RR The Wire 2030Z December 12, 2023

PRECEDENCE: ROUTINE RR

DTG: 203012Z DEC 23

ICOD: 193012Z DEC 23

CONTROLS: Public Release

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BLUF: REVELATIONS OF DOMESTIC U.S. SPYING CONTINUE. ISRAEL FACES FIERCE RESISTANCE IN KHAN YOUNIS.

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-International Events-

Middle East: Israel makes progress in the consolidation of the northern pocket encircling Gaza City. In the north, Hezbollah continues harassing attacks and border skirmishes as before. However, IDF units have experienced heavy resistance in Khan Younis to the south, and have taken heavy casualties. IED attacks and extreme-close-range ambushes are very common as Israeli forces advance deeper into the Gaza Strip. Hamas militants continue rocket attacks regularly, though the volume of which is difficult to judge. Regarding civilians, the humanitarian crisis worsens as the flow of humanitarian aid is not enough to keep up with the demand. AC: With most structures in Gaza City suffering damage of some kind, hundreds of thousands of people are displaced or living amongst the rubble of their former homes. This creates challenges for the distribution of international aid. In the north, IDF officials have repeatedly issued warnings to Hezbollah over the past few days, indicating concerns with Hezbollah possibly opening up another major front in earnest. So far, Hezbollah rocket attacks and ATGM attacks on border checkpoints and LP/OPs have been regular, but not indicative of a major Hezbollah military operation.

-Homefront-

USA: A Congressional investigation has revealed that many popular pharmacies in the U.S. share customer medical records with law enforcement, without a warrant. In the letter sent to the US Department of Health and Human Services, questions also remain regarding the investigative tactics that would require the medical information contained by a pharmacy. AC: Though not explicitly stated or referenced in the official Congressional documentation, the implications of this are concerning considering context of the medical targeting that has taken place over the past few years.

In a similar vein, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is coming to an end in December. Consequently, Congress has been drafting an update to this legislation over the past few months to pick up when the current law expires. However, legal analysts have noted that while the update to Section 702 is being touted as being less-privacy-invasive for Americans, the inverse is actually true.

-Analyst Comments-

It has been a rough week for domestic spying revelations for the American public. Regarding the scandal surrounding Section 702 of FISA, as the revisions currently stand the proposed changes read like a Patriot Act 2.0, granting virtually unlimited domestic surveillance capabilities to most federal agencies, all without a warrant. Currently, FISA regulations are intended to allow spying on non-US Persons for homeland security without a warrant. As such, a behemoth of organizational efforts exist to streamline this surveillance process. However, any US Persons who may end up part of an investigation would require a warrant and justification to be included in surveillance operations. The latest drafts of the update to Section 702 remove this requirement in most cases, allowing federal tactics intended to surveil non-citizens to be used against US citizens. Most of the specific concerns come from the changing of definitions. This is a classic tactic to slowly mission-creep legislation without much notice or attention. First pass the law, with all eyes on it, then over the years “update” or “modernize” the terms contained within, which ends up changing the entire meaning of the original text. This appears to be the source of much consternation regarding this legislation.