WASHINGTON: Veteran US diplomat William Burns, nominated to lead the CIA, pledged on Wednesday to keep the agency free of politics and said China would be his main focus if confirmed.
Burns was picked by President Joe Biden to replace retiring Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel and to help restore an air of independence after former president Donald Trump allegedly tried to manipulate the country’s spies for political reasons.
Burns told the Senate Intelligence Committee that his career in the Middle East and Russia made him appreciate the value of untainted intelligence. “I learned that good intelligence, delivered with honesty and integrity, is America’s first line of defence,” he told the panel.
Biden puts a twist on America First even as he moves to unravel Trump s foreign policy Deirdre Shesgreen and Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY
Biden signals US will refocus on diplomacy abroad
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WASHINGTON – The Trump administration’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, recently ticked off the usual suspects when asked to list the gravest threats facing the United States today: China, Iran, Russia.
Moments later, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser offered a starkly different response to the same question.
“Right now, the most profound national security challenge facing the United States is getting our own house in order, is domestic renewal,” Jake Sullivan said in a “Passing the Baton” forum hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace late last month.
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