Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Russia, Iran tighten trade ties amid US sanctions Carnegie Moscow Center's Andrei Kolesnikov: Putin against history Iranian officer killed in Tehran was involved in plot to kill Israeli diplomat, U.S. General Iran used secret U.N. records to evade nuclear probes Taliban morality police tighten their grip on Afghan women Israel tells U.S. it killed Iranian officer, official says JPost’s Seth J. Frantzman: Hezbollah's Nasrallah is struggling to stay relevant China is organizing military drills near Taiwan in a warning to the U.S. As N.Korea gears up for potential nuclear test, missiles get little domestic fanfare U.S. and Japan say they staged joint fighter jet flight after N.Korea missile launches Former National Security Adviser John R. Bolton: Biden must stop the promiscuous publicizing of U.S. intelligenceIn The News
Russia
It’s not hard to see why Russians are interested: In a matter of months, Russia has outstripped Iran as the country under the most sanctions. Moscow appears to be on track to keep that title, barring any radical change in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. – Washington Post
Forty-two former presidents and prime ministers have added their signatures to a growing list that calls for the creation of an International Anti-Corruption Court, citing both the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the loss of coronavirus funding to fraud as new evidence of the ill effects of grand corruption. – Washington Post
Russia is open to easing its blockade of Ukraine’s ports along the Black Sea if sanctions on Moscow are lifted, a Russian official said Wednesday, a move that, if it went ahead, could increase grain exports and help relieve rising food inflation and shortages. – Wall Street Journal
The Biden administration accused the Russian government of helping Iran’s blacklisted military unit sell hundreds of millions of dollars of oil around the globe, as Washington levied a barrage of sanctions against companies and individuals allegedly involved in the smuggling operation. – Wall Street Journal
President Vladimir V. Putin visited wounded soldiers on Wednesday and announced a raft of new social welfare measures and military benefits — an apparent effort to show Russians that he was aware times were tough as the war in Ukraine entered its fourth month. – New York Times
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an order Wednesday to fast track Russian citizenship for residents of parts of southern Ukraine largely held by his forces, while lawmakers in Moscow passed a bill to strengthen the stretched Russian army. – Associated Press
Russia said it’s strengthening trade with Iran, boosting the economies of both nations as they contend with heavy US sanctions. – Bloomberg
Ukrainian prisoners of war held in the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics number about 8,000, Luhansk official Rodion Miroshnik was quoted by TASS news agency as saying on Thursday. – Reuters
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said this week that negotiations must get underway soon to end Russia’s Ukraine war, in order to avoid “a war against Russia itself.” – Fox News
Strategic movement in the Black Sea continues with Russia reportedly loading cruise missiles onto a pair of submarines among its Black Sea fleet. This comes just days after a report that stated the U.S. was preparing to target the Russian fleet to free up paths for Ukraine to export grain. – Newsweek
Meduza, an independent outlet covering Russian news, is reporting that as the country’s elite grow more dissatisfied with President Vladimir Putin, many have come to terms with the fact that the only way Putin would be ousted from office is if he were to suffer deteriorating health conditions. – Newsweek
Andrew Latham writes: Perhaps history teaches us, in other words, that now is not the time to follow Applebaum’s advice and dial Russia’s national humiliation up to eleven. Perhaps, instead, it is the time to strike a deal — to offer Putin a “golden bridge” that allows him to bring the war to an end without amplifying Russia’s humiliation to the point where, following a protracted period of seething and rebuilding, Moscow unleashes another war on its western neighbor. – The Hill
Andrei Kolesnikov writes: Putin has turned everything upside down. […]He has accomplished the exact opposite of his stated goals: instead of demilitarizing Ukraine, he has caused the country to arm as never before; instead of keeping NATO away, he has brought it right up to Russia’s borders; instead of making Russia great again, he has managed to transform it, and his people, into a pariah nation. Trying to impose his version of the nation’s history, he deprived it of its history. And by depriving it of history, he amputated the future. Russia is now at a dead end, a historical dead end. – Foreign Affairs
Iran
An Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer shot and killed outside his Tehran home Sunday led the group’s efforts to assassinate opponents of Iran around the world, including recent failed plots to kill an Israeli diplomat, an American general and a French intellectual, according to people familiar with the matter. – Wall Street Journal
Iran secured access to secret United Nations atomic agency reports almost two decades ago and circulated the documents among top officials who prepared cover stories and falsified a record to conceal suspected past work on nuclear weapons, according to Middle East intelligence officials and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. – Wall Street Journal
