US spy agencies pivot toward China, Russia threats a year after ending war in Afghanistan

In a recent closed-door meeting with leaders of the agency’s counterterrorism centre, the CIA’s No. 2 official made clear that fighting al-Qaeda and other extremist groups would remain a priority – but that the agency’s money and resources would be increasingly shifted to focusing on China.

The CIA drone attack that killed al-Qaeda’s leader showed that fighting terrorism is hardly an afterthought. But it did not change the message the agency’s deputy director, David Cohen, delivered at that meeting weeks earlier: While the US will continue to go after terrorists, the top priority is trying to better understand and counter Beijing.

One year after ending the war in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden and top national security officials speak less about counterterrorism and more about the political, economic and military threats posed by China as well as Russia. There’s been a quiet pivot within intelligence agencies, which are moving hundreds of officers to China-focused positions, including some who were previously working on terrorism.

The last week makes clear that the US has to deal with both at the same time. Days after Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in Kabul, China staged large-scale military exercises and threatened to cut off contacts with the US over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

The US has long been alarmed by China’s growing political and economic ambitions. China has tried to influence foreign elections, mounted campaigns of cyber and corporate espionage, and detained millions of minority Uygurs in camps. Some experts also think Beijing will in coming years try to seize the self-ruled democratic island of Taiwan by force.