U.S. Threat Assessment: Two Wars and Axis of Enemies Top 2024 Risks

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 11: (L-R) Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and National Security Agency General Timothy Haugh prepare to testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about global threats against the United States during an open hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 11, 2024 in Washington, DC. The U.S. intelligence community leaders, including Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse and Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Brett Holmgren, testified before the committee. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Posted: March 12th, 2024

By Tom Nagorski

Tom Nagorski is the Managing Editor for The Cipher Brief. He previously served as Global Editor for Grid and served as ABC News Managing Editor for International Coverage as well as Senior Broadcast Producer for World News Tonight.

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — The nation’s top intelligence agencies delivered a sobering threat assessment Monday, focused on spillover dangers posed by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the growing influence of an axis of countries looking to reduce American power.

Presenting the 2024 Annual Threat Assessment, the Director of National Intelligence, together with leaders of the CIA, FBI and other agencies said a failure to stop Russia’s advance in Ukraine would carry implications across Europe but also in East Asia, and that Israel’s war in Gaza had raised the risks of global terrorism.

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