Saying he was “not particularly optimistic, to put it mildly,” of success in the year-long negotiations over reviving the nuclear deal with Iran, the Biden administration’s envoy to the talks insisted Wednesday that ongoing diplomacy remains the best option for U.S. national security. – Washington Post
Talks with Iran aimed at ending a long standoff on explaining the origin of uranium particles found at apparently old but undeclared sites are at “a very difficult juncture”, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday. – Reuters
The United States said on Wednesday it was ready to tighten sanctions and act with Israel and others to counter the Iranian threat if shaky efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal fail, but lawmakers voiced doubts about both options. – Reuters
Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the chief of Greece’s diplomatic mission for allegedly seizing cargo from a vessel flying the Iranian flag in Greek waters, state media reported Wednesday. – Associated Press
The top U.S. envoy to Iran nuclear talks said efforts to revive the 2015 agreement are faltering but that he believes offering Tehran “limited” sanctions relief could still salvage the accord and provide the basis for a broader deal. – Bloomberg
The Biden administration is engaging in “indirect” talks with Iran regarding its wrongful detainment of Americans, President Joe Biden’s point man for nuclear negotiations said. – Washington Examiner
The US on Wednesday designated an Iranian-run oil smuggling and money laundering network as a senior Biden Administration official poured cold water on the prospects for a renewed deal over the Tehran regime’s nuclear program. – Algemeiner
Matthew Foldi writes: Biden’s bad deal doesn’t even address all of Iran’s other malign regional behaviors. There is no mention of Iran attacking American soldiers stationed in the region. It ignores Iran’s numerous plots to kidnap civilians on American soil. And it simply pretends that Iran isn’t sending weapons and money to genocidal terrorists like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Even if Iran’s nuclear program suddenly disappeared tomorrow, Iran would still be the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism, as well as the greatest threat to peace and stability in the Middle East. – Newsweek
Afghanistan
Under orders from the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue, Obeid has increased patrols since the decree earlier this month forcing all Afghan women to cover from head to toe, including their faces. But he described his mandate as much wider than dress code enforcement. – Washington Post
Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the militant group said on its Telegram channel on Wednesday. – Reuters
A blast tore through a mosque in Afghanistan’s capital on Wednesday evening, killing at least five people, authorities and hospitals said, the same day deadly explosions hit passenger vehicles in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. – Reuters
Turkey
After talks on Wednesday regarding Turkey’s continued objections to Sweden and Finland’s NATO bids, a senior Turkish official said the meeting yielded “positive” signs but no immediate breakthrough. – Washington Post
Ankara observed a positive attitude towards lifting of an arms exports embargo during talks with delegations from NATO applicants Finland and Sweden, President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Israel and Turkey’s top diplomats said on Wednesday their countries were hoping to expand economic ties as they seek an end to more than a decade of strained relations. – Reuters
Cihan Tugal writes: The truth is that Turkey’s aggression has gone hand in hand with NATO acceptance, even complicity. It’s no use Western countries lecturing Turkey, or Turkey complaining of Western hypocrisy: They are in it together. Whatever happens with the alliance’s expansion — whether the Kurds are sacrificed on the altar of geopolitical expediency or not — this should be a moment of clarity. In a world of war, no country has a monopoly on violence. – New York Times
Israel
A spokeswoman for the Israeli prime minister declined to comment on the killing. But according to an intelligence official briefed on the communications, Israel has informed American officials that it was behind the killing. – New York Times
An Israeli appeal court on Wednesday overruled a magistrate who had stirred Palestinian anger by questioning the legality of barring Jewish prayer at a contested Jerusalem shrine, as the United States warned its citizens over travel in the vicinity. – Reuters
Neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority has formally requested U.S. assistance in the investigation into the killing of a Palestinian-American reporter during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank, the State Department said Wednesday. – Associated Press
Israel will bear the consequences if it allows Jews to hold a flag march in the Old City of Jerusalem or go anywhere near the Aqsa Mosque compound on the Temple Mount, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and other Palestinian factions said Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
