So, What Really Goes in Space to Have a Space Force?

Posted on August 10, 2018August 10, 2018 by Denise Simon

Primer: Did you know there is something called the OuterSpace Treaty? Yup, it covers arms control, verification and compliance. Sounds great right? Problem is it is dated 2002.

Then there is the NASA summary of the 1967 Space Treaty.

GPS is operated and maintained by the U.S. Air Force. GPS.gov is maintained by the National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing.

Like the Internet, GPS is an essential element of the global information infrastructure. The free, open, and dependable nature of GPS has led to the development of hundreds of applications affecting every aspect of modern life. GPS technology is now in everything from cell phones and wristwatches to bulldozers, shipping containers, and ATM’s.

GPS boosts productivity across a wide swath of the economy, to include farming, construction, mining, surveying, package delivery, and logistical supply chain management. Major communications networks, banking systems, financial markets, and power grids depend heavily on GPS for precise time synchronization. Some wireless services cannot operate without it.

GPS saves lives by preventing transportation accidents, aiding search and rescue efforts, and speeding the delivery of emergency services and disaster relief. GPS is vital to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) that will enhance flight safety while increasing airspace capacity. GPS also advances scientific aims such as weather forecasting, earthquake monitoring, and environmental protection.

Finally, GPS remains critical to U.S. national security, and its applications are integrated into virtually every facet of U.S. military operations. Nearly all new military assets — from vehicles to munitions — come equipped with GPS.

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There is a robust debate within Washington and the Pentagon if whether or not a new branch of Armed Services is really needed. Presently, the Air Force has most exclusive authority of all things space except for research and exploration which is performed by NASA.

There is even a debate within the Air Force which was raised last February.

US Air Force Chief of Staff General David L. Goldfein predicted it’ll only be a “matter of years” before American forces find themselves “fighting from space.” To prepare for this grim possibility, he said the Air Force needs new tools and a new approach to training leaders. Oh, and lots of money.

“[It’s] time for us as a service, regardless of specialty badge, to embrace space superiority with the same passion and sense of ownership as we apply to air superiority today,” he said.

These are some of the strongest words yet from the Air Force chief of staff to get the Pentagon thinking about space—and to recognize the U.S. Air Force as the service branch best suited for the job. “I believe we’re going to be fighting from space in a matter of years,” he said. “And we are the service that must lead joint war fighting in this new contested domain. This is what the nation demands.”

The USAF and other military officials have been saying this for years, but Goldfein’s comments had an added sense of urgency this time around. Rep. Mike Rogers, the Strategic Forces Subcommittee chairman, recently proposed the creation of a new “Space Corps,” one that would be modeled after the Marines. The proposed service branch, it was argued, would keep the United States ahead of rival nations like Russia and China. The idea was scrapped this past December—at least for now. Needless to say, Rogers’ proposal did not go over well with the USAF; the creation of the first new uniformed service branch in 70 years would see Pentagon funds siphoned away from the Air Force. Hence Goldfein’s speech on Friday, in which he argued that the USAF is the service branch best positioned to protect American interests in space.

But in order to protect “contested environments,” the US Air Force will need to exercise competency in “multi-domain operations,” he said. This means the ability to collect battlefield intelligence from “all domains,” including air, ground, sea, cyber, and space. “I look forward to discussing how we can leverage new technology and new ways of networking multi-domain sensors and resilient communications to bring more lethality to the fight,” said Goldfein.

Indeed, the USAF has plenty of work to do make this happen, and to keep up with its rivals. China, for example, recently proposed far-fetched laser-armed satellite to remove space junk, while also demonstrating its ability to shoot down missiles in space. Should a major conflict break out in the near future, space will most certainly represent the first battlefield.

“When you think of how dependent the US military is on satellites for everything from its communication and navigation to command and surveillance, we are already fighting in space, even if it’s not like the movies depicted,” Peter W. Singer, fellow at New America and author of Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War, told Gizmodo. “If we were ever to fight another great power, like a China or Russia, it is likely the opening round of battle would be completely silent, as in space no one would hear the other side jamming or even destroying each other’s satellites.”

