WASHINGTON – Russia’s military build-up on the Ukrainian border and in Crimea could provide enough forces for a limited military invasion, CIA Director William J. Burns told senators on Wednesday when he and other senior officials called a series set out threats facing the United States. State.
Russia could simply send a signal to the United States or try to intimidate the Ukrainian government, but he had the ability to do more, Mr. Burns told the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“The build-up has reached the point where it can also provide the basis for a limited military invasion,” he said. Burns said. “It’s not just the United States, but our allies need to take it very seriously.”
Mr Burns spoke with Avril D. Haines, the director of national intelligence, and other officials about a variety of threats from world powers such as Russia and China, as well as challenges that in the past were less focused on intelligence agencies, including domestic extremism. and climate change.
In its annual threat assessment report, released Tuesday before the trial, the intelligence community said China’s push for global power posed a threat to the United States through its aggression in its region, its expansion of its oversight capability and efforts to overcome technological dominance. give. progress.
Russia has also insisted on a sphere of influence that includes countries that were part of the Soviet Union, such as Ukraine, the report said.
However, both China and Russia wanted to avoid direct confrontation with the United States, the report said.
Mr. Burns said the Russian actions resulted in internal briefings and consultations with allies. President Biden’s call on Tuesday to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was to “register very seriously the seriousness of our concern,” he said. Burns said.
The United States has been holding off Russian troops for some time, at least since the end of March. U.S. officials have said privately that the Russians have done little to hide their troop buildup, unlike in 2014 when they first attacked Ukraine. This convinced some, but not all, that Russian operations were mostly visible.
“They can actually start a series of exercises at any time, or they can, if they prefer, perhaps make a limited objective attack,” said Lt. Gen. Scott D. Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. . “We do not yet know what the intention is.”
Both Russia and China are blamed for cyber operations that endanger broad sections of the software supply chain. Legislators called me. Haines and Genl. Paul M. Nakasone, the director of the National Security Agency, questioned about the Russian burglary, which has infiltrated nine federal agencies, and another by China endangering Microsoft Exchange servers. The Biden government is expected to respond soon to the Russian invasion, likely with sanctions and other measures.
Me. Haines said Russia had used burglary to sow discord and threaten the United States and its allies. “Russia is becoming increasingly adept at using its technological prowess to develop asymmetric options in the military and cyber sphere to give itself the ability to push the United States back and force it to accommodate its interests,” she said.
Lawmakers have also raised the issue of a series of mysterious episodes that have injured diplomats and CIA officers abroad. Some former officials believe Russia is behind the episodes, which they called attacks.
Mr Burns said he was working with his colleagues to ensure better medical care for CIA officers. He also said he was working to “explore the core of the question that caused these incidents and who may have been responsible for them.”
Questions about China raised the earlier Senate confirmation hearing for Ms. Haines and Mr. Burns dominated, and lawmakers again on Wednesday insisted on reviews of China and its attempts to steal U.S. technology. Me. Haines outlined how China uses technological power, economic influence, and other leverage to intimidate its neighbors.
“China is using a comprehensive approach to demonstrate its growing power and force local neighbors to meet Beijing’s preferences,” she told senators.
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray also emphasized the threat to China. “We start a new investigation into China every ten hours,” he said, “and I can assure the committee it’s not because our people have nothing to do with their time.”
Biden administration officials have said they want the intelligence agencies to take a broader view of national security threats.
Me. Haines noted that another recent intelligence report on world trends highlighted how the coronavirus pandemic and climate change coupled with technological change tested the resilience and adaptability of society. The ‘looming imbalance’ is forcing intelligence agencies to broaden their definition of national security.
But at least one lawmaker, Senator Richard M. Burr, a North Carolina Republican, also asked a more practical question: How many intelligence officers received coronavirus vaccinations?
Mr Burns said 80 per cent of the CIA workforce had been fully vaccinated and that another ten per cent had their first shot. He said all CIA officers serving abroad had the vaccine directly at their disposal.
Mr. Wray could not give an estimate of how many of his agents got a chance and said the vaccination rates in the field offices differ in different states. Me. Haines said 86 percent of her workforce had at least one shot, with a ‘fair percentage’ being fully vaccinated. General Nakasone also had no estimate, but said a vaccination center had been set up in Fort Meade, MD, where the National Security Agency is headquartered.
Lawmakers are also urging intelligence agencies to investigate the problem of domestic extremism. Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia and chairman of the Intelligence Committee, linked the rise of domestic extremism to the same trends that promote disinformation by Russia and others. And he said he wanted the heads of intelligence to outline how they could provide better warnings about possible violence such as the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Social media has helped spread disinformation from domestic extremist groups with more speed and efficiency than ever before – the same as Russia and other countries have used it to spread falsehoods, he said. Wray said.
“Social media has in many ways become the main booster for extremism in domestic violence, just as it is for malicious foreign influence,” he said. “There are all sorts of things on the internet that present facts, that just aren’t.”
The isolation caused by the pandemic, Mr. Wray continued, increasing the public’s susceptibility.
The trial of the intelligence chiefs was the first since early 2019, when they contradicted the rosy public statements of President Donald J. Trump, and led to Mr. Trump has publicly criticized his appointments, saying they “should go back to school.” Mr. Trump’s last director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, chose not to make a threat assessment or testify before Congress last year.