does Socom rely on SOF-specific enhancements to service-managed program, he  noted, but the ability to operate stands on service-provided capabilities, such as infrastructure, transportation, communications, [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance], and close air support, Votel added.
“Alongside our colleagues in the services we are grateful for the budget stability forged out of last year's agreement,” the Socom commander said. “And we remain hopeful for similar stability beyond 2017.”


Congressional oversight of Socom’s efforts to man, train, equip and employ special operations forces remains critical as it “confronts an increasingly complex security environment,” Votel said.

FBI Director Briefs Congressional Subcommittee On Key Threats And Challenges

The FBI released the below information:

FBI Director James Comey, appearing today before the House Appropriations Committee’s Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, provided members an overview of the FBI’s fiscal year 2017 budget request and explained how the requested resources are critical to the Bureau’s ability to address existing and emerging national security and criminal threats.

Some of those threats, according to the Director’s statement, are terrorism—in particular, the threats posed by foreign fighters, including those recruited from the U.S., traveling to join ISIL—and homegrown violent extremists; foreign intelligence and espionage activities, especially the growing problem of the insider threat; the most dangerous and malicious cyber threats from state-sponsored hackers, hackers for hire, organized cyber syndicates, and terrorists; and serious criminal threats such as public corruption, Internet-facilitated sexual exploitation of children, violent gangs, corporate fraud, and international criminal enterprises.

Comey also said that resources are needed to close gaps in operational capabilities, including enhancements to cyber investigative capabilities, the mitigation of threats from foreign intelligence services and insiders, investments related to the Going Dark initiative, improvements to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and operation and maintenance costs of the new Biometrics Technology Center.

Note: You can read his full statement via the below link:

https://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/fbi-budget-request-for-fiscal-year-2017