China as big a threat to the U.S. as Russia, says CIA chief

The Hindu, Reuters,  LONDON, JANUARY 30, 2018 


CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Russia will target U.S. mid-term elections later this year as part of the Kremlin’s attempt to influence domestic politics across the West, and warned the world had to do more to push back against Chinese meddling.

In an interview with the BBC aired on Tuesday, U.S. intelligence chief Mr. Pompeo said Russia had a long history of information campaigns and said its threat would not go away.

‘We’ll push back’

Asked if Russia would try to influence the mid-term elections, he said: “Of course. I have every expectation that they will continue to try and do that. “But I am confident that America will be able to have a free and fair election. That we’ll push back in a way that is sufficiently robust that the impact they have on our election won’t be great.”

He also said the Chinese posed a threat of equal concern, and were “very active” with a world class cyber-capability. “We can watch very focussed efforts to steal American information, to infiltrate the United States with spies, with people who are going to work on behalf of the Chinese government against America,” he said.

In the interview, Mr. Pompeo also repeated his message that North Korea was close to developing missiles which could be used in a nuclear attack on the U.S.

“I think that we collectively, the United States and our intelligence partners around the world, have developed a pretty clear understanding of (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un’s capability,” he said. “We talk about him having the ability to deliver a nuclear weapon to the United States in a matter of a handful of months.”

The CIA chief defended Mr. Trump over accusations from a book which suggested the President was unfocussed, unprepared and unfit for his office.

In Trump’s defence
“It’s absurd, the claim that the President isn’t engaged and doesn’t have a grasp on these important issues is dangerous and false,” Mr. Pompeo said.

Asked if Mr. Trump’s use of Twitter posed any national security issues, he said: “Hasn’t caused us any trouble.”

He added: “We deliver nearly every day, personally, to the President the most exquisite truth that we know from the CIA. Whatever the facts may be we deliver them unvarnished as accurately and as forcefully as we can.”

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