Homegrown Extremists Top Terrorist Threat List, Clapper Says

[Purveyor]

Homegrown extremists probably will “continue to pose the most significant Sunni terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland in 2016,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in a summary for Congress of the perils facing the nation globally.

Threats from Islamic State, or ISIL, are likely to “continue to involve those who draw inspiration from the group’s highly sophisticated media without direct guidance from ISIL leadership” as well as “individuals in the United States or abroad who receive direct guidance and specific direction” from the terrorists, Clapper said.

Clapper’s far-ranging prepared testimony also cited Iran’s support for terrorism and the development of offensive cybersecurity capabilities by Russia, China and North Korea. His summary of the annual “Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community” was obtained by Bloomberg News in advance of delivery Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Clapper’s assessment of other world trouble spots:

Iran remains “the foremost state sponsor of terrorism.” The Islamic Republic and its “terrorist partner” Hezbollah “remain a continuing terrorist threat to U.S. interests and partners worldwide.”

Al-Qaeda’s “affiliates have proven resilient and are positioned to make gains in 2016.”

In Afghanistan, the intelligence community foresees “that fighting in 2016 will be more intense than 2015, continuing a decade-long trend of deteriorating security that will compound these challenges.”

Forces fighting Islamic State in Iraq “will probably make incremental battlefield gains through spring 2016.” Efforts to combat the terrorists are undercut because Iraq’s Sunni population “remains fearful” of the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad and Shiite militias backed by Iran.

In Iraq, declining oil prices are straining the ability of the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish regional administration in Erbil to finance operations against Islamic State and to respond to potential economically driven unrest.

On cybersecurity, Clapper said Russia, China, other countries “will almost certainly continue developing” offensive hacking weapons.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-08/homegrown-extremists-top-list-of-terrorist-threats-clapper-says

[WhiteTara]

1. Remember when Janet Reno was

thrown on the rack for mentioning the same thing?

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Just do not piss off the angry old fat white guy.

Remember the Republican Senators who just went nuts over her statements. If anyone should have been a expert on Home Grown Idiots,Arizona is a hot bed for these people.

[mwrguy]

3. He's talking about homegrown Muslims, not white militia guys.

Homegrown extremists probably will “continue to pose the most significant Sunni terrorist threat..."