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One update from September 28 warned, based on multiple streams of intelligence, that the terror group Hamas was poised to escalate rocket-attacks across the border. An October 5 wire from the CIA warned generally of the increasing possibility of violence by Hamas. Intelligence assessments are written by the intelligence community to inform policy makers and enable them to make decisions. For example, Israeli officials failed to recognize routine Hamas training exercises as a sign that the group was preparing an imminent attack. It’s also possible that the Hamas operation was more successful than the group anticipated, one former intelligence official and another source familiar with current intelligence said.

Persons: Biden, ”, Mostafa Alkharouf, Bill Burns, William Burns, Amanda Andrade, Rhoades, —, Defense Lloyd Austin, Valentin, Eli, Ghnassia, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, “ Israel, Joe Biden, Israel, Jake Sullivan, Susan Walsh, ” Sullivan, ” Tzachi, It’s, “ Organizations: Washington CNN, Palestinian, Hamas, CIA, CNN, West Bank, Getty, White House, Georgetown School of Foreign Service, Intelligence, intel, Defense, Biden, Kibbutz, Shin, New York Times, National Intelligence, White, The, Festival Locations: Israel, CNN Israel, Gaza, Anadolu, Eastern, Washington ,, Kibbutz Be'eeri, Jerusalem, Shin Bet, Israel’s, Washington, Israeli

Washington CNN —The US and its allies are warning the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah against escalating the conflict in Israel as the US prepositions military assets to deter a potential widening of the war, multiple US officials and people briefed on the discussions tell CNN. The US won’t officially engage with what has been designated a terrorist group, so Berri is one natural conduit. But current and former senior officials don’t believe Hezbollah is eager to join the war, largely because the risks for the group would outweigh any potential rewards. Analysts say Hezbollah support for Hamas has been symbolic so farHezbollah has congratulated Hamas on Saturday’s massive attack. “There’s this possibility that if Israel gets stuck in Gaza … then, at that point, we could see Lebanese Hezbollah get tempted,” said Knights.

Persons: Nabih Berri . Berri, Berri, “, ”, don’t, Defense Lloyd Austin, Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden, Jonathan Conricus, Mike Knights, Norm Roule, Frank McKenzie, ” McKenzie, Hassan, Nasrallah, They’re, Roule, –, McKenzie, Israel, Gaza …, Knights, ‘ we’re, ’ Organizations: Washington CNN, CNN, US, Defense, White, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, Washington Institute, CIA, Knights, ” Knights Locations: Israel, Lebanese, Nabih Berri ., France, Western, Gaza, Don’t, Lebanon, Iran

☆ Iran intelligence: Initial US intel suggests Tehran was surprised by the Hamas attack on Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Zachary Cohen Katie Bo Lillis Natasha Bertrand Jeremy Herb | Zachary Cohen | Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The United States has collected specific intelligence that suggests senior Iranian government officials were caught by surprise by Saturday’s bloody attack on Israel by Hamas, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence. The existence of the intelligence has cast doubt on the idea that Iran was directly involved in the planning, resourcing or approving of the operation, sources said. The sources stressed that the US intelligence community is not ready to reach a full conclusion about whether Tehran was directly involved in the run-up to the attack. They continue to look for evidence of Iranian involvement, which caught both Israel and the United States by surprise. “We’re looking to acquire further intelligence,” national security advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

Persons: Mike McCaul, “, Tehran doesn’t, Jake Sullivan, ” Organizations: CNN, Capitol, Foreign, Texas Republican, Hamas, White Locations: United States, Israel, Iran, Tehran, Texas, Gaza

“We have no evidence or proof” that Iran was behind the attack, Maj. Nir Dinar, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, told Politico on Monday. More recently, Tehran has stepped up the training assistance it provides Hamas inside Iran, according to a former Western defense official. Hamas received Iranian weapons and military technology, and learned from the Iranians about planning operations. “Everything we have seen in the last four days, we can’t say it’s an Iranian plan or an Iranian effort,” Milshtein said. “It’s a Hamas plan that got Iranian help.”Searching for a motivationUS intelligence officials are also working to understand Hamas’ immediate motivation for launching the attack.

