Intelligence Agencies Anticipate Major Threats to Nation

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), under the supervision of Director Dan Coats, issued a report several years ago that set forth the future landscape of emerging threats to the United States. It identified a number of key global trends some of which have come to the fore in recent months. They are sobering and, if come to fruition, could wreak havoc to our nation and the world.

As you read the threats, consider whether your member of congress is addressing any one of them. If you see that your member of congress is not, contact him/her and express your concerns. The trending threats include the following:

• Inequality and wealth concentrations combined with corruption and eroding trust in authorities are driving a wave of political change;
• Rapid technological advancements will aggravate divisions between winners and losers. Artificial intelligence will threaten to change industries faster than economies can adjust;
• Populism will increase on the right and left. Some leaders will use nationalism to shore up control. Religious influence will be increasingly consequential;
• The public will demand that governments deliver security and prosperity but flat revenues, distrust, polarization will hamper government performance;
• The risk of conflict will increase due to diverging interests among major powers, and expanding terror threat, continued instability in weak states, and the spread of lethal, disruptive technologies including cyber and robotic systems; and,
• There are global hazards that pose threats, both long and short-term, that will require collective action to address but cooperation will become more difficult. Threats include more extreme weather and food insecurity will disrupt societies. Climate change will change living patterns due to rising sea levels.

These threats are real and are based on our intel community’s best estimates. They should be understood, anticipated, and acted upon by political leaders of both parties and all political persuasions.