Photo copyright: Reuters
Photo caption,
Mike Turner made a statement ahead of a planned meeting with intelligence officials, the White House says.
February 14, 2024
Updated 59 minutes ago
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Mike Turner, said that the committee provided members of Congress with information about a certain “serious threat to the national security” of the United States. According to media sources, this threat is associated with Russia and the potential deployment of nuclear weapons in space.
“I am asking President Biden to declassify all information related to this threat so that Congress, the Administration and our allies can openly discuss the actions needed to respond to this threat,” Turner said, without providing any additional information.
At the same time, according to Turner himself, there is no direct and immediate threat to the United States – and its allies.
Some American publications, citing the opinions of anonymous officials, suggested that Turner, a supporter of providing urgent assistance to Ukraine, made a fuss, including in order to push the House of Representatives to pass a bill on multibillion-dollar appropriations for this assistance.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mike Turner sent a letter to congressmen citing “destabilizing foreign military capabilities” as an urgent concern.
The letter said the House Intelligence Committee voted Feb. 13 to give lawmakers access to certain information on the matter and gave lawmakers until Friday to review it.
US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan declined to comment on the nature of the threats but said he was surprised by Turner’s decision to issue a statement as he planned to meet with congressional leaders on Thursday.
“I’m a little surprised that Congressman Turner made a public statement today ahead of a scheduled meeting where we will all be meeting with our intelligence and defense experts,” Sullivan said at a briefing.
What kind of threat?
American television companies CNN and ABC and the New York Times newspaper, as well as Reuters, reported, citing anonymous officials, that we are talking about preparations for the deployment of nuclear weapons in space.
According to the interlocutors of the New York Times, new intelligence data concerns the potential deployment of anti-satellite nuclear weapons in space.
“Officials say the new intelligence is quite serious, but these new capabilities are still being developed and Russia has not yet deployed them. Accordingly, they pose no immediate threat to the United States, Ukraine or America’s European allies,” writes the New York Times.
According to the newspaper’s interlocutors, this intelligence data was received several days ago, it is top secret, and it is impossible to disclose it without compromising the source.
Therefore, Mike Turner’s statement, according to the New York Times, infuriated the White House: it threatens the loss of valuable sources of information about Russia.
At the same time, Mike Turner, being a Republican, is an ally of the White House on the issue of military assistance to Ukraine. New York Times interlocutors suggested he was making more noise about the new intelligence than its substance suggested, to remind House colleagues of the Russian threat and push them to decide on a multibillion-dollar package of military aid to Ukraine, as well as Israel and Taiwan.
The USA, Great Britain and the USSR, of which Russia declared itself the legal successor, promised each other back in 1967 not to place nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction in space, having concluded a corresponding agreement. In subsequent years, more than 100 countries joined it.
In addition, in 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the non-placement of any weapons in space, and the Russian Foreign Ministry regularly reports on the conclusion of bilateral agreements on the non-placement of weapons in space with countries such as, for example, Uganda or Sierra Leone.
Sign up for our email newsletter to receive the day’s top stories every evening, Monday through Friday, plus context to help you make sense of what’s happening.
#Congress #reported #threat #security #United #States #links #Russia #BBC #News
2024-02-14 23:07:32