To prepare the United States for this possibility, Goldfein said the Air Force needs to invest in new technologies and train a new generation of leaders. On that last point, the CSAF ordered Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, the commander of Air Education and Training Command, to develop a program to train officers and non-commissioned officers for space ops. “We need to build a joint, smart space force and a space-smart joint force,” Goldfein said.

As reported in SpaceNews, the USAF is asking for $8.5 billion for space programs in the 2019 budget, of which $5.9 billion would go to research and development, and the remaining for procurement of new satellite and launch services. Over next five years it hopes to spend $44.3 billion on development of new space systems, which is 18 percent more than it said it would need last year to cover the same period.

Trouble Ahead After DPRK’s FM Visit to Tehran

Posted on August 9, 2018August 9, 2018 by Denise Simon

So, it appears there is more to the teaming up between Tehran and Pyongyang.

The Iranian President Rouhani told the North Korean Foreign Minister in a recent confab to NOT trust the United States.

Meanwhile, SecState, Mike Pompeo issued a proposal to North Korea calling for a timeline Pompeo that would mandate North Korea hand over 60 to 70 percent of its nuclear warheads to a third party within six to eight months, according to the report.

North Korea has reportedly rejected a formal timeline for its denuclearization proposed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Vox reported Wednesday that Pyongyang has rejected the timeline several times over the past two months amid continued negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear program.

The timeline Pompeo proposed would mandate North Korea hand over 60 to 70 percent of its nuclear warheads to a third party within six to eight months, according to the report.

However, it is unclear how many warheads North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has, making it difficult to verify that Pyongyang has actually turned over an agreed-upon percentage.

Trump administration officials in recent weeks have expressed frustration with North Korea’s efforts to denuclearize despite President Trump hailing his June summit with Kim in Singapore as a success.

“The ultimate timeline for denuclearization will be set by Chairman Kim, at least in part,” Pompeo told Channel NewsAsia in an interview last week.

“The decision is his. He made a commitment, and we’re very hopeful that over the coming weeks and months we can make substantial progress towards that and put the North Korean people on a trajectory towards a brighter future very quickly.”

White House national security adviser John Bolton told Fox News on Tuesday that “North Korea that has not taken the steps we feel are necessary to denuclearize.”

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Then we have yet another emerging hacking warning from CERT.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have identified a Trojan malware variant—referred to as KEYMARBLE—used by the North Korean government. The U.S. Government refers to malicious cyber activity by the North Korean government as HIDDEN COBRA.

US-CERT encourages users and administrators to review Malware Analysis Report (MAR) MAR-10135536-17 and the US-CERT page on HIDDEN COBRA – North Korean Malicious Cyber Activity for more information.

Not to leave out Iran’s cyber attack warnings.

Iranian hackers have laid the groundwork to carry out extensive cyber attacks against private U.S. and European companies, U.S. officials warn, according to NBC News. Although experts don’t believe any such attack is imminent, the preparations could enable denial-of-service attacks on infrastructure including electric grids and water plants, plus health care and technology companies across the U.S., Europe, and Middle East, say U.S. officials at the 2018 Aspen Security Forum.

A spokesperson for the Iranian mission to the United Nations, Alireza Miryousefi, told NBC News that the U.S. is more aggressive in terms of cyber attacks, and Iran’s moves are merely defensive.

***

As sanctions reimposed in response to its nuclear program begin to bite, Iran seems poised to follow the trail North Korea blazed in cyberspace: state-directed hacking that aims at direct theft to redress economic pain. Accenture researchers have been tracking ransomware strains, many of them requiring payment in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, and they’ve concluded that they represent an incipient Iranian campaign against targets of opportunity that offer the prospect of quick financial gain. Tehran’s state-directed hackers have a reputation as being relatively less sophisticated than those run by Russia and China (and indeed those run by major Western powers, the Five Eyes and their closest friends) but they also have a reputation as determined fast-learners.

CCN: As the US gets ready to impose sanctions on Iran, hackers in that country are working on ransomware to secure bitcoin, according to cybersecurity experts interviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Accenture PLC’s cybersecurity intelligence group has followed five Iranian built ransomware variations in the last two years. The hackers are hoping to secure payments in cryptocurrencies, according to Jim Guinn, who oversees the industrial cybersecurity business at Accenture.

Several clues link the ransomware to Iran. Samples include messages in Farsi that are connected to Iran based computers.

