McMaster Warns US Counterintelligence Lags 25 Years After 9/11 as China, Russia Exploit Gaps
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 21
McMaster Warns US Counterintelligence Lags 25 Years After 9/11 as China, Russia Exploit Gaps
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 21
Summary
House testimony on Tuesday cast U.S. counterintelligence as dangerously unprepared, with H.R. McMaster telling lawmakers the country is "way behind" threats from China and Russia after 25 years of post-9/11 drift.
McMaster said Washington's long focus on terrorism let Beijing and Moscow expand espionage, cyber and influence operations, while Chinese actors tapped U.S. technology, investment and intellectual property for commercial and military gain.
He accused U.S. private-equity and financial firms of backing Chinese companies tied to military and cyber capabilities, saying American capital had effectively helped underwrite a strategic rival.
The bipartisan House review is examining whether the intelligence community can adapt from counterterrorism to newer threats including AI, cyberattacks, foreign influence, drones and economic coercion.
Is U.S. security repeating past mistakes by diverting focus from primary nation-state threats?
How can democracies counter China's strategy that weaponizes its entire society for espionage?
Is America's narrow lead in the quantum and AI race against China already slipping away?
Falling Behind: The U.S. Counterintelligence Deficit in the Face of Chinese and Russian Aggression
Overview
This report highlights an urgent warning from H.R. McMaster that U.S. counterintelligence is 'way behind' the pace and complexity of threats from adversaries like China and Russia. Since 9/11, the U.S. has focused mainly on counter-terrorism, causing other critical areas of national security to lag. As a result, China and Russia are now actively exploiting U.S. vulnerabilities across multiple domains. Experts agree that this institutional unpreparedness demands immediate and comprehensive action to address systemic weaknesses and adapt to the evolving threat landscape.