Hezbollah terror group leader Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday warned that if Israel “violates” mosques on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem it will cause “an explosion in the region,” adding his threats to those of Palestinian terror groups over the contentious Jerusalem Day Flag March. – Times of Israel
Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai on Wednesday ordered the readiness alert level to be ratcheted up in Jerusalem and so-called mixed Jewish and Arab cities throughout the country ahead of a nationalist march planned for Sunday in the Old City, the force said in a statement. – Times of Israel
The killing in Tehran this week is further evidence of the penetration into Iran by Israel’s Mossad and Military Intelligence. Experience shows that every assassination victim is quickly replaced. – Haaretz
Amos Harel writes: When former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in office, he made sure to prevent any such public statements by military or intelligence officials, because they would deviate from the official Israeli line and, above all, because he feared such statements could affect Israel’s dispute with Washington over the Iranian nuclear issue. Bennett isn’t far from Netanyahu’s views on the nuclear issue, but he has a very different tone and style. Therefore, he didn’t bother to respond to Heyman’s comments. – Haaretz
Shaul Gordon writes: The tendency to search for new solutions is understandable, and the idea of sitting around and doing nothing is frustrating, particularly for citizens of a strong state with a powerful military. Yet, this is an inseparable part of the reality of asymmetrical warfare. In the end, the IDF with all of its advanced capabilities finds itself fighting enemies with knives, axes and assault rifles. – Jerusalem Post
Middle East & North Africa
The Tunisian government hopes to start official negotiations in coming weeks with the International Monetary Fund for a $4 billion loan, its finance minister said, as the country suffers from its worst financial crisis. – Reuters
Syria’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that it would consider any Turkish military incursions into its territory as “war crimes and crimes against humanity.” – Reuters
Yemen’s warring sides began talks Wednesday on reopening roads in Taiz and other provinces as the United Nations pushes to extend a two-month cease-fire ahead of a looming deadline, the U.N. mission said. – Associated Press
The United States on Tuesday urged rapid progress from military to civilian rule in Sudan and threatened sanctions on anyone impeding or blocking the transition to democracy. – Associated Press
Francisco Serrano writes: The country’s opaque leadership will continue to curb civil liberties and use energy resources as a way to maintain the politico-military oligarchy that has ruled since independence. […]As long as the conflict in Ukraine keeps oil and gas prices high, Algeria’s autocratic regime will continue to wield most of the instruments it needs to ensure its survival. – Middle East Institute
Keren Setton writes: The stability of the current government has been in question from the very beginning, partly due to the presence of an Arab party and the inherent tension that comes with the partnership. Success could mean a new chapter in relations between Arabs and Jews and possibly greater participation of Arabs in the political arena. – Jerusalem Post
Seth J. Frantzman writes: The shortness of the speech and the fact Hezbollah and its allies performed badly in the recent elections illustrate how the terror group will have to struggle to stay relevant in the coming year. – Jerusalem Post
China
China is pursuing a regional agreement with Pacific island nations that would expand Beijing’s role in policing, maritime cooperation and cybersecurity while offering scholarships for more than 2,000 workers and young diplomats, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. – New York Times
The People’s Liberation Army of China on Wednesday described organizing combat drills in the waters and airspace around Taiwan to send a blunt message to the United States over its “collusion” with Taiwan. – New York Times
The United States is concerned that China is seeking to reach agreements with Pacific island nations in what may be a rushed, non-transparent process, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday. – Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on Wednesday via video link with U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, who is on a visit that has drawn criticism from rights groups and which the United States has called a mistake. – Reuters
China will seek a region-wide deal with almost a dozen Pacific island countries covering policing, security and data communication cooperation when Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosts a meeting in Fiji next week, documents seen by Reuters show. – Reuters
China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday a U.S.-backed economic plan for Asia seeks to decouple countries from the Chinese economy, but many countries are worried about the “huge cost” of doing so. – Reuters
China and the United States are committed to reach an arrangement on the audit inspection issue that is in line with legal and regulatory requirements for both sides, China’s securities regulator said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping defended his country’s human rights record on Wednesday, telling a visiting UN official there is “no need for ‘preachers’ to boss around other countries.” Xi’s remarks, made in a video call with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, are likely to add to the controversy surrounding a trip that critics say risks becoming a propaganda tool for Beijing. – CNN
