On Saturday the heads of