2023 Washington Conference: DNI Avril Haines with AS/COA Chairman Emeritus John Negroponte
2023 Washington Conference: DNI Avril Haines with AS/COA Chairman Emeritus John Negroponte
The director of National Intelligence discussed the priorities and interests of the intelligence community in the Western Hemisphere.
Speaker
- Avril Haines, National Intelligence, Director
- John Negroponte, Chairman Emeritus, Council of the Americas
"We are … focused on the immediate threat," said Avril Haines, director of National Intelligence, in an interview with John Negroponte, chairman emeritus at the Council of the Americas, at the 53rd Washington Conference on the Americas Keynote Luncheon, which took place on November 8, 2023 at the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C. Haines discussed setting priorities for the national intelligence community. "The issue that we're dealing with today and so on makes it very challenging for us to back people up and say, 'okay, but now let's talk about the strategic issues that need to be dealt with,'" said Haines.
Negroponte and Haines discussed crises around the world—for example, the conflicts between Israel and Palestine and Ukraine and Russia. "One of the great values for the intelligence community is being able to help policymakers during a crisis understand what's happening and avoid unintended escalation," said Haines. They also discussed U.S.-China relations, concluding that the relationship is stabler than in years past and that communication channels with Beijing will remain open in order to work on mutual issues.
In approaching the Western Hemisphere, Haines asks herself: "How were we able to promote the kind of governance that we know is ultimately going to help to address some of the broader challenges?" Some of the issues that National Intelligence is focused on regarding the Western Hemisphere include political, economic, and military trends and increasing migration.
