The Morning Brief - Lignet


Chechen Connection Suggests Possible Al-Qaeda Link to Boston Terror Attack
News that two young brothers from the Russian province of Chechnya who have lived in the United States for several years were behind the April 16 bombings makes it likely that they were at least so-called “homegrown terrorists,” possibly radicalized by al-Qaeda propaganda on the Internet. There also is a strong possibility that the two were somehow recruited and trained by al-Qaeda operatives to stage the Boston attack.
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Can North Korea Really Launch a Nuclear-Armed Missile?
Last week’s revelation that North Korea may have achieved the ability to place a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile has magnified concerns over Kim Jong Un’s recent bellicose rhetoric. With the intelligence community divided about the accuracy of this assessment, LIGNET reached out to several leading experts, including former CIA Director Michael Hayden, Ambassador John Bolton, nuclear analyst Jeffrey Lewis, and former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Pete Hoekstra for their perspectives on how far Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program has advanced.
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Russia: Human Rights Sideshow Makes Cooperation With US Less Likely
U.S.-Russia relations are on a downward spiral after both states blacklisted individuals from the other over alleged human rights violations. President Vladimir Putin’s proclamation that 18 Americans have violated human rights and are not allowed to visit Russia is farcical, but shows how far the Obama administration has to go as it begins a new round of negotiations with Putin’s government on issues like nuclear arms reductions and how to deal with Iran, Syria and North Korea.
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Iron Dome Not a Panacea for South Korean Missile Defense
Recent reports about advances in North Korea's ballistic missile program and its reported plans to conduct more missile tests have caused alarm in northeast Asia and have led to calls for South Korea to step up its missile defense shield, including by acquiring Israel’s well-regarded Iron Dome system. Iron Dome would not be a game changer for South Korea’s missile defense shield, but LIGNET believes it could still play a role in defending against some of North Korea's less sophisticated Scuds and smaller rockets.
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Western Sahara in Danger of Becoming a Terrorist Haven
As the situation in the disputed territory of Western Sahara becomes increasingly tense, Morocco is growing nervous that the chronic stalemate over the region’s political status could attract the militant Islamists who fled Mali following the French intervention there. The heightened regional tensions have raised the longstanding conflict’s international profile, with the United Nations also concerned that the impoverished territory could be used as a fertile recruiting ground for terrorists in North Africa.
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Vietnam's Subs to Challenge China in the South China Sea
Vietnam is to take delivery of two Russian diesel-electric submarines this year, complicating an evolving military dynamic in the South China Sea. The new subs represent both an effort by Vietnam to defend its territorial claims against China as well as a bid by Russia to advance its economic and strategic claims in the region.
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Making Tough Demands, North Korea Wants Talks
North Korea's demands to drop sanctions against it and stop joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises as a pre-condition for resuming multilateral talks are unacceptable to Washington and Seoul and suggest that while tensions with the North may be cooling, the situation is far from being resolved. Pyongyang made similar demands before prior talks and they mark a shift in its recent stream of daily threats, including threatening nuclear war against the United States.
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As Formula One Race Approaches, Bahrain Braces for More Protests
Bahrain is cracking down hard on demonstrators ahead of the country’s Formula One race this weekend as the increasingly radical February 14 youth movement threatens to turn violent. The government appears to be firm in its resolve to stop unrest from marring the race, especially considering how protests during the event last year cast a spotlight on the country’s poor human rights record.
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