“For more than 15 years, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
(CISA) and its predecessor organization have helped keep communities safe
through the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. The
threat is not theoretical. The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, exposed our very real vulnerability to chemical terrorism.
Using the CFATS standards, CISA keeps dangerous chemicals out of the hands of
terrorists and other malicious actors by identifying facilities that possess
certain high-risk chemicals and ensuring they have critical security measures
in place. This is an essential element of homeland security: An attack on one
of these U.S. chemical facilities could be as lethal as a nuclear blast. On
Tuesday, leaders from across the chemical industry will come together to
discuss the state of chemical security. This year’s gathering comes amid the
backdrop of Congress failing to reauthorize the program, leaving CISA unable to
perform this vital national security function.”











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Eye on Extremism



August 29, 2023



The Washington Post: America’s Fight Against Chemical Terrorism Is At Risk
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“For more than 15 years, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
(CISA) and its predecessor organization have helped keep communities safe
through the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. The
threat is not theoretical. The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, exposed our very real vulnerability to chemical terrorism.
Using the CFATS standards, CISA keeps dangerous chemicals out of the hands of
terrorists and other malicious actors by identifying facilities that possess
certain high-risk chemicals and ensuring they have critical security measures
in place. This is an essential element of homeland security: An attack on one
of these U.S. chemical facilities could be as lethal as a nuclear blast. On
Tuesday, leaders from across the chemical industry will come together to
discuss the state of chemical security. This year’s gathering comes amid the
backdrop of Congress failing to reauthorize the program, leaving CISA unable to
perform this vital national security function.”



Reuters: Al Shabaab Counter-Attack Inflicts Losses On Somali Troops
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“An attack over the weekend by al Shabaab militants against Somali army
troops waging an offensive against them left dozens of soldiers wounded and an
unknown number killed, soldiers involved and hospital officials said. The raid
targeted troops in the town of Cowsweyne, which had been captured from the al
Qaeda-linked militants days earlier as part of the largest offensive against al
Shabaab in years. The military campaign in the centre of the country began last
year and has intensified in recent days, leading to the capture of the
militants' stronghold of El Buur on Friday. But the attack in Cowsweyne the
following day highlighted the military's vulnerability to counter-attacks in
areas where al Shabaab has long been entrenched. Somalia's government has only
said that the attack was foiled. Military spokespeople and the interior
minister did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.”



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approaches to combating terrorism in our society. Our frank discussions cover
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Iraq



i24: Iraq Executes Three Convicted For Islamic State Blast That Killed Hundreds

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“Iraq executed three individuals on Monday who were convicted of their
involvement in a 2016 Baghdad bombing, an attack claimed by the Islamic State
group that resulted in the deaths of more than 320 people. The bombing,
occurring on July 3, 2016 in the Karrada shopping area, was one of the
deadliest terrorist acts globally since the 9/11 attacks. During the incident,
a car bombing wreaked havoc in Baghdad as people gathered for the Eid al-Fitr
festival marking the end of Ramadan. Flames ignited by the explosion engulfed
shopping centers, trapping victims due to a lack of emergency exits. The
initial explosion, set off by plastic explosives and ammonium nitrate loaded in
a minibus, was followed by devastating fires that complicated the
identification of the deceased. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani,
addressing victims' families, revealed that the three convicts were sentenced
to death for their roles in the terrorist attack.”



Reuters: Iran Says Iraq Has Agreed To Disarm And Relocate Kurdistan Militants
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“Iran and Iraq have reached an agreement that "armed terrorist groups" in
Iraq's Kurdistan region will be disarmed and relocated next month, Iran's
foreign ministry said on Monday. "An agreement has been struck between Iran and
Iraq, in which Iraq has committed to disarm armed separatists and terrorist
groups present in its territory, close their bases, and relocate them to other
locations before the 19th of September," ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said
at a weekly briefing. The spokesperson did not specify where the militants
would be relocated to. An Iraqi foreign ministry spokesman did not respond to a
request for comment, but a security adviser to the Iraqi prime minister, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Iran was demanding the
disarmament of opposition groups in Iraqi Kurdistan and their relocation to
refugee camps. This demand was outlined in the border security agreement signed
by Iraq and Iran in Baghdad in March, he added.”