Persons: Jake Sullivan, “, ” Sullivan, Privately, Sullivan, ”, “ We’ve, we’ve, Biden, Tehran doesn’t, –, Ismail Haniyeh, Frank McKenzie, Mahmud Hams, Zohar Palti, Nir, it’s, Israel —, Norm Roule, ” Roule, Amir Cohen, Mike Knights, Michael Milshtein, “ They’ve, Milshtein, ” Milshtein, ’, “ It’s, McKenzie, ” McKenzie Organizations: Washington CNN, Hamas, Biden, White, CNN, intel, State Department, US Central Command, Getty, Israel’s Ministry of Defense, Israel Defense Forces, Israel, CIA, Reuters, Washington Institute, ” Knights, Department, Palestinian Affairs, Knights, Hezbollah, Palestinian Authority, Gaza Locations: Iran, Israel, Tehran, Gaza, Gaza City, AFP, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Ashkelon, “, Yemen, Jihad, Lebanon

However, there’s no denying Iran’s history of aiding Hamas, officials say. “They’ve provided support for years to Hamas and Hezbollah.”In the immediate aftermath of the attack, senior US officials have maintained that it was too early to determine whether Iran had any direct role in planning and supporting Hamas’ attack. One congressional source said that given the sophistication of the attack, Iran would have had a role, since Hamas does not have the ability to buy weapons at this scale. Publicly, administration officials have expressed similar regarding the understanding of Iran's role so far. "Iran has, unfortunately, always used and focused its funds on supporting terrorism, on supporting groups like Hamas.

Persons: Oded, “ They’ve, ”, “, Antony Blinken, we've, Blinken, haven't, Katie Bo Lillis, Natasha Bertrand, Evan Perez Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Publicly, Press Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Gaza, Iran

CNN —The Biden administration has yet to find a smoking gun linking Iran directly to planning and executing the attack on Israel this weekend, US officials told CNN on Sunday. However, there’s no denying Iran’s history of aiding Hamas, officials said. “Of course Iran is in the picture,” one US official told CNN. “They’ve provided support for years to Hamas and Hezbollah.”In the immediate aftermath of the attack, senior US officials maintained that it was too early to determine whether Iran had any direct role in planning and supporting Hamas’ attack. One congressional source said that given the sophistication of the attack, Iran would have had a role, since Hamas does not have the ability to buy weapons at this scale.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, “ They’ve, ”, “, State Anthony Blinken, we’ve, Blinken, haven’t Organizations: CNN, Democratic, “, State, Press Locations: Iran, Israel, “ State

The capability of Hamas to coordinate terrorist attacks on Israeli towns without detection has raised concerns about technological blind spots for US intelligence officials, a senior US intelligence official told CNN. But there was no tactical-level intelligence that alerted US officials that an attack of this size would happen on this day. US intelligence officials are focused on understanding the secure communications and training used for the attacks and whether that knowledge is being shared with other groups elsewhere. Speaking publicly Saturday, Israeli officials acknowledged they were caught by surprise at Saturday’s air assault. “I assume the intelligence question will be talked about down the road and we’ll learn what happened there,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

Persons: weren’t, Richard Hecht, “, ”, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Michael Herzog, “ We’ll Organizations: CNN, American, Israeli Defense Forces, “, Homeland Security, FBI Locations: Israel, Gaza

☆ Milley says the military doesn’t swear oath to a ‘wannabe dictator’ in apparent swipe at Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“We don’t take an oath to a country, we don’t take an oath to a tribe, we don’t take an oath to a religion. We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, or a tyrant or a dictator.”“And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” he spat. Milley, who was in uniform, later apologized publicly for “creat[ing] a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.” The apology outraged Trump. Their relationship became even more contentious in the wake of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. We will take appropriate measures to ensure my safety and the safety of my family.”

