United States – The following alert related to “Middle-Eastern males” approaching military family members was obtained from the website of a veterans advocacy organization. A force protection advisory that was released by the Washington National Guard & Military Department days later describes a similar incident that occurred in Washington.
(U//FOUO) In May 2015, the wife of a US military member was approached in front of her home by two Middle-Eastern males. The men stated that she was the wife of a US interrogator. When she denied their claims, the men laughed. The two men left the area in a dark-colored, four-door sedan with two other Middle-Eastern males in the vehicle. The woman had observed the vehicle in the neighborhood on previous occasions.
(U//FOUO) Similar incidents in Wyoming have been reported to the FBI throughout June 2015. On numerous occasions, family members of military personnel were confronted by Middle-Eastern males in front of their homes. The males have attempted to obtain personal information about the military member and family members through intimidation. The family members have reported feeling scared.
(U//FOUO) To date, the men have not been identified and it is not known if all the incidents involve the same Middle-Eastern males. If you have any information that may assist the FBI in identifying these individuals, or reporting concerning additional incidents; in Colorado please contact the FBI Fort Collins Resident Agency at 970-663-1028, in Wyoming please contact the FBI Cheyenne Resident Agency at 307-632-6224.
(U) This report has been prepared by the DENVER Division of the FBI. Comments and queries may be addressed to the DENVER Division at 303-629-7171.
(https://info.publicintelligence.net/FBI-MiddleEasternMales.pdf)
United States/Iran – Barack Obama admitted on the 6 Aug 15 that the Iran nuclear deal is likely to provide more funding for terror groups like Hezbollah but insisted the agreement was still the best way to keep America out of another war in the Middle East. In a provocative defence of the nuclear pact, Mr Obama said his critics were the same people who launched a failed war in Iraq and warned that Republican plans to tear up the agreement would leave America diplomatically isolated and economically weakened. He compared his own efforts to reach a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran to John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan’s negotiations with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War and urged members of Congress not to scupper the agreement in a key vote next month. During the 55-minute speech, the president conceded one point to his critics: that Iran was likely to use some of the billions of dollars it will receive in sanctions relief to support terrorist groups. “We have no illusions about the Iranian government or the significance of the Revolutionary Guard and the Quds Force. Iran supports terrorist organizations like Hezbollah. It supports proxy groups that threaten our interests and the interests of our allies, including proxy groups who killed our troops in Iraq,” he said. However, he argued that Iran found funds for Hezbollah even when its economy was being crippled by sanctions and that the money going to Iran would not be enough to challenge the military strength of Israel or Gulf Arab nations. “Contrary to the alarmists who claim Iran is on the brink of taking over the Middle East, or even the world, Iran will remain a regional power with its own set of challenges,” Mr Obama said. Critics of the agreement immediately responded by accusing Mr Obama of handing billions to “the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism”. Mr Obama struck back at opponents of the deal in both the US and Israel, saying they had adopted “a mindset characterised by a preference to for military action over diplomacy”. Mr Obama spoke at American University, the same setting where John F Kennedy delivered a landmark June 1963 speech on a nuclear arms treaty with the Soviet Union, and invoked his predecessor repeatedly. “John F Kennedy cautioned here more than 50 years ago at this university that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war. But it's so very important. It is surely the pursuit of peace that is most needed in this world so full of strife,” he said. He also warned against promises made by some Republican presidential candidates to tear up the agreement and re-impose unilateral US sanctions, saying that the sanctions regime that forced Iran to the negotiating table only worked because it was also adopted by European and Asian powers. “We cannot dictate the foreign, economic and energy policies of every major power in the world,” Mr Obama said. The speech is part of an all-out White House lobbying effort to convince Democratic members of Congress to support the deal in a vote in September. But members of Congress are also being fiercely lobbied by the deal’s opponents, including Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, and America’s powerful pro-Israel lobby. While Mr Obama has won over the support of several key Democrats in recent days, the two top Democrat senators have yet to say whether they will support the agreement.
United States/Islamic State – A group calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Division this week posted online a purported list of names and contacts for Americans it refers to as “targets,” according to officials a report claimed on the 14 Aug 15. Though the legitimacy of the list is questionable, and much of the information it contains is outdated, the message claims to provide the phone numbers, locations, and “passwords” for 1,400 American government and military personnel as well as purported credit card numbers, and excerpts of some Facebook chats. “We are extracting confidential data,” the message says, “and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the khilafah, who soon with the permission of Allah will strike at your necks in your own lands!” Many of the phone numbers and email addresses on the list were not in service, when tested by CNN. But one person on the list, reached by phone, confirmed that he had previously served in the U.S. military. He asked not to be named, but said he had recently been notified by the Pentagon that his name and personal information were on the list. Another, reached by email, confirmed that she was a government employee who has been warned by the military about being on the list. Several online terror trackers were unable to confirm whether the list actually came from ISIS. The FBI and Pentagon both say they are investigating. The group calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Division has once previously put out a list of around 100 purported names, with personal information, saying they were American military personnel. Matthew Levitt, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, believes that those posting these lists are trying to spark lone-wolf style attacks in the United States like the ones in Garland, Texas, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, in recent months. “Even if this is not so advanced,” he said, “they are continuing that message: You don’t have to come to Syria and Iraq, you can stay where you are, do something where you are.” “It also does really freak out U.S. government military and law enforcement personnel,” he said. “It certainly does create a further sense of threat.”
