US panel flags emerging terrorism threats
Washington, Sep 1
A US congressional intelligence panel has warned that the next major attack against the United States could involve artificial intelligence, cyber operations, biological threats or strikes on critical infrastructure rather than hijacked aircraft.
The House Intelligence Committee has approved the public release of a report reviewing lessons from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and assessing whether the United States has fully implemented recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission.
The committee approved the report by voice vote during a meeting at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The site marks where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after passengers and crew members confronted the hijackers.
The report examines the implementation of the 9/11 Commission's 41 original recommendations and identifies current blind spots that could leave the United States vulnerable to another strategic attack.
It makes 20 new recommendations, including full implementation of a biometric entry-and-exit system for passport control comparable to the system used by the European Union.
The committee also called for interoperable information-sharing systems across the US intelligence community and closer coordination among intelligence agencies and federal, state, local and tribal authorities.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford said the country could not repeat the "failure of imagination" identified by the original 9/11 Commission.
"The next strategic attack against the United States may not involve hijacked airplanes," Crawford said.
The report identifies artificial intelligence, cyberattacks, drones, biological threats, attacks on telecommunications and the electricity grid, economic coercion and other emerging capabilities as potential national security dangers.
Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York and Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey co-chaired the task force that conducted the review.
The panel examined threats that were not fully anticipated when the original commission issued its report in 2004.
These include home-grown violent extremism, foreign terrorist organisations, unmanned systems, asymmetric warfare and the rapid development of new technologies.
The committee recommended reviewing intelligence-classification standards to reduce overclassification, which can prevent useful information from being shared among agencies.
It also called for preparations to address unexpected or "Black Swan" risks associated with the proliferation of artificial intelligence.
Another recommendation asks the government to re-examine the possible creation of a National Intelligence Reserve Corps.
The report proposes mandatory training in handling classified material and counterintelligence for all members of Congress and congressional employees holding security clearances.
It also recommends reauthorising Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The provision allows the US government to collect electronic communications involving foreign nationals located outside the United States.
The recommendation is likely to renew debate over the balance between intelligence gathering and privacy protections.
The task force found that some proposals made by the 9/11 Commission remain incomplete, including changes to congressional oversight of intelligence agencies.
The original commission recommended merging the separate House and Senate intelligence committees into a single joint congressional committee, but Congress did not adopt that proposal.
It also sought changes to customs and immigration controls, concluding that stronger systems might have prevented several of the September 11 hijackers from entering the United States.
The 2004 commission report led to major changes in the US national security structure, including the creation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Counterterrorism Center.
The latest review comes nearly 25 years after the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. The committee held discussions with victims' families, law-enforcement officials and the director of national intelligence before approving the report.
— IANS
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