A recent Accenture report noted the ransomware could be driven by Iranian government supported parties, criminals, or both.

Scourge Continues

Ransomware has plagued both businesses and governments for years, having disabled payment systems at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, U.K hospitals and cargo shipments. Government supported hackers in some instances have obtained cryptocurrency payments from victims.

One variant of ransomware that iDefense discovered has been linked to Iran’s government, according to CrowdStrike Inc., another cybersecurity firm. The software, called Tyrant, was developed to discourage Iranian citizens from downloading software designed to discourage government snooping, CrowdStrike noted.

Palo Alto Networks Inc. and Symantec Corp. issued reports last month that described a pair of data stealing operations connected to Iran.

Crypto Mining Linked To Iran

Crypto mining software, which robs computers of their processing power to mine cryptocurrencies, has also been linked to Iran.

Accenture cited crypto mining software installed on Middle Eastern customer networks equipped with digital clues to Iran.

Crypto mining software has created problems in gas and oil facilities in the Middle East, Guinn said. He estimated millions of dollars of compute cycles have been stolen in the last year.

Iran Denies Culpability

Iran has claimed it has not been involved in cyber attacks, and that it has been a hacking victim.

A cyber attack called Stuxnet initiated by the U.S. and Israel about a decade ago disabled uranium-enrichment centrifuges for Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has since focused on enhancing its own cyber capabilities, according to government officials and security researchers.

Keith Alexander, chief executive of IronNet Cybersecurity Inc. and former director of the U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency said crypto mining and theft is a way for cash-strapped countries to make fast profits.

Guinn said hackers have also stolen intellectual property.

What About those 3 Dead Russian Journalists?

Posted on August 9, 2018August 9, 2018 by Denise Simon

Rather interesting that fellow journalists are not outrages and there is not full reporting on these murders. Jim Acosta? April Ryan? CNN? (snarky)

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian exile and Putin foe has a news organization called Investigation Control Center. Three investigative journalists were dispatched to (CAR) Central African Republic to determine why a Putin connected militant group Wagner is operating there. Sadly, it did not end well.

On the 31st of July news broke about the murder of the Russian journalists Orkhan Djemal, Alexander Rastorguev and Kirril Radchenko. They were working in the Rental African Republic on a joint project with Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s Investigation Control Center. In particular, they intended to visit the grounds of Berengo estate, where, it is alleged, the base of the mercenaries of the private military organisation “Wenger” is situated.

The journalists arrived in Bangi, the capital of CAR, on Saturday. The next day they went to Berengo’s estate. However, they were denied access, requiring accreditation from CAR’s Ministry of Defense. Their details were noted down and they were promised that they would be given a pass after five days.

On Monday the group had to meet the fixer (a journalism consultant) from a UN delegation called Martin (he was the one who recommended the driver to the journalists). The journey ought to have taken about a day and a half because of roadblocks and poor-quality roads.

On Sunday evening the journalists were ambushed and shot in their vehicle at around 22:00 local time.

French media reported that the murders were motivated by theft – the journalists were carrying roughly 9,000 dollars and their equipment. Mikhail Khodorkovsky has promised to help find and identify the journalists’ killers.

***

Photographs of journalists Orkhan Dzhemal (right), Kirill Radchenko (center) and Aleksandr Rastorguyev are seen at a small memorial to the slain jounalists outside the Central House of Journalists in Moscow.

Russian investigators said they have opened a criminal case to look into the deaths of the journalists. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on August 1 that the stated purpose of their visit to the CAR was tourism, seeming to take them to task for allegedly misstating the intent of the trip.

That remark drew rare criticism of the ministry from a senior pro-Kremlin lawmaker. Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, wrote on Telegram that issues such as the purpose of the trip were “not very important now.”

“What is important is that Russian citizens have been killed,” he wrote. “Here we should follow the example of our ‘strategic friends’ from across the ocean: the United States does not leave the death of any of its citizens without consequences. No matter what country they were in and what political views they adhered to.”

Henri Depele, the mayor of the town of Sibut, around 200 kilometers northeast of the capital, Bangui, said the journalists were killed late on July 30. Their driver survived the attack.