(U//FOUO) In May 2015, the wife of a US military member was approached in front of her home by two Middle-Eastern males. The men stated that she was the wife of a US interrogator. When she denied their claims, the men laughed. The two men left the area in a dark-colored, four-door sedan with two other Middle-Eastern males in the vehicle. The woman had observed the vehicle in the neighborhood on previous occasions.
(U//FOUO) Similar incidents in Wyoming have been reported to the FBI throughout June 2015. On numerous occasions, family members of military personnel were confronted by Middle-Eastern males in front of their homes. The males have attempted to obtain personal information about the military member and family members through intimidation. The family members have reported feeling scared.
(U//FOUO) To date, the men have not been identified and it is not known if all the incidents involve the same Middle-Eastern males. If you have any information that may assist the FBI in identifying these individuals, or reporting concerning additional incidents; in Colorado please contact the FBI Fort Collins Resident Agency at 970-663-1028, in Wyoming please contact the FBI Cheyenne Resident Agency at 307-632-6224.
(U) This report has been prepared by the DENVER Division of the FBI. Comments and queries may be addressed to the DENVER Division at 303-629-7171.
(https://info.publicintelligence.net/FBI-MiddleEasternMales.pdf)
United States/Iran – Barack Obama admitted on the 6 Aug 15 that the Iran nuclear deal is likely to provide more funding for terror groups like Hezbollah but insisted the agreement was still the best way to keep America out of another war in the Middle East. In a provocative defence of the nuclear pact, Mr Obama said his critics were the same people who launched a failed war in Iraq and warned that Republican plans to tear up the agreement would leave America diplomatically isolated and economically weakened. He compared his own efforts to reach a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran to John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan’s negotiations with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War and urged members of Congress not to scupper the agreement in a key vote next month. During the 55-minute speech, the president conceded one point to his critics: that Iran was likely to use some of the billions of dollars it will receive in sanctions relief to support terrorist groups. “We have no illusions about the Iranian government or the significance of the Revolutionary Guard and the Quds Force. Iran supports terrorist organizations like Hezbollah. It supports proxy groups that threaten our interests and the interests of our allies, including proxy groups who killed our troops in Iraq,” he said. However, he argued that Iran found funds for Hezbollah even when its economy was being crippled by sanctions and that the money going to Iran would not be enough to challenge the military strength of Israel or Gulf Arab nations. “Contrary to the alarmists who claim Iran is on the brink of taking over the Middle East, or even the world, Iran will remain a regional power with its own set of challenges,” Mr Obama said. Critics of the agreement immediately responded by accusing Mr Obama of handing billions to “the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism”. Mr Obama struck back at opponents of the deal in both the US and Israel, saying they had adopted “a mindset characterised by a preference to for military action over diplomacy”. Mr Obama spoke at American University, the same setting where John F Kennedy delivered a landmark June 1963 speech on a nuclear arms treaty with the Soviet Union, and invoked his predecessor repeatedly. “John F Kennedy cautioned here more than 50 years ago at this university that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war. But it's so very important. It is surely the pursuit of peace that is most needed in this world so full of strife,” he said. He also warned against promises made by some Republican presidential candidates to tear up the agreement and re-impose unilateral US sanctions, saying that the sanctions regime that forced Iran to the negotiating table only worked because it was also adopted by European and Asian powers. “We cannot dictate the foreign, economic and energy policies of every major power in the world,” Mr Obama said. The speech is part of an all-out White House lobbying effort to convince Democratic members of Congress to support the deal in a vote in September. But members of Congress are also being fiercely lobbied by the deal’s opponents, including Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, and America’s powerful pro-Israel lobby. While Mr Obama has won over the support of several key Democrats in recent days, the two top Democrat senators have yet to say whether they will support the agreement.
United States/Islamic State – A group calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Division this week posted online a purported list of names and contacts for Americans it refers to as “targets,” according to officials a report claimed on the 14 Aug 15. Though the legitimacy of the list is questionable, and much of the information it contains is outdated, the message claims to provide the phone numbers, locations, and “passwords” for 1,400 American government and military personnel as well as purported credit card numbers, and excerpts of some Facebook chats. “We are extracting confidential data,” the message says, “and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the khilafah, who soon with the permission of Allah will strike at your necks in your own lands!” Many of the phone numbers and email addresses on the list were not in service, when tested by CNN. But one person on the list, reached by phone, confirmed that he had previously served in the U.S. military. He asked not to be named, but said he had recently been notified by the Pentagon that his name and personal information were on the list. Another, reached by email, confirmed that she was a government employee who has been warned by the military about being on the list. Several online terror trackers were unable to confirm whether the list actually came from ISIS. The FBI and Pentagon both say they are investigating. The group calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Division has once previously put out a list of around 100 purported names, with personal information, saying they were American military personnel. Matthew Levitt, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, believes that those posting these lists are trying to spark lone-wolf style attacks in the United States like the ones in Garland, Texas, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, in recent months. “Even if this is not so advanced,” he said, “they are continuing that message: You don’t have to come to Syria and Iraq, you can stay where you are, do something where you are.” “It also does really freak out U.S. government military and law enforcement personnel,” he said. “It certainly does create a further sense of threat.”
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