Intel gathering

CIA shifts focus from terrorism to 'hard targets' such as Russia and Iran

CIA Director Gina Haspel is reorienting the nation's top intelligence agency, shifting its emphasis from counterterrorism to combating nation-state rivals such as Russia and Iran.

Increasing investment into "hard targets" is the top priority under her watch, Haspel told Auburn University's national security forum last week.

"Our Russia and Iran investment has been strengthened after years of falling behind our justifiably heavy emphasis on counterterrorism in the wake of 9/11," Haspel said in her speech. "Groups like ISIS and al Qaeda remain squarely in our sights, but we’re honing our focus and resources on nation-state rivals."

Prior to concentrating on the threat from global terrorism after al Qaeda's attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the CIA spent decades focusing on the Soviet Union and nation-state adversaries. It's returning to that mindset in an effort to counter Iran and Russia. The CIA's shift follows a broader national reorientation outlined in the Trump administration's 2017 national security strategy.

Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former Middle East specialist at the CIA's directorate of operations, told the Washington Examiner that Haspel's remarks may be more indicative of a desire to draw bipartisan support from Congress than of an actual reallocation of resources on the ground.