Shuli Ren writes: Less than half a year away from the all-important National Congress, Xi now has tons of headaches, from soaring youth unemployment, ballooning local government debt, to economic hardship all around. He’s still going to get his third term. But to retain his influence, he will have to try very hard to win the hearts and minds of his comrades this fall. – Bloomberg
Timothy McLaughlin writes: One former pro-Beijing lawmaker and businessman, like others I spoke with, told me that he was cautiously optimistic about Lee, that perhaps with the right team and guidance he could steer the city through its many issues. But, he admitted, to people outside the city, “the image is that the guy with the gun is now running Hong Kong.” – The Atlantic
South Asia
The 17th-century mosque in Varanasi, Hinduism’s holiest city, has emerged as the latest flash point in the escalating struggle between India’s Hindu nationalists and its Muslim minority. After a controversial court survey claimed to find the relic of a Hindu deity on its premises, the area was sealed by the court and large prayer gatherings were banned. – Washington Post
Defiant former Prime Minister Imran Khan early Thursday warned Pakistan’s government to set new elections in the next six days or he will again march on the capital along with 3 million people. Khan spoke at a rally of thousands of demonstrators in Islamabad aiming to bring down the government and force early elections. The government earlier had summoned troops to guard important buildings, including the parliament and offices of the president and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. The measures came following clashes between demonstrators and police. – Associated Press
Pakistani police fired teargas, baton-charged and detained supporters of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday to stop them from reaching the capital Islamabad to demand fresh elections, officials and witnesses said. – Reuters
An Indian court on Wednesday ordered life in jail for Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik for funding “terrorist” activities and many other charges, prompting street protests outside his residence and condemnation from Pakistan’s prime minister. – Reuters
Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the government was committed to reviving the International Monetary Fund program and putting the country back on a “sustainable growth path” after talks with the multilateral lender ended inconclusively the previous day. – Bloomberg
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appealed for bridging finance from other Asian nations at an event in Japan as his country seeks to reach a loan deal with the International Monetary Fund. – Bloomberg
Bankrupt Sri Lanka is seeking more energy imports as it tries to get an International Monetary Fund Program in place by mid-June. – Bloomberg
Asia
Philippines President-elect Ferdinand Marcos on Thursday promised to prevent any foreign interference in the running of his country, and to defend sovereign territory and stand up to any Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea. – Reuters
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday the United States should return to a regional trade pact it quit in 2017 if it wanted to engage economically with the Indo-Pacific region. – Reuters
The United Nations Security Council will vote on Thursday on a U.S. push to strengthen sanctions on North Korea over its renewed ballistic missile launches, a move that China, which has veto power, said would not solve any problems. – Reuters
North Korean state media has kept quiet about a recent flurry of missile tests amid an unprecedented coronavirus wave – perhaps to avoid overshadowing a potential nuclear test, analysts say. – Reuters
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Canberra needs to “step up, not step back” in supporting the Pacific islands as China’s foreign minister arrived in the region seeking a sweeping regional deal on security and trade. – Reuters
Australia’s new government has urged China to lift trade sanctions if it wants to reset a bilateral relationship that plumbed new depths under the previous administration. – Associated Press
The U.S. military and Japan’s Self Defense Force said on Thursday they flew fighter jets together over the Sea of Japan in a show of strength after North Korea lobbed three missiles into the waters that separate Japan and the Korean peninsula. – Reuters
Philippines President-elect Ferdinand Marcos on Thursday promised to prevent any foreign interference in the running of his country, and to defend sovereign territory and stand up to any Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea. – Reuters
Cambodia said ties with the US had improved significantly and it expects the Biden administration to lift sanctions imposed over its relations with China “very soon,” a senior minister said on Wednesday. – Bloomberg
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged that China remain integrated in the region, days after US President Joe Biden visited Asia for a series of summits that excluded the world’s second-largest economy. – Bloomberg
