CIA Director Burns' message on the Middle East and China: 'For the last 40 years...'

CIA Director William Burns shared his views on many key issues concerning international relations in an article titled "Spycraft and Statecraft: Transforming the CIA for an Age of Competition", which he wrote for the American foreign policy magazine Foreign Affairs.

Emphasizing that the process involves serious challenges, Burns stated that they are facing very difficult problems, such as reducing the intensity of Israeli attacks in Gaza, meeting the humanitarian needs of Palestinian civilians, ensuring the release of hostages, preventing the conflict from spreading to the region, and finding a viable formula in Gaza.

MIDDLE EAST ADMISSION

Noting that the tension, which began with the Hamas attacks on October 7 and continues with Israel's ongoing massacres in Gaza, concerns not only the region but the entire global system, Burns expressed the sensitivity of the process by stating, "I have spent a good portion of my last 40 years in or working on the Middle East, and I have rarely seen it more complex and volatile than it is today."

Regarding the Iran-Israel equation on a regional level, Burns assessed, "The key to Israel's security, and the region's, is dealing with Iran. The Iranian regime has been emboldened by the current crisis and appears ready to fight to the last of its regional proxies."

UKRAINE COMMENTARY

Emphasizing that the support provided by the U.S. and the West to Ukraine is vital, Burns commented on the Ukraine support package stalled in the U.S. Congress, stating, "At this critical juncture, for the U.S. to walk away from the conflict and cut off support for Ukraine would be an own goal of historic proportions."

Arguing that Russia is losing the war in Ukraine on several levels, Burns noted that the Russian military has suffered heavy losses and its economy has been devastated.

Comparing the current situation facing the U.S. to the end of the Cold War or the post-9/11 era, the CIA Director stated that the U.S. no longer possesses "unrivaled supremacy" against China and Russia.

THE CHINA 'THREAT'

Using the expression, "The most immediate challenge may come from Russia, but China is the bigger threat in the long term," the CIA Director reported that the agency has reorganized significantly in recent years to address this and has established a unit focused solely on China.

Stating that Beijing is watching the war in Ukraine most closely, Burns assessed, "China stands as the only competitor to the U.S. with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do so."

Arguing that China's rise is not a problem in itself, but that the real issue is Beijing's "threatening" actions, Burns stated that Chinese President Xi Jinping is not only focusing on his country's transformative power but is also taking larger steps with the intention of "rewriting" the international system.