UPDATED: U.S. Intelligence Chiefs Contradict Trump on North Korea and Iran
Source: The New York Times
By Julian E. Barnes and David E. Sanger
Jan. 29, 2019
WASHINGTON A new American intelligence assessment of global threats has concluded that North Korea is unlikely to give up all of its nuclear stockpiles, and that Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activity needed to make a bomb, directly contradicting two top tenets of President Trumps foreign policy.
Daniel R. Coats, the director of national intelligence, also challenged Mr. Trumps insistence that the Islamic State had been defeated, a key rationale for his decision to exit from Syria. The terror group, the annual Worldwide Threat Assessment report to Congress concluded, still commands thousands of fighters in Iraq and Syria, and maintain eight branches and a dozen networks around the world.
Mr. Trump is expected to meet next month with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, in a second round of direct negotiations aimed at ridding Pyongyang of its nuclear weapons.
But Mr. Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that we currently assess North Korea will seek to retain its W.M.D. capability and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capability.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/29/us/politics/intelligence-chiefs-senate-threats-.html
UPDATE:
U.S. intel agencies: Russia and China plotting to interfere in 2020 election
DNI chief Dan Coats also noted that U.S. intelligence agencies believe North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons.
Jan. 29, 2019, 10:30 AM EST / Updated Jan. 29, 2019, 10:44 AM EST
By Ken Dilanian
U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Russia and China will seek to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, having learned lessons from Russia's operation in 2016, according to the annual public survey of national security threats issued Tuesday.
"We assess that foreign actors will view the 2020 U.S. elections as an opportunity to advance their interests," Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, told the Senate intelligence committee at the worldwide threats hearing.
-snip-
On political interference, the written assessment added that intelligence analysts expect American adversaries "to refine their capabilities and add new tactics as they learn from each other's experiences, suggesting the threat landscape could look very different in 2020 and future elections."
Political interference, using social media and cyber attacks, was scarcely mentioned in threat assessments before last year, but was listed second behind cyber attacks in Tuesday's array of the challenges facing U.S. national security policy-makers.
"Russia's social media efforts will continue to focus on aggravating social and racial tensions, undermining trust in authorities, and criticizing perceived anti-Russia politicians," says the written threats assessment. "Moscow may employ additional influence toolkitssuch as spreading disinformation, conducting hack-and- leak operations, or manipulating datain a more targeted fashion to influence US policy, actions, and elections."
more
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-intel-agencies-russia-china-plotting-interfere-2020-election-n963896
sandensea
(21,874 posts)He's dead set on being a "war president."
Worked for Bush after all.
Roy Rolling
(6,956 posts)We're building a wall to keep the bad hombres out.
Canoe52
(2,951 posts)Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)keithbvadu2
(37,266 posts)But Dotard says Kim is "very honorable".
calimary
(81,768 posts)Just asking.
Cold War Spook
(1,279 posts)but I don't think what the actual vote is matters. The Russian President will be picked before there even is a vote. It is so much cleaner that way.
vanamonde
(167 posts)In the election (or selection) process and societies of other nations, both overtly (VOA, etc) and covertly (too many to mention but Iran/Shah is a good example). The piper has come home.
Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)Dirty Donny*s republican lies are toxic
Dirty Donny*s republican lies are toxic
Dirty Donny*s republican lies are toxic
* aka republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief