Economic Crisis Is No. 1 Security Issue: New Intelligence Chief
The governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan are losing ground to insurgents and terrorists but the most immediate threat to U.S. security interests is the festering global economic crisis, the nation's top intelligence official told Congress on Thursday.
His statement was a marked departure from threat briefings of years past, which focused on more traditional notions of national security worries.
He warned the Senate Intelligence Committee that if the economic crisis lasts more than two years, already unstable governments could topple. And a number of allies the United States depends on might no longer be able to afford to meet their own defense and humanitarian obligations, he said.
"Time is probably our greatest threat. The longer it takes for the recovery to begin, the greater the likelihood of serious damage to U.S. strategic interests," he told the Senate Intelligence Committee, as Congress prepares to vote Friday on a $789 billion stimulus package.