The Central Intelligence Agency launched a China-focused mission center in October. Agency Director William Burns indicated at the time that the CIA would hold “weekly” meetings on the “geopolitical challenge” posed by Beijing going forward.
The CIA’s “counterterrorism” mission center is being stripped of money and personnel to redirect the agency’s focus toward the new China mission center, the Associated Press has reported, citing sources said to be familiar with the matter.
CIA Deputy Director David Cohen was said to have informed senior officials from the Counterterrorism Center at a meeting held in July that while fighting al-Qaeda* and other extremists would remain a priority, resources would be shifted to the China center in search of ways to better “understand” and “counter” Beijing.
Hellbound and Down 