U.S. Intelligence Community Releases 2021 Annual Threat Assessment

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines released the U.S. intelligence community’s unclassified 2021 Annual Threat Assessment today. The 27-page document details “the most direct, serious threats to the United States during the next year.” The report identifies China, North Korea, Russia and Iran as countries that have “demonstrated the capability and intent to advance their interests at the expense of the United States and its allies.” The threat assessment also notes that “the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to strain governments and societies, fueling humanitarian and economic crises, political unrest, and geopolitical competition.” The document covers a wide range of threats facing the United States, from transnational issues like climate change to the conflict in Afghanistan to the potential for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. You can read the report here and below.