Persons: Mark Milley, Donald Trump, Milley, ”, “, ” Milley, Trump, George Floyd, CQ Brown, Sen, Dianne Feinstein, Kevin McCarthy, Trump “, ” –, Bob Woodward, Robert Costa’s, ” Trump, “ I’ve Organizations: CNN, America, ’, Corps, Princeton, Trump, Capitol, Army, US, National Military Command Center, Pentagon, CBS Locations: Lafayette, United States, “, American, Beijing, China

CNN —China appears to have suspended its surveillance balloon program following a major diplomatic incident earlier this year, when one of the country’s high-altitude spy balloons transited the United States, multiple sources familiar with US intelligence assessments told CNN. The apparent suspension of the program comes as both the US and China have sought to stabilize an increasingly tense relationship. The US assessed at the time that the spy balloon was part of an extensive surveillance program run by the Chinese military, CNN has previously reported. “We believe that (the balloon) did not collect while it was transiting the United States or flying over the United States, and certainly the efforts that we made contributed,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. The more sensitive radar systems led the US military to spot more unidentified objects in US airspace, however, leading to three additional shootdowns of unidentified high-altitude objects in the weeks following the Chinese balloon incident.

Persons: Liu Pengyu, majeure, ” Liu, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Xi “, Xi, ”, Biden, Antony Blinken, Nancy Pelosi, enraging Xi, Christopher Johnson, Johnson, ’ ” Johnson, Pat Ryder Ryder, Trump, Glen VanHerck Organizations: CNN, Communist Party, US, Economic Cooperation, CIA, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Foreign Ministry, FBI, Pentagon, Northern Command, North American Aerospace Defense Command Locations: China, United States, American, Beijing, Taiwan, Hainan, Alaska, Canada, Idaho, Montana, Asia, San Francisco, United

☆ FBI Director Christopher Wray issues warning about number of Russian spies in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Thursday that the number of Russian spies operating inside the United States is “still way too big,” despite efforts to kick them out. “The Russian traditional counterintelligence threat continues to loom large,” Wray said during public remarks at the Spy Museum in Washington. “The Russian intelligence footprint, and by that I mean intelligence officers, is still way too big in the United States and something we are constantly bumping up against and trying to block and prevent and disrupt in every way we can.”The threat of Russian spies operating on US soil is nothing new. Russia employs not only “traditional intelligence officers” but also cut-outs, Wray said on Thursday, citing a Mexican national arrested by US authorities in 2020 and accused of assisting Russian intelligence. “I will say that, over the last several years, the US has made positive significant strides in reducing the size of the Russian intelligence officer footprint in the United States, kicking them out, in effect,” Wray said.

Persons: Christopher Wray, ” Wray, “, Vladimir Putin, Russia –, Wray, Johns Organizations: Washington CNN —, Spy Museum, Mexican, Johns Hopkins ’ School, International Studies Locations: United States, Russian, Washington, Russia, Seattle, United Kingdom, Dutch

☆ Exclusive: Smuggler with ties to ISIS helped migrants enter US from Mexico, raising alarm bells across government
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis Evan Perez Priscilla Alvarez Natasha Bertrand | Katie Bo Lillis | Evan Perez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

And they are closely scrutinizing a number of the migrants as possible criminal threats, according to two US officials. The security of the southern border has been a political sticking point between Republicans and the Biden administration. John Moore/Getty Images/FILEAdministration officials have also grappled with limited resources as they face a growing number of migrants at the US southern border. In July, border authorities encountered more than 183,000 migrants at the US southern border, according to US Customs and Border Protection data. Both the Biden and Trump administrations have been forced to wrestle with similar cases of suspected terrorists trying to enter the country at the southern border.