A joint session of the Philippine Congress on Wednesday declared Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the notorious late dictator, the winner of this month’s election and confirmed he would become the country’s next president. – CNN
Europe
A long-awaited internal investigation squarely blamed the top leadership in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government for lockdown-breaking parties in and around Downing Street, including a string of bashes with “excessive alcohol consumption” and one that prompted an official to boast, in a text, about living beyond pandemic rules. – Washington Post
The British government approved the sale of Chelsea Football Club months after it placed sanctions on Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, the longtime owner of the London-based team. – Washington Post
Italy and Hungary have urged the EU to call explicitly for a ceasefire in Ukraine and peace talks with Russia, putting themselves at odds with other member states determined to take a hard line with Moscow ahead of a summit next week. – Reuters
The Russian rocket strikes came early in the morning in the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk on Wednesday, shaking buildings, jolting people out of bed and sending chunks of concrete and jagged pieces of metal flying through the air. – Associated Press
European Union efforts to impose an embargo on Russian oil faced more roadblocks Wednesday as Hungarian officials said they would not back the plan in its current form and recommended removing the topic from the agenda of an EU leaders’ summit next week. – Associated Press
Public support for the Northern Ireland Protocol has more than doubled from a year ago, a new survey showed, as the UK and EU continue a heated dispute over the part of the Brexit treaty dealing with the region. – Bloomberg
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took aim at the New York Times and American statesman Henry Kissinger, blasting the two for suggesting that Ukraine give up territory to end the war with Russia, comparing the idea to Britain’s appeasement deal with Nazi Germany in 1938. – Washington Examiner
The United States, in partnership with the European Union and the United Kingdom, announced the creation of an advisory group to help Ukraine’s war crimes investigations. – Washington Examiner
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that he is ready to attack Poland and that the European country “better take back your weapons.” – Newsweek
Andreas Kluth writes: And yet, Ukrainians, like the Finns during the Cold War, would probably have to wait decades for their bliss. That’s not an easy proposition for Zelenskiy or anybody else to sell to a traumatized population yearning for justice. The devastating reality of Putin’s war is that, for the foreseeable future, it can lead only to outcomes that are messy and tragic. Little or nothing will be resolved. Success, such as it is, will be merely the avoidance of even worse catastrophes. – Bloomberg
Dominic Green writes: President Joe Biden needs to change the habits of a lifetime and talk clearly and honestly to the American people. Not just about the purpose of the war in Ukraine but also about why and how it should end and how that outcome will secure American interests in Europe and beyond. – New York Post
Mark Jacobsen writes: The fact that we are looking to drone hobbyists with off-the-shelf drones to meet last-mile logistics needs is an indictment of military unpreparedness. Despite my sober assessment, I still believe we can create a global delivery paradigm that guarantees access to any location on the planet. Drones will likely play a role in this, but we will get what we pay for. The horrific sieges in Syria and Ukraine should motivate Western countries to make long-term investments in a new generation of last-mile delivery capabilities. – War on the Rocks
Africa
Africa risks sliding into stagflation, a prolonged period of slow economic growth accompanied by high inflation, as price pressures and supply-chain disruptions emanating from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stifle output, according to the African Development Bank. – Bloomberg
A Somali police officer recently received an unexpected summons from the enemy. An unknown caller ordered him to report to a town outside the capital, Mogadishu, where the extremist group al-Shabab would settle a dispute between him and his brother. The caller assured the officer he would be safe even if he showed up in uniform. – Associated Press
Ido Levy writes: The return of U.S. forces to Somalia is a welcome development that will bring renewed energy to the effort to defeat al-Shabaab. Indeed, it is also a tacit acknowledgement that the Biden administration-touted “over-the-horizon” approach — or striking terrorist groups without any boots on the ground — just will not cut it. Strong counterterrorism requires strong connections between U.S. and local personnel on the ground. […]Standing side-by-side with our partners will produce the shared resolve and adaptability that we need to fight our enemies. – The Hill
Dramane Chabi Bouko writes: Finally, supporting northern regions in Nigeria and Uganda can prevent the future emergence of terrorist groups and make it more difficult for these groups to recruit new members. Indeed, Boko Haram and LRA easily recruit illiterate and poor young men. The United States should provide financial and political support for these efforts. – The National Interest
