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U.S. counterintelligence capabilities have fallen far behind threats from China and Russia, according to former White House national security advisor H.R. McMaster, who accused Washington of being “extraordinarily negligent” during the decades after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“The counterintelligence threat is like, way behind,” McMaster warned during a House Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday examining how national security threats have changed in the 25 years since 9/11.
Committee Chair Rick Crawford, R-Ark., had asked whether the government’s intense post-attack focus on counterterrorism had diverted attention from hostile nation-states and left the country’s counterintelligence posture inadequate.
McMaster not only agreed, but issued a warning that Russia and China are taking advantage of America’s guard being down as it focuses on terrorist threats more than global power nuclear rivals.
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He pointed to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s effort to restore Russia’s global power and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, which helped fuel Beijing’s economic rise. China then used those gains to expand its military, intelligence services and influence operations, using U.S. companies and U.S. private equity firms to “do all the battlefield artificial intelligence” for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in China, McMaster said.
“So we were not only so behind, I think we were extraordinarily negligent in this period of time, and I think we’re racing to catch up and we have a lot of work to do,” he continued.
The United States openly gave an invitation to its economy to Chinese actors seeking American intellectual property and technical expertise, according to McMaster.
“We’re being infiltrated by PLA scientists and others who are there to extract intellectual property, to extract know-how, apply it to gain commercial advantage, but importantly, to gain military advantage,” McMaster said.
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McMaster also accused U.S. financial institutions and private-equity firms of investing in Chinese companies tied to Beijing’s military and cyber capabilities.
“What we were doing is actually underwriting our own demise by investing in Chinese companies,” he said.
Other witnesses echoed McMaster’s warning and argued that institutions created after 9/11 remain too focused on terrorism to confront espionage, influence campaigns and cyber operations conducted by hostile governments.
Seth G. Jones, a national security expert, said organizations including the National Counterterrorism Center, joint terrorism task forces and state fusion centers helped improve information sharing after 9/11. But he said they are not sufficiently equipped to identify and disrupt state-backed operations inside the United States.
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Jones cited activities linked to China’s Ministry of State Security and United Front organizations.
“Most of our state and local entities don’t even know what to look for,” Jones said. “I do not think we are prepared for this intelligence challenge inside of our own borders, and we don’t have the infrastructure to effectively deal with it.”
Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University, testified at the hearing that the government must move beyond merely sharing information and begin coordinating operations with private industry and state and local authorities.
Cilluffo argued that the modern counterintelligence threat is no longer limited to traditional “spy versus spy” activity. Foreign intelligence services, he said, are increasingly targeting technology companies, infrastructure operators and other private organizations that possess valuable data and emerging capabilities.
“None of them went into business thinking they had to defend themselves against foreign intelligence services,” Cilluffo said. “But that’s precisely what they’re doing today.”
The hearing was part of a bipartisan review of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations and whether the intelligence community is prepared for newer threats, including artificial intelligence, cyberattacks, foreign influence operations, drones and economic coercion.
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