***

The investigative media outlet the journalists worked for is financed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon who spent 10 years in prison following convictions in financial-crimes trials supporters contend were a Kremlin-orchestrated campaign to seize his company’s production assets and punish him for challenges to President Vladimir Putin.

He was pardoned by Putin, released, and flown out of Russia in 2010, and now lives in Europe, where he is one of Putin’s most vehement critics.

TsUR has published a number of investigations alleging corruption by senior members of Putin’s entourage.

Khodorkovsky called the three journalists who were killed “brave men who were not prepared simply to collect documentary material, but wanted to ‘feel’ it in the palms of their hands…. Rest in peace.”

Dzhemal, 51, was a respected Russian military correspondent who covered conflicts around the world. He was seriously injured in Libya in 2011 and published a book in 2008 giving a firsthand account of the five-day Russia-Georgia war.

Rastorguyev, 47, was a prominent documentary filmmaker and a contributor to RFE/RL. He was among the three directors of an award-winning 2013 film about leaders of the Russian opposition.

Radchenko, 33, started his career as a projectionist, but had become a cameraman in recent years. He served as an election observer in Chechnya in March.

The Central African Republic has been riddled by violence, often fought along religious lines between predominantly Christian and Muslim militias, since a 2013 rebellion overthrew then-President Francois Bozize.

Most of the country is beyond the control of the Bangui government, and a 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission has struggled to keep a lid on the violence.

Putin/Trump Arms Control then Sanctions

Posted on August 8, 2018August 8, 2018 by Denise Simon

Leaked Document Reveals Putin Lobbied Trump on Arms Control

Vladimir Putin presented President Donald Trump with a series of requests during their private meeting in Helsinki last month, including new talks on controlling nuclear arms and prohibiting weapons in space, according to a Russian document obtained by POLITICO.

A page of proposed topics for negotiation, not previously made public, offers new insights into the substance of the July 16 dialogue that even Trump’s top advisers have said they were not privy to at the time. Putin shared the contents of the document with Trump during their two-hour conversation, according to a U.S. government adviser who provided an English-language translation. Details in the single page agenda for the meeting shows Mr. Putin remains interested in maintaining continued cooperation with the US on nuclear weapons.

A source who did not wish to be identified after obtaining the page translated from Russian into English by Politico, said: “This is, ‘We want to get out of the dog house and engage with the US on a broad range of security issues.” The document fails to address questions raised about what the Russian government meant last month when it said “cooperation in Syria” would be discussed between the two presidents and what they agreed to as a result.

Further murkiness fanned the flames of suspicion after Dan Coats, US Director of National Intelligence, told reporters he was “not in a position to either understand fully or talk about what happened in Helsinki.” Politico

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New START

Treaty Structure: The Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms also known as the New START Treaty.

Strategic Offensive Reductions: The Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, also known as the New START Treaty, entered into force on February 5, 2011. Under the Treaty, the United States and Russia must meet the Treaty’s central limits on strategic arms by February 5, 2018; seven years from the date the Treaty entered into force. Each Party has the flexibility to determine for itself the structure of its strategic forces within the aggregate limits of the Treaty. These limits are based on the rigorous analysis conducted by Department of Defense planners in support of the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review.

Aggregate limits:

700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments;
1,550 nuclear warheads on deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs, and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments (each such heavy bomber is counted as one warhead toward this limit);
800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments.

Verification and Transparency: The Treaty has a verification regime that combines appropriate elements of the 1991 START Treaty with new elements tailored to the limitations and structure of this Treaty. Verification measures under the Treaty include on-site inspections and exhibitions, data exchanges and notifications related to strategic offensive arms and facilities covered by the Treaty, and provisions to facilitate the use of national technical means for treaty monitoring. To increase confidence and transparency, the Treaty also provides for an annual exchange of telemetry on an agreed number of ICBM and SLBM launches.

Treaty Duration: The Treaty’s duration is ten years, unless superseded by a subsequent agreement. The Parties may agree to extend the Treaty for a period of no more than five years. The Treaty includes a withdrawal clause that is standard in arms control agreements. The 2002 Moscow Treaty terminated when the New START Treaty entered into force.

No Constraints on Missile Defense and Conventional Strike: The Treaty does not constrain testing, development, or deployment of current or planned U.S. missile defense programs or long-range conventional strike capabilities.

