U.S. counterintelligence capabilities have significantly lagged behind threats posed by China and Russia, former White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster stated Tuesday. McMaster characterized Washington's focus on counterterrorism in the decades following the September 11, 2001, attacks as "extraordinarily negligent."
During a House Intelligence Committee hearing examining evolving national security threats, McMaster testified that the intense post-9/11 focus on terrorism diverted attention from hostile nation-states. He warned that Russia and China are capitalizing on this diminished vigilance.
"The counterintelligence threat is like, way behind," McMaster told lawmakers. He pointed to Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to reassert global power and China's entry into the World Trade Organization, which he said fueled Beijing's economic growth. China, in turn, leveraged these gains to expand its military, intelligence services, and influence operations. McMaster specifically noted that China has used U.S. companies and private equity firms to develop artificial intelligence for its People's Liberation Army.
"We were not only so behind, I think we were extraordinarily negligent in this period of time, and I think we're racing to catch up and we have a lot of work to do," McMaster added. He asserted that the U.S. inadvertently provided an "invitation to its economy" for Chinese actors seeking to extract intellectual property and technical expertise for commercial and military advantage.
McMaster also criticized U.S. financial institutions and private equity firms for investing in Chinese companies that support Beijing's military and cyber capabilities, stating, "What we were doing is actually underwriting our own demise by investing in Chinese companies."
Other witnesses at the hearing echoed McMaster's concerns. Seth G. Jones, a national security expert, noted that while post-9/11 institutions like the National Counterterrorism Center improved information sharing for counterterrorism, they are not adequately equipped to identify and disrupt state-backed operations within the United States. Jones cited activities linked to China's Ministry of State Security and United Front organizations, adding, "I do not think we are prepared for this intelligence challenge inside of our own borders, and we don’t have the infrastructure to effectively deal with it."
Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University, testified that the government must move beyond information sharing to coordinating operations with private industry and state and local authorities. Cilluffo emphasized that modern counterintelligence threats extend beyond traditional espionage to target technology companies, infrastructure operators, and other private organizations holding valuable data and emerging capabilities.
The hearing was part of a bipartisan review of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations and the intelligence community's preparedness for contemporary threats, including artificial intelligence, cyberattacks, foreign influence operations, drones, and economic coercion.