Afghanistan



Wall Street Journal: ‘If They Recognize Me, They Will Kill Me.’ The Grinding
Terror Of An Afghan Interpreter Who Helped The U.S.
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“Ahmad Jawed wakes at 7 a.m. in a daily routine that has so far kept him
alive. He packs milk and bread into the backpacks of his 9-year-old son and
6-year-old daughter and walks them to school, hoping to pass unnoticed. There
and back, he wears sunglasses, a pandemic-era surgical mask and the type of
skull cap worn by Pashtuns, the ethnicity of most Taliban. When he returns to
the family’s fourth-floor apartment in Kabul, he has breakfast with his wife,
Palwasha. After the meal, she leaves for work as a hospital midwife, the
family’s sole supporter. Jawed spends the rest of the day at home with his
3-year-old daughter, tapping at his laptop and watching TV, afraid to venture
outside, trapped in idle humiliation. “I live like a prisoner,” he said. A
decade ago, Jawed worked as an interpreter for U.S. Special Forces in
Afghanistan, a popular aide-de-camp known as A.J. He served as the voice of
American troops on missions to capture or kill suspected Taliban militants in
far-flung rural villages. With the Taliban now in charge, he is one of the
hunted.”



The Guardian: ‘Despair Is Settling In’: Female Suicides On Rise In Taliban’s
Afghanistan
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“First, her dreams of becoming a doctor were dashed by the Taliban’s ban on
education. Then her family set up a forced marriage to her cousin, a heroin
addict. Latifa* felt her future had been snatched away. “I had two options: to
marry an addict and live a life of misery or take my own life,” said the
18-year-old in a phone interview from her home in central Ghor province. “I
chose the latter.” It was not an isolated act of desperation. Since the Taliban
took control of Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, there has been a disturbing
surge in the number of women taking their own lives or attempting to do so,
data collected from public hospitals and mental health clinics across a third
of Afghanistan’s provinces shows. Taliban authorities have not published data
on suicides and have barred health workers from sharing up-to-date statistics
in multiple provinces, medics say. Health workers agreed to privately share
figures for the year from August 2021 to August 2022 to highlight an urgent
public health crisis. The data suggests Afghanistan has become one of very few
countries worldwide where more women than men die by suicide.”



Fox News: 2 Years After US Withdrawal Afghanistan Resistance Group Yearns For
Western Help As They Take On Taliban
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“The Taliban have doubled down with its extremist rule over Afghanistan since
the withdrawal of U.S. forces almost two years ago, but a national resistance
movement emerged immediately after with the hope of ending the Islamic regime
in Kabul. The Taliban’s growing repression, contrary to their assurances after
seizing power in August 2021, has not stopped the National Resistance Front
(NRF) from continuing operations against Taliban rule. "Today, especially this
fighting season, we have been successful in challenging the Taliban in many
parts of Afghanistan beyond our base in the remote valleys of the Hindu Kush
mountains," Ali Maisam Nazary, head of foreign relations for the NRF, told Fox
News Digital. "We have launched successful guerrilla operations in eastern
provinces like Nangarhar, Laghman and Nuristan. The same in the North and
Central Afghanistan. The reason for this is that the people of Afghanistan are
more convinced today than two years ago that an armed struggle is the only way
to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan."”



Middle East



The Times Of Israel: Gallant Warns UN Chief: Potential For Violence Growing
Amid Hezbollah Provocations
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“Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that the likelihood of an outbreak
of violence with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon was
mounting, calling on United Nations peacekeepers to work to reduce the recently
raised tensions. Gallant made the comments during a closed-door meeting with
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at UN headquarters in New
York, his office said in a statement. “The potential for a violent escalation
on Israel’s northern border is growing, as a result of flagrant violations by
the Iranian-backed Hezbollah,” Gallant said in remarks provided by his office
in English. “The UN must act immediately.” The minister demanded an “immediate
UN intervention in deescalating tensions” by strengthening and increasing the
freedom of movement of a peacekeeping force, known as the United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon, in the border area.”