What is the difference between a “Type One” and a “Type Two” inspection?

The New START Treaty provides for 18 on-site inspections per year. There are two basic types of inspections. Type One inspections focus on sites with deployed and non-deployed strategic systems; Type Two inspections focus on sites with only non-deployed strategic systems. Permitted inspection activities include confirming the number of reentry vehicles on deployed ICBMs and deployed SLBMs, confirming numbers related to non-deployed launcher limits, counting nuclear weapons onboard or attached to deployed heavy bombers, confirming weapon system conversions or eliminations, and confirming facility eliminations. Each side is allowed to conduct ten Type One inspections and eight Type Two inspections annually.

Meanwhile, standing with lab results and in solidarity with Britain:

FNC: Russia used “chemical or biological weapons” to try to assassinate a former British spy, the U.S. said on Wednesday, adding that new sanctions would be imposed on the country for the attack.

“Following the use of a ‘Novichok’ nerve agent in an attempt to assassinate UK citizen Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal, the United States, on August 6, 2018, determined under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) that the Government of the Russian Federation has used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law or has used lethal chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals,” the State Department said in a statement.

“Following a 15-day Congressional notification period, these sanctions will take effect upon publication of a notice in the Federal Register, expected on or around August 22, 2018,” the department continued.

Skripal and his daughter were poisoned by the military-grade nerve agent in the British town of Salisbury in March.

Britain earlier accused Russia of being behind the attack, which the Kremlin has vehemently denied.

On March 15, President Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May said in a joint statement that they “abhorred” the attack against Skripal.

“It is an assault on U.K. sovereignty and any such use by a State party is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law. It threatens the security of us all,” the statement read.

Skripal was discharged from a U.K. hospital in May, following his daughter’s April release.

Since the March attack, two other British nationals with no ties to Russia have been poisoned by the substance.

New Mexico Compound was Training for School Shooting

Posted on August 8, 2018August 8, 2018 by Denise Simon

Timeline:

TAOS, N.M. (AP) — The Latest on 11 children found living in a filthy, makeshift compound in New Mexico (all times local):

12:30 p.m.

Prosecutors say in court documents that the father of a missing Georgia boy was training children at a New Mexico compound to commit school shootings.

The documents filed Wednesday say Siraj Ibn Wahhaj (see-DAHJ’ IBN wah-HAJ’) was conducting weapons training at the compound near the Colorado border where 11 hungry children were found in filthy conditions.

Prosecutors filed the documents while asking that Wahhaj be held without bail.

Wahhaj was arrested last week with four other adults. They are facing child abuse charges.

Authorities say the remains of a boy also were found on the compound but have not been positively identified by a medical examiners.

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9:30 a.m.

New Mexico officials investigating a makeshift compound where 11 children were found hungry plan to ask a judge to hold the father of a missing boy without bail.

New Mexico 8th Judicial District Attorney Donald Gallegos said Tuesday that prosecutors are putting together evidence to ask a judge to hold Siraj Ibn Wahhaj (see-DAHJ’ IBN wah-HAJ’) without bond.

A warrant from Georgia seeks the extradition of Wahhaj to face a charge of abducting his son from that state last December.

He is scheduled to appear in a Taos County court on Wednesday. Wahhaj and four other adults also face felony child abuse charges after a raid by authorities found the 11 children living in filth.

The missing boy was not among the children found in that initial search but authorities say they found the remains of a child that they are working to identify.

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12 a.m.

The father of a missing boy is due in court Wednesday as authorities work to identify a child’s remains uncovered in an isolated New Mexico compound where he was arrested last week.

A warrant from Georgia seeks the extradition of Siraj Ibn Wahhaj to face a charge of abducting his son from that state last December.

Wahhaj and four other adults also face felony child abuse charges after a raid by authorities revealed 11 hungry children living in filth.

The missing boy was not among the children found in that initial search.

The district attorney said he would withhold comment on the potential for additional charges until investigators identified the remains found on the site.