Persons: Adrienne Watson, Joe Biden’s, Biden, ” Watson, John Moore, Christopher Wray, ” Wray Organizations: CNN, FBI, ISIS, National Security, Staff, Department of Homeland Security, Turkish, Biden, DHS, Administration, US Customs, Trump, Migrants Locations: Mexico, United States, Uzbekistan, Central Asia, China, Russia, Asia

☆ Newly declassified US intel claims Russia is laundering propaganda through unwitting Westerners
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —Russian intelligence is operating a systematic program to launder pro-Kremlin propaganda through private relationships between Russian operatives and unwitting US and western targets, according to newly declassified US intelligence. “At the end of the day, this unwitting target is disseminating Russian influence operation, Russian propaganda to their target public,” the US official said. In fact, the FSB directed his efforts and “almost certainly financed the project,” according to the declassified intelligence. The FSB does use similar tactics to influence political opinion within Russia, according to the intelligence. “The purpose of those protests really was … designed to sell it to the Russian people,” the US official said.

Persons: “, Maxim Grigoriev, Syria –, Bashar al, Assad, optees ”, Andrey Stepanenko, Natalia Burlinova, Anton Tsvetkov Organizations: Washington CNN, Russian, Russian Federal Security Service, CNN, UN, “, US, Embassy — Locations: Russian, Syria, Russia, United States, Ukraine, New York, Boston, Washington, Moscow —, Ukrainian

CNN —The US has not seen indications that a missile downed the airplane Russian authorities say was carrying Wagner founder Yevgheny Prigozhin, according to four US officials. Another source familiar with the western intelligence echoed the US officials, saying there was no indication a missile was launched. Ryder also said that the Pentagon “doesn’t have any information to indicate right now” that the plane Prigozhin was on was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. Some US officials were not altogether surprised when the news broke on Russian state media about the plane crash. The officials did not say that US had confirmation that Prigozhin was on the plane.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgheny Prigozhin, it’s, Patrick Ryder, Defense Department’s, Prigozhin, “ I’m, ” Ryder, Ryder, Vladimir Putin, I’m, Joe Biden, “, Putin, ”, ” Putin, Bill Burns, Antony Blinken, ” Burns, ” Blinken Organizations: CNN, Officials, Embraer, Pentagon, Defense, Russia’s, Wednesday, Donetsk People’s, ”, Biden, Kremlin, CIA, “, NATO Locations: Moscow, Russian, Russia, FlightRadar24, St . Petersburg, Tver, Donetsk, Donetsk People’s Republic, Kremlin

“It’s knocked the Russians off balance a bit, but it is not doing anything decisive,” a senior defense official told CNN. Investigative Committee of Russia/Reuters“There’s more and more pressure on Crimea, and especially so in recent weeks,” that official told CNN. For now, the United States is not actively advising Ukraine against striking Crimea, according to the senior defense official. A stalled offensiveUS and Ukrainian officials openly acknowledge that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has not proceeded as quickly as had been expected and war-gamed in the months leading up to the push. “I’m not too optimistic that we’ll be at the Sea of Azov by Christmas,” said the US military official.

Persons: “ It’s, ”, Reuters “, “, Vladimir Putin, Michael Kofman, ” Miles, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, Biden, Western, Reuters, Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment, International Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Washington, Russian, Russia, Crimean, Kerch, Ukrainian, United States, Bakhmut, Azov, Europe, “

☆ Putin's 'unusual' habit with generals isn't typical for a modern military
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN reporter Katie Bo Lillis breaks down Russian reactions to Putin's choice to call up reserve troops to fight in Ukraine, and how Putin is dealing with an increasingly divided military amid Ukrainian advances.

☆ Suellen Tennyson: American nun held hostage in Burkina Faso is released with help of US forces
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-01 | by ( Barbara Starr Jennifer Hansler Katie Bo Lillis Ellie Kaufman | Barbara Starr | Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —An 83-year-old American nun from Louisiana who was held hostage by terrorists in Burkina Faso for almost five months was released on Monday. Sister Suellen Tennyson was released from the custody of terrorists to Nigeriens (Niger borders Burkina Faso) then turned over to US officials, a US official with knowledge of the situation said. US Africa Command personnel “facilitated the safe turnover,” of the American citizen from the terrorists, Lt. Cmdr. Timothy Pietrack, US Africa Command spokesperson told CNN in a statement. US Africa Command worked with “African and international partners” in order to secure Tennyson’s release, Pietrack said in the statement.

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