The Americas
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and U.S. leader Joe Biden are set to meet next month after Bolsonaro accepted an invitation to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, two sources told Reuters on Wednesday. – Reuters
Most Caribbean Community member nations plan to attend the Summit of the Americas, according to two sources familiar with the situation, as some leaders call for a boycott if Washington excludes its ideological adversaries in the region. – Reuters
A sweeping law adopted by Quebec on Tuesday to promote French usage is elevating already simmering tensions with indigenous groups, who see the move as an imposition and have vowed to fight it. – Reuters
The Biden administration is requesting that a second dispute settlement panel be formed under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to review a trade dispute with Canada over dairy import quotas, it said on Wednesday. – Reuters
The Venezuelan government is unwilling to resume negotiations with the country’s opposition on issues such as free elections and lifting economic sanctions if Norway acts as facilitator as it did last year at talks in Mexico, four sources close to the process told Reuters. – Reuters
A vessel carrying more than 800 Haitians trying to reach the United States wound up instead on the coast of central Cuba, in what appeared to be the largest group seen yet in a swelling exodus from crisis-stricken Haiti. Red Cross officials in the province of Villa Clara said Wednesday that the 842 Haitians were being housed at a tourist campground. – Associated Press
El Salvador’s congress granted a request Wednesday by President Nayib Bukele for a second extension of the country’s anti-gang emergency decree. The vote extends for 30 more days the state of emergency that was originally issued for one month in late March and then extended in April for another month. – Associated Press
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Wednesday that “under no circumstances” will he attend the Summit of the Americas set to be held in Los Angeles in June. – The Hill
Jorge Heine and Rebecca Ray write: Yet, ultimately, the run-up to the IX Summit of the Americas shows that the zero-sum, exclusionary approach to the development challenges of the Americas initiated by the Trump administration and continued by Biden is a dead-end street. What is needed is an inclusionary approach that respects the enormous diversity of this vast continent and works with all parties on such difficult issues as economic reactivation, pandemic control and climate change mitigation. – The Hill
United States
The world over, mass shootings are frequently met with a common response: Officials impose new restrictions on gun ownership. Mass shootings become rarer. Homicides and suicides tend to decrease, too. – New York Times
A Brooklyn man who became a high-ranking member of ISIS was convicted of supporting the terrorist organization by recruiting members, pushing propaganda and smuggling weapons into Syria, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. – New York Post
John R. Bolton writes: It is not just a coincidence that the intelligence and communications strategy mistakes in Ukraine echoed errors in Afghanistan. Now recognizing these failures, two major blunders hardly six months apart, the U.S. intelligence community is, quite rightly, reviewing its performance. They have much to do. – Washington Post
Cybersecurity
A new website that published leaked emails from several leading proponents of Britain’s exit from the European Union is tied to Russian hackers, according to a Google cybersecurity official and the former head of UK foreign intelligence. – Reuters
Twitter agreed to pay $150 million to settle allegations the platform gave advertisers some user information that was supposed to be employed to strengthen account security, US authorities said Wednesday. – Agence France-Presse
Larry Meehan writes: The cyber force of tomorrow should be agile, scalable and forward thinking. Invigorating the Defense Department with private industry veterans will bring the innovators, proven technology implementers, coders and software developers we need now. Partnering with private industry and government contractors will fill the human capital void, deliver proven talent and the necessary skillsets to protect our nation’s cyber frontiers and digital domain. – Defense News
Defense
The U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Task Force spent its first nine months developing a venture capital model for selecting promising technologies and is now beginning to identify candidates that could solve warfighter problems within the next five years. – Defense News
The National Reconnaissance Office, the Pentagon agency that designs, launches and and operates earth observational satellites for the U.S. government, said it awarded imagery contracts worth billions of dollars to three companies, significantly expanding its use of commercial space services. – Defense News
Margaret Stock writes: The demographic challenges and declining number of eligible recruits is a national security threat from within our own borders at a time of global instability, a domestic labor shortage and multiple crises facing the usual pool of younger military recruits. Our leaders must act now with the urgency that this demographic threat demands. – Washington Post