CSIS Global Security Forum 2024
Global Security Forum 2024: Gathering Strength in a Gathering Storm | CSIS Events
24 April, 2024
Keynote Discussions from:
- Honorable Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence
- General Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Hon. Avril Haines Keynote Discussion:
Key Takeaways:
- Hon Avril Haines discussed a multifaceted view of current national security challenges and the strategic landscape facing the United States.
- Haines outlined the complexities of strategic competition with authoritarian powers attempting to undermine the international order, the evolution of transnational threats interconnected with technological advances, and the significance of strong global alliances.
- She emphasized the critical role of diverse perspectives within the intelligence community, the benefits of robust public-private partnerships, and the necessity of public trust and engagement.
On Strategic Competition and Global Security:
“Strategic competition with authoritarian powers that are really trying to undermine the rules based order and ultimately undermine the sort of open international system that the United States has been such a part of ultimately crafting.”
“We and our allies quite obviously rely on that system and on the rules-based order. And our partners really trade for commerce for open information flow for all of the things that we see as being critical to actually prospering in today’s world in many respects.”
On Transnational Threats and Technological Changes:
“The set of challenges that we describe are really kind of intensifying and rapidly shifting transnational threats many of which interconnect with that sort of broader strategic competition landscape whether it’s in the context of cybercrime or climate change or terrorism or health security or transnational organized crime.”
“The next set of challenges that we focus in on now are really kind of localized and regional conflicts or potential conflicts as tensions are rising that have the potential for cascading or already are you know ultimately affecting cascading impact um not just for neighboring countries in the region but often having oversized impact.”
On Building and Sustaining Trust Internationally:
“I think the relationships are actually quite good with our liaison partners across the board.”
“And I do think one of the things you know that sort of um was made very public in the context of Ukraine but does happen across the board in a range of areas is yes we were downgrading and sharing a lot of information with our allies and partners in that context but we were also enriching it by virtue of the conversations we were able to have with others.”
On Information and Cyber Operations:
“Russia has been engaging in information operations against the United States in a sense for decades. This is not something that is new but nevertheless continues to focus in on uh effectively narratives that are intended to um ultimately denigrate the United States global standing in the world also to undermine democratic institutions democratic processes undermining democracy as a general matter uh looks to sow sociopolitical and socioeconomic divisions in our culture and in our society and and then goes after also specific policy arguments such as for example uh Western support for Ukraine.”
On the Role of Technology in Intelligence:
“They are quite sophisticated when it comes to using new technologies in this space. They use generative AI. They use other tools to try to make themselves better at their messaging in this area to become more sophisticated.”
National Security and Economic Strains:
“It’s against a landscape with key emerging trends that make this even more complicated. New and emerging technologies economic strain in various spaces and environmental changes.”
Responsibility and Ethical Decision-Making in Intelligence:
“I think we know that public institutions have lost some trust. Right. And that’s across the board. It’s. In the United States. It’s true in Europe we’ve seen it. You know the trend lines in these areas. We also know that in the intelligence community we are more effective at our jobs when we are trusted by the public because then they listen to us when we say there’s a threat you should pay attention to this right? It is fundamental to our work.”
Information Operations and Election Security:
“Russia is top of mind in this area. Russia has been engaging in information operations against the United States in a sense for decades. This is not something that is new but nevertheless continues to focus in on uh effectively narratives that are intended to um ultimately denigrate the United States global standing in the world also to undermine democratic institutions democratic processes undermining democracy as a general matter uh looks to sow sociopolitical and socioeconomic divisions in our culture and in our society.”
The Impact of Disinformation:
“And we wanted to say look here is the kind of pretext that they’re looking to try to create in that context. And as we looked back on how successful we were essentially in trying to counter that disinformation I think you know obviously you judge for yourself within the United States. But what we saw in Europe was that we were actually pretty successful in countering Russian disinformation.”
General Charles Q. Brown Jr. Keynote Speech:
Key Takeaways:
- General Charles Q. Brown Jr. delved into a wide range of topics critical to national defense and military strategy.
- He emphasized the importance of strategic integration and maintaining a holistic perspective across military services and combatant commands.
- General Brown stressed the need for proactive planning and future-focused strategies to manage global threats and resource allocation effectively with the crucial role of technology and modernization in enhancing military capabilities, alongside the significance of global partnerships and interconnectedness in addressing international security challenges.
- Lastly, he highlighted ethical leadership and the vital role of training and education in preparing military personnel for future challenges, ensuring that the U.S. military remains adaptive and ready in a dynamic global landscape.
On Strategic Importance of Space and Cyber Capabilities
– “I see there’s great value in autonomy and artificial intelligence, how we’ll use our cyber capabilities, how space will play into future conflicts.”
On Collaboration with Allies and Partners in Space and Defense
-“But on the flip side of that, I also see greater interconnectedness with our allies and partners… It’s important because we all contribute together to ensure not only for the Defense of Ukraine but how it looks more broadly.”
-“We are always talking. And what I’ve also found is nations in the Indo Pacific or what’s going on Ukraine in nations in NATO and Europe are also focused on Indo Pacific.”
On Necessity of Modernization in Space and Defense Capabilities
-“We have to work very closely together and clearly one of the key words in there was collaboration. It’s collaboration with the services, it’s collaboration with industry, it’s a collaboration with Congress.”
– “Accelerate change or lose… We need to modernize and aggressively with new concepts and approaches.”
On Holistic and Proactive Defense Strategy Incorporating Space
-“The goal is to minimize the seams between the command commands, and so we have a unified command plan that actually lays out how the world is divided up amongst the combatant commands.”
On Interconnected Threats and Multidimensional Defense Strategy
-“When you think about the five challenges in the national defense strategy — People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and violent extremists — as you highlighted, they’re all active right now. And in some cases, working together.”
On Adapting to Technological Advancements in Defense
-“With levels of autonomy being increased and you think about all the data we have… how do you take that data and then use that data to do the analysis and speed up the process that will provide us options much faster?”
On Enhanced Communication and Integration Within Defense Networks
-“We’ve seen that between the United States Central Command and United States European Command because of the back and forth that has to occur based on how those events meet right at the intersection of two combatant commands.”
On Emphasis on Joint Force Development and Innovation
-“It’s the joint force that we’d be able to bring together all moving in the same direction, going the same way, same day… We’ve also defined some concept required capabilities to ensure that the concept and the joint force can do what the nation asks it to do.”
Innovation and Adaptation
“We need to modernize and aggressively with new concepts and approaches… It’s a collaboration but with the services, it’s collaboration with industry, it’s a collaboration with Congress.”
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