***

CORRECTS LAST NAME TO MORTON, NOT MORTEN – This photo provided by the Taos County Sheriff’s Department shows Lucas Morton, left, and Siraj Wahhaj. Morton and Wahhaj were arrested after law enforcement officers searching a rural northern New Mexico compound for a missing 3-year-old boy found 11 children in filthy conditions and hardly any food. (Taos County Sheriff’s Department via AP)

AMALIA, N.M. (AP) — For months, neighbors worried about a squalid compound built along a remote New Mexico plain, saying they brought their concerns to authorities long before sheriff’s officials first found 11 hungry children on the lot, and then the remains of a small boy.

Two men and three women also had been living at the compound, and were arrested following a raid Friday that came as officials searched for a missing Georgia boy with severe medical issues.

Medical examiners still must confirm whether the body found at the property in a second search on Monday is that of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj, who was 3 in December when police say his father took him from his mother in Jonesboro, Georgia.

The boy’s father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, was among those arrested in the compound raid that has since resulted in the series of startling revelations on the outskirts of Amalia, a tiny town near the Colorado state line marked by scattered homes and sagebrush. Authorities said they found the father armed with multiple firearms, including an assault rifle.

Siraj Ibn Wahhaj was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday on a warrant from Georgia that seeks his extradition to face a charge of abducting his son from that state last December. He had expressed wanting to perform an exorcism on his son, the warrant said.

The group arrived in Amalia in December, with enough money to buy groceries and construction supplies, according to Tyler Anderson, a 41-year-old auto mechanic who lives nearby.

He said Tuesday he helped the newcomers install solar panels after they arrived but eventually stopped visiting.

Anderson said he met both of the men in the group, but never the women, who authorities have said are the mothers of the 11 children, ages 1 to 15.

Anderson did not recall seeing the Georgia boy who was missing. But he said some of the smaller children from the compound turned up to play with children at neighboring properties after the group first arrived.

“We just figured they were doing what we were doing, getting a piece of land and getting off the grid,” said Anderson, who moved to New Mexico from Seattle with his wife seven years ago.

As the months passed, however, they stopped seeing the smaller children playing in the area. They also stopped hearing guns fired off at a shooting range on the property, he said.

Jason Badger, who owned the property where the compound was built, said he and his wife had pressed authorities to remove the group after becoming concerned about the children. The group had built the compound on their acreage instead of a neighboring tract owned by Lucas Morton, one of the men arrested during the raid.

“I started to try and kick them off about three months ago and everything I tried to do kept getting knocked down,” said Badger said.

A judge dismissed an eviction notice filed by Badger against Morton in June, court records said. The records did not provide further details on the judge’s decision.

After the raid, Anderson went over and looked at the property for the first time in months.

“I was flabbergasted from what it had turned into from the last time I saw it,” he said.

Authorities said the compound shielded by old tires, wooden pallets and an earthen wall studded with broken glass had been littered with “odorous trash.”

The 11 children found living at the encampment — described as a small trailer embedded in the ground — had been without clean water and appeared to have not eaten in days, according to Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe.

At a news conference in Taos, Hogrefe described FBI surveillance efforts in recent months that included photographs of the compound and interviews. He said the images were shared with the mother of Abdul-ghani but she did not spot her son, and that the photographs never indicated the boy’s father was at the compound.

“I had no probable cause to get a search warrant to go onto this property,” the sheriff said.

He said FBI officials were invited to the news conference but declined to attend. An FBI spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Hogrefe said the “breaking point” in seeking a search warrant came when Georgia authorities received a message that may have originated within the compound that children were starving inside.

It was not clear who sent the message or how it was communicated. Georgia detectives forwarded it to the Taos County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities returned to search the compound after interviews on Friday and Saturday led them to believe the boy might still be on the property.

“We discovered the remains yesterday on Abdul’s fourth birthday,” Hogrefe said, appearing to fight back tears.

Aleks Kostich, managing attorney in the Taos County public defender’s office, said the office was gathering information and assigning attorneys to the defendants. He declined to comment on their behalf, saying the case was in its early stages.

However, he questioned the “legal sufficiency” of the criminal complaints filed against the men and women, saying they were vague.

“I’m not sure how much investigating has been done,” he said. “I’m not sure how much law enforcement knows and how long they’ve known it for.”

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AP writers Kate Brumback in Jonesboro, Georgia, contributed to this report. Hudetz reported from Albuquerque.