The expected CIA director warns of China’s danger

Ambassador William Burns, a career diplomat who has served in Russia and the Middle East, shared this appreciation with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee at his confirmation hearing as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). further warning that this new era of growing competition with Beijing may be like no other in U.S. history.

“China’s competitiveness will be essential to our national security in the coming decades,” Mr Burns said, describing China’s leadership as hostile.

“China ‘s evolution [Presidentit] “Xi Jinping has been a very strong alarm bell for the last six or seven years,” he added. “It is a kind of ambition and aggressive, open determination, which I think has made very clear the nature of the opponent and rival we face.”

If confirmed, the 64-year-old Burns would become the first career diplomat to head the CIA. He told lawmakers that his experience working with the intelligence agency while at the State Department made him appreciate what its officers and analysts do.

“Accurate intelligence provided with honesty and integrity is the critical foundation for well-balanced political decisions,” he said, responding to concerns that under former President Donald Trump, some intelligence links were politicized to support the political goals of his administration.

“Politics must stop where intelligence work begins,” Mr Burns said.

President Biden “said he wanted the agency to tell him the truth, and I vowed to do just that, and to protect those who do the same,” Burns added.

Lawmakers from both parties praised Mr. Burns’ figure.

However there were some questions about the time when Mr. Burns was president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based organization that had participated in the China-US Exchange Foundation and had ties to Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Mr Burns said he found the exchange program set up when he became president of the Carnegie Fund and that he quickly cut it off due to concerns about Chinese influence, while at the same time seeking to ensure that the Carnegie Fund’s ties with Tsinghua University not to prevent the organization from doing independent work.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, a Democrat, and Republican Vice President Marco Rubio also asked Mr. Burns how he would treat what has become known as “Havana Syndrome” – a range of symptoms, ranging from dizziness to headache and hearing loss affecting diplomatic staff and intelligence officials in Cuba, Russia, China and elsewhere.

“I will consider it an extremely important priority to find those responsible and to ensure that their colleagues and families receive proper care,” Mr Burns said.

Dealing with Russian, Iranian threats

In addition to China, Mr. Burns presented a number of other threats that the U.S. intelligence agency will have to face, including newer risks such as climate change and health security.

He also described the threats to the US digital supply chain, calling the Russian attack on the Texas-based company SolarWinds “a strong alarm bell for all of us over the exposure of critical supply chains and infrastructure”.

Mr Burns warned against underestimating Russia.

“While Russia can be a declining power in many ways, it can be at least as dangerous under the leadership of [Vladimir] “Putin, as much as the rising powers like China,” he told lawmakers.

“As long as Vladimir Putin is the leader of Russia, we will act with a limited number of alternatives, from very fierce competition to fierce hostility,” said the former US ambassador.

On Iran, Mr Burns said the United States could not trust the leadership in Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.

“It is absolutely important for the United States to do everything we can to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon,” he told lawmakers.

Even if Iran reverts to full compliance with the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Mr Burns said the deal should serve as a “platform” for imposing stricter restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program. and other malicious activities.

Development of technological and cyber skills

Former officials warn that Burns will face a number of other challenges if he is confirmed.

“I strongly believe that anyone with the best technological skills wins the global intelligence war,” Larry Pfeiffer, a former CIA chief of staff, told VOA.

“The CIA must continue to strengthen the expansion of digital innovation to improve the collection, analysis and dissemination of intelligence,” he said, noting that the agency may need to make such changes without increasing its budget.

In his testimony, Mr. Burns said the intelligence agency “will have to work even harder” to develop technological and cyber capabilities, both to better deal with attacks and to increase their prevention.

One issue that did not come to light during Wednesday’s hearing, but which is likely to pose a challenge to the CIA, is internal extremism. Unlike the FBI, the CIA is prohibited from gathering information from individuals within the United States.

“Internal extremism in itself is not a CIA issue, but foreign links and parallels with that kind of extremism are within the agency’s responsibility,” said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA officer and professor at Georgetown University. / VOA /

top channel