Interesting Article: "US spy chief: Iran could launch terrorist attacks on US soil if it feels threatened" by Associated Press / London published Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
An interesting article mentioned that Iran is likely to launch terrorists attacks on US soil if the isolated Islamist regime feels threatened, American intelligence officials believe. Citing last year's thwarted Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in the US, 'some Iranian officials — probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei... are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime,' Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday. Want to know more?
Petraeus said the latest round of sanctions against the regime is beginning to bite, with a run on Iranian banks in recent weeks, but he conceded that the 'clock is ticking' as Iran moves ahead enriching uranium to a grade that's below weapons-ready, but higher than normal for regular industrial use. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said last week that Iran is proceeding toward nuclear weapons capability and time is 'urgently running out.' The threat of Iran lashing out as it ponders building nuclear arms is one of a potent mosaic of interconnected enemies facing the US, including terrorists, criminals and foreign powers who may try to strike via nuclear weapons or cyberspace, Clapper and the others said. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein called 2012 'a critical year for convincing or preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.' Al-Qaida continues to be a major threat, though it is far weaker since Osama bin Laden's death at the hands of Navy SEALs in Pakistan last year. Petraeus pointed out that 'four of the top 20 in a single week were captured or killed' last year, leaving the leadership struggling to replace itself.
The intelligence chiefs predicted al-Qaida's regional affiliates, such as Yemen's al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, will try to pick up the slack for the beleaguered core group in Pakistan. The US continues to put pressure on the Yemeni offshoot, and on Monday mounted airstrikes targeting al-Qaida leaders there, killing at least four suspected militants, according to Yemeni and military officials. Just below Iran and al-Qaida on the list of threats comes the possibility of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, from chemical and biological to nuclear and radiological. The intelligence community does not believe states that possess them have supplied them to terror groups, but that remains a risk, Clapper said. Dangers posed by cyber espionage were also highlighted by Clapper. "Cyber threats pose a critical national and economic security concern due to the continued advances in -- and growing dependency on -- the information technology (IT) that underpins nearly all aspects of modern society," he said. Clapper told the Senate panel during his testimony that he anticipated a situation "in which emerging technologies are developed and implemented before security responses can be put in place." Chinese and Russian cyber spying "are of particular concern," and Iran's intelligence operations, "including cyber capabilities, have dramatically increased in recent years, in depth and complexity," according to Clapper in his statement. Non-state actors such as the hacker groups Anonymous and Lulz Security (LulzSec) "are also playing an increasing role in international and domestic politics through the use of social media technologies," he said.
References:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/01/31/bloomberg_articlesLYNDWQ6JIJVA01-LYOI1.DTL
An interesting article mentioned that Iran is likely to launch terrorists attacks on US soil if the isolated Islamist regime feels threatened, American intelligence officials believe. Citing last year's thwarted Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in the US, 'some Iranian officials — probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei... are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime,' Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday. Want to know more?
Petraeus said the latest round of sanctions against the regime is beginning to bite, with a run on Iranian banks in recent weeks, but he conceded that the 'clock is ticking' as Iran moves ahead enriching uranium to a grade that's below weapons-ready, but higher than normal for regular industrial use. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said last week that Iran is proceeding toward nuclear weapons capability and time is 'urgently running out.' The threat of Iran lashing out as it ponders building nuclear arms is one of a potent mosaic of interconnected enemies facing the US, including terrorists, criminals and foreign powers who may try to strike via nuclear weapons or cyberspace, Clapper and the others said. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein called 2012 'a critical year for convincing or preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.' Al-Qaida continues to be a major threat, though it is far weaker since Osama bin Laden's death at the hands of Navy SEALs in Pakistan last year. Petraeus pointed out that 'four of the top 20 in a single week were captured or killed' last year, leaving the leadership struggling to replace itself.
The intelligence chiefs predicted al-Qaida's regional affiliates, such as Yemen's al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, will try to pick up the slack for the beleaguered core group in Pakistan. The US continues to put pressure on the Yemeni offshoot, and on Monday mounted airstrikes targeting al-Qaida leaders there, killing at least four suspected militants, according to Yemeni and military officials. Just below Iran and al-Qaida on the list of threats comes the possibility of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, from chemical and biological to nuclear and radiological. The intelligence community does not believe states that possess them have supplied them to terror groups, but that remains a risk, Clapper said. Dangers posed by cyber espionage were also highlighted by Clapper. "Cyber threats pose a critical national and economic security concern due to the continued advances in -- and growing dependency on -- the information technology (IT) that underpins nearly all aspects of modern society," he said. Clapper told the Senate panel during his testimony that he anticipated a situation "in which emerging technologies are developed and implemented before security responses can be put in place." Chinese and Russian cyber spying "are of particular concern," and Iran's intelligence operations, "including cyber capabilities, have dramatically increased in recent years, in depth and complexity," according to Clapper in his statement. Non-state actors such as the hacker groups Anonymous and Lulz Security (LulzSec) "are also playing an increasing role in international and domestic politics through the use of social media technologies," he said.
References:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/01/31/bloomberg_articlesLYNDWQ6JIJVA01-LYOI1.DTL
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