The Times Of Israel: Hezbollah Terror Chief Threatens Israel After Warning
From Netanyahu
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“The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group, Hassan Nasrallah, threatens
Israel, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas and other “Iranian
proxies” against targeting Israel. “For any Israeli assassination against a
Lebanese, Palestinian, Iranian person or anyone else, that is carried out on
Lebanese territory — there will be a severe reaction and we will not be silent
about it,” Nasrallah says. “We will not allow a return to assassinations in
Lebanon and we will not accept changes to the rules of conflict. Israel must
understand this,” Nasrallah says.”



Nigeria



Reuters: Nigerian Army Rescues Children Among Dozens Who Were Abducted By
Islamic Rebels In The Northeast
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“Nigerian security forces have rescued dozens of “captives mostly women and
children held by Islamic extremist rebels in the country’s hard-hit
northeastern region, the army said. The Nigerian army said late Monday the 25
captives were rescued during “clearance operations” by its troops in Borno
state’s Gwoza district, a hotbed for the jihadi violence that has upended lives
and livelihoods in the region since 2009, when Boko Haram extremists launched
an insurgency. Fourteen of the captives were first to be rescued on Saturday in
Gobara village while 11 others were freed on Sunday when troops raided the
rebel hideout in Gava village, both around 130 kilometers (80 miles) from Borno
state capital, Maiduguri, said army spokeman Onyema Nwachukwu. The army shared
pictures of the freed hostages that included toddlers. Most of them looked
malnourished and wore worn-out clothes, suggesting that they might have been
held for a long time.”



Somalia



Garowe Online: Somalia: Danab Forces Kill Over 47 Al-Shabaab Fighters
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“The elite commandos; the Danab Special Forces have killed over 47 Al-Shabaab
militants in the latest crackdown, just ahead of operations against the group
in Jubaland and Southwest states, which is set to be activated in due course
according to observers. The operation on Sunday comes just a few hours after
the Somali National Army reportedly suffered immense losses in Oswein village
within central Somalia, with the government remaining silent over the tragedy
that has been widely shared by several eyewitnesses. Arab Dheeg Ahmed, the
commander of the 5th unit of Danab Special Forces, said the operation was
activated at Yaq Dabey area in Lower Jubba where the militants have been
plotting an attack against innocent civilians and members of security teams in
frontline states across Somalia.”



Mali



Voice Of America: Islamist Blockade On Timbuktu Stops Food And Aid As Prices
Spike
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“A two-week blockade by Islamist militants has created food and aid shortages
in the ancient city of Timbuktu, the mayor and residents said, as security
deteriorates across much of northern and eastern Mali. Timbuktu, a UNESCO World
Heritage site and a fabled seat of Islamic learning on the edge of the Sahara
desert, has been surrounded by violence ever since French forces liberated it
from militants in 2013 after an uprising. The unrest, driven by local
affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State, has intensified over the past year
after the West African country's military leaders kicked out French troops,
asked United Nations' peacekeepers to leave, and teamed up with Russian private
military contractor Wagner Group. A local al Qaeda affiliate, known as JNIM,
has blocked the roads to Timbuktu since around Aug. 13, residents said, cutting
food staples and stopping humanitarian aid to the remote city of some 35,000
people whose economy has already been dented by the years of violence.”



India



Hindustan Times: Pushing Bangladesh May Aid Extremist Forces, India Indicates
To US
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“The Indian side conveyed its concerns on this issue to the US during several
recent interactions, the people said on condition of anonymity. New Delhi also
believes US pressure on the issue of free and fair elections could push
Bangladesh closer to China, a development that can have ramifications for the
region, they said. While the Indian side has made it clear that it too wants a
free and fair election process in Bangladesh, it has conveyed to the US
leadership that too much pressure in this regard will only end up encouraging
the extremist and fundamentalist forces the Sheikh Hasina government has
successfully kept at bay, the people said. Besides sanctions imposed on
Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a paramilitary force, and several
senior RAB officials in December 2021, the US threatened visa sanctions in May
2023 against Bangladeshi nationals believed to be involved in actions that
undermine the election process. These actions include use of measures to
prevent political parties, civil society or the media from disseminating their
views.”



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