The heads of British and US intelligence agencies jointly warned on Saturday that the international order is “under threat like not seen since the Cold War”.
Sir Richard Moore, Director of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), and William Burns, Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Financial Times Opinion articles, He added that they foresaw the coming of war in Ukraine and “could have warned the international community, including by declassifying it, to help Kiev.”
Further efforts are already underway to thwart Moscow's “reckless acts of destruction” across Europe, promote de-escalation in the Israel-Gaza war, and advance counterterrorism efforts to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State.
There is no question that the international world order – the balanced system that has brought relative peace and stability, rising living standards, opportunity and prosperity – is under threat like not seen since the Cold War.
For both agencies, “the rise of China is the primary information and geopolitical challenge of the 21st century, and we have realigned our services to reflect that priority.”
Regarding Russia, the directors of MI6 and the CIA said Russian intelligence was waging a “reckless campaign of subversive activity across Europe.”
Without giving specific examples, there have been a series of mysterious vandalism and arson attacks on infrastructure in the UK, Germany and the Baltic states.
US intelligence also reportedly thwarted a Russian plot to assassinate the CEO of a major German arms manufacturer.
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In addition to physical subversive activities, the two men also pointed to the threat that Russian intelligence activities pose to Western democracies.
They said it was “more important than ever” to stay on the course of resisting President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine and that Russia “will not succeed in eliminating Ukraine's sovereignty and independence.”
“In the 21st century, crises do not occur in succession,” they wrote. “While significant attention and resources are being devoted to Russia, we are also acting cooperatively in other places and spaces to counter global destabilizing risks.”
