What will the new economic intelligence of the CIA be like?
Economic intelligence is changing profoundly: here are all the moves of William Burns' CIA
The global economic intelligence chessboard is experiencing a profound change, with the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at the forefront of redefining its strategy in the face of transnational threats. This new course has led to the dissolution of the Center for Economic Security, once a mainstay under the leadership of David Petraeus, whose impact is now dispersed among the various branches of the agency.
BURNS' PARADIGM CHANGE
Under the direction of William Burns, we are witnessing a real paradigm shift, with the establishment of specialized centers such as the Mission Center on China and the Mission Center on Transnationals and Technology. These bodies are the new hubs of economic intelligence, and aim to scrutinize and understand the complexities of global economic dynamics, with a particular eye on the emerging power of China.
Burns, thanks to his diplomatic past, has embraced a flexible and integrated organizational model, in stark contrast to the previous structure. This model promotes integration between analysts, field operators and technical specialists to address today's challenges with greater synergy.
However, the transition is not free from criticism and internal resistance. In particular, officials in the Directorate of Operations fear losing ground to analysts in the restructuring. Added to this are the difficulties in maintaining a stable and competent team, as demonstrated by the turnover problems faced by the China Mission Center.
THE ROLE OF CONGRESS
On the legislative front, Congress' watchful eye has translated into pressure to broaden and strengthen financial and technological intelligence expertise. The latest regulatory act on intelligence underlines the need for an increase in specialized personnel and targeted recruitment and training policies, a clear signal of the priority importance given to these areas.
THE CHALLENGES OF THE CIA
Ultimately, the CIA is equipping itself not only to face the challenges of the present, but also to predict and model future scenarios, with the awareness that national security also passes through the understanding and management of economic intelligence.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/primo-piano/cia-intelligence-economica/ on Tue, 07 Nov 2023 06:22:19 +0000.