Intelligence Collection Priorities in an Age of Renewed Superpower Conflict: Toward a More Expansive Perspective

Abstract

The new global setting of the post-Cold War allowed the United States and its intelligence agencies to broaden the nation’s mandate to include the environment, health, the global economy, and terrorism, among other considerations---although the military might of Russia and China had by no means disappeared and considerable resources would remain focused on military threat assessments. This article explores the commitment of the United States to the ongoing mission of knowing about and thwarting military attacks, while at the same time taking into account a new host of once ignored worldwide threats to national security.