America to add spies to the world

CIA Director Gina Haspel on Monday called the shift from counterterrorism to the most traditional spying on states, “a strategic priority”, saying the need to have a better discovery against the current and potential rivals of the United States is among the most difficult “issues”.

“Louisville”, in her first public appearance since she was sworn in as CIA director last May.

Haspel also said it targets “increasing the number of officers deployed abroad”.

“Having a greater foreign presence will have a more powerful position,” she said.

As part of this push, Mrs. Haspel said the CIA hopes to recruit more foreign language speakers, including those who speak fluent Chinese, Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, French and Spanish.

She also said the spying agency “is working closer than ever with allies throughout the world”.

Mrs. Haspel's comments reflect the priorities presented in the National Security Strategy set forth at the end of last year. The strategy highlights the need to counter the efforts of rivals in the United States to shift the balance of power to global rank in forms that have negatively affected the United States.

Concerns for China

The CIA director expressed particular concerns about China, which she said is “working to reduce the influence of the United States in order to advance its goals”. “We are watching very closely the seemingly intention of expanding China's influence beyond its region, in areas such as Africa, Latin America, Pacific islands, and South Asia”, Mrs. Haspel said.

“We are concerned by some of the tactics Beijing is using, offering to poor countries, investments and loans that perhaps those countries will not be able to pay”, said Mrs. Haspel. We want these countries to be aware of their sovereignty and how foreign investments for infrastructure or national security projects in these countries can endanger their sovereignty”.

CIA Priorities

Mrs. Haspel outlined several other priorities of the agency:

Diversity: Mrs. Haspel said that when it started working in the CIA in the late 1980s, that “was a fully dominated organisation of men”.

The “should not be surprising that one of my main priorities since becoming director has been to fight for diversity and inclusion in the organisation,” she said. Our global “mission at the CIA requires that we recruit and keep America's best and smartest, regardless of gender, race or cultural origin”.

Drugs: “The CIA will invest more in efforts against narcotics abroad”, said Mrs. Haspel, calling the opium epidemic a “threat that has killed more Americans than any terrorist group”.

Iran: Mrs. Haspel named it <x0 med> MUSCH “ ” the amount of funds Tehran continues to spend to support the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to expand its influence in Baghdad and support Houthites in Yemen, given Iran's economic woes.

We are looking very closely at Iran's malicious activity in the region. And we would like to oppose this event so that these countries can build their own course “, she added.

Transparency: “Nothing is more important for us in the CIA than our duty to gain the trust of our citizens,” said Mrs. Haspel. There is no other major intelligence agency in the world that undergoes a more comprehensive monitoring system than we do, but that is exactly how it should be”, said Mrs. Haspel.

Prior to her confirmation as CIA director, Mrs. Haspel was sharply criticised for her role in overseeing a secret centre for questioning suspected persons in Thailand and the destruction of tapes of interrogation sessions.

Moral status: “The CIA has a very dynamic staff; by nature we are extremely focused on our mission,” said Mrs. Haspel. “generally we don't pay attention to political clashes in capital”. / VoA