Left: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Vienna, Austria, October 29, 2015. (Photo: Islamic Republic News Agency)

• ACD Weekly Roundup
• Capitol Hill: House & Senate Hearings
• GAO Reports
• CRS Reports
• News & Analysis
  • Middle East
  • Iran
  • Russia
  • China
  • Cyber
  • Europe
  • Misc.

ACD Weekly Roundup

The Real Story Behind the Undersea Cable Caper – Stephen Bryen

Palestinian Incitement Welcomed by UN Human Rights Council – Rachel Ehrenfeld

One Year of the Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula – Zach Gold @INSS

Saudi Princes Trafficking Drugs: Déjà vu – Rachel Ehrenfeld

Iran Unleashed – Norman A. Bailey

Egypt’s Salafist Party Returns to the Wilderness – J. Millard Burr and Rachel Ehrenfeld

Iran’s Growing Intervention in the Middle East – Rachel Ehrenfeld

Netanyahu -again! – Sol W. Sanders

Capitol Hill: House

Prevention of and Response to the Arrival of a Dirty Bomb at a U.S. Port – Transportation & Infrastructure Committee – October 27,2015

Common Carrier Regulation of the Internet: Investment Impacts – Energy & Commerce Committee – October 27, 2015

Game Changers Undersea Warfare – Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on
Seapower And Projection Forces – October 27, 2015

Examining the Syrian Humanitarian Crisis from the Ground (Part II) – Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa – October 27, 2015

Terror Inmates: Countering Violent Extremism in Prison and Beyond – Homeland
Security Committee, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence –
October 28, 2015

Radicalization: Social Media and the Rise of Terrorism – Oversight Committee, Subcommittee on National Security – October 28, 2015

Capitol Hill: Senate

Alternative Approaches to Defense Strategy and Force Structure – Armed Services Committee – October 29, 2015

Alternative Approaches to Defense Strategy and Force Structure – Armed Services Committee – October 29, 2015

United States Military Strategy in the Middle East – Armed Services Committee – October 27. 2015

The U.S. Role and Strategy in the Middle East – Foreign Relations Committee – October 28, 2015

Assessing the State of Our Nation’s Biodefense – Homeland Security & Governmenal Affairs Committee – October 28, 2015

GAO Reports

Trusted Defense Microelectronics: Future Access and Capabilities Are Uncertain – GAO-16-185T – October 28, 2015

Combatting Nuclear Smuggling: Risk-Informed Covert Assessments and Oversight of Corrective Actions Could Strengthen Capabilities at the Border – GAO-16-191T – Oct 27, 2015

CRS Reports

Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy – Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs – October 26, 2015

Legal Sidebar Another Foreign Bank Claims FinCEN’s “Death Sentence” Requires Better Procedures – October 26, 2015

The Federal Advisory Committee Act: Analysis of Operations and Costs – October 27, 2015.

The European Union (EU): Current Challenges and Future Prospects in Brief – October 27, 2015

Birthright Citizenship and Children Born in the United States to Alien Parents: An Overview of the Legal Debate – October 28, 2015

Iran’s Central Bank Will Have Its Day in the Supreme Court, CRS Legal Sidebar – October 28, 2015

Senate Passes Cybersecurity Information Sharing Bill — What’s Next? – CRS Legal Sidebar – October 28, 2015

News & Analysis

Middle East

Cheap Oil Puts the House of Saud at Risk – David Goldman

J. K. Rowling and Other British Luminaries Denounce Cultural Boycott of Israel. A star-studded group published a letter in The Guardian calling for ‘open dialogue’ to bridge Israeli-Palestinian divide – Tablet

CIA ‘running arms smuggling team in Benghazi when consulate was attacked’ – Telegraph UK

The Real Power of ISIS. The West has failed utterly to understand the appeal of the ISIS narrative, much less to develop effective counter narratives – Scott Atran

Obama fumbles for credibility in Syria as Russia and Iran seize initiative. New US plans to beef up its military response in the Middle East smack of fear as the desire to avoid entanglements once again founders on geopolitical realities – Simon Tisdall

Iran

Iran’s Indecent Proposal. Khamenei haggles over the price of American surrender – Bret Stephens

Iran’s New Palestinian Terror Group: Al-Sabireen – Khaled Abu Toameh

Former Iran president indirectly admits country sought nuclear weapons. US lawmakers push measures to influence Iran nuclear deal ‘Adoption day’ nears for Iran nuclear deal – Jerusalem Post

Deaths of Iranian generals in Syria a sign of commitment to Assad. U.S. official: At least six Iranian generals have been killed in Syria, 3 in October. Combat losses show depth of Iranąs effort to defend Syrian government. For comparison: Only 1 American general has died in combat in 40 years – Jonathan S. Landay

Russia

ISIS Begins Its War against Moscow — Fighting Along 60 Percent of Afghan-Tajik Border – Paul Goble

Russia’s Military is Proving Western Punditry Wrong – Garrett Campbell

Putin Straße: Russia’s Road to Ruin – Reuben F. Johnson

China

Battle Over China’s Artificial Islands Has Just Begun – Josh Rogin

Cyber

IRS possessed Stingray cellphone surveillance gear, documents reveal – Guardian

Old Internet Flaw Causes New Problems. Secure information is subject to exposure as hackers are able to manipulate the language shuttling Web traffic – Wall Street Journal

TalkTalk cyber attack: Arrested schoolboy named as Aaron Sterritt, 15, from Ballymena – Telegraph UK

Europe

Letter from Montenegro: Organized Crime’s State of Play – Chris Deliso

Germany: Migrants’ Rape Epidemic – Soeren Kern

Sweden: It Is Considered Racism Only If the Victims Are Not White – Ingrid Carlqvist

Why, Really, French Jews Are Leaving France. They’re not willing to sacrifice their Jewish identity in exchange for their security as individuals – Michel Gurfinkiel

Islamic State planning mass attack on Britain, warns head of MI5. Andrew Parker says current level of threat from homegrown jihadis the highest he has seen in a career spanning 32-years – Telegraph UK

Misc.

North Korea and Syria Applaud, as Cuba Bullies America at the UN. This was not quite the reception the Obama administration, hands outstretched to the Castros, had been hoping for – Claudia Rosett

After American Supremacy. Defense in a Disordered World – Eliot Cohen

Imperial Gamble Doesn’t Pay Off: New Book Gets Ukraine’s History Wrong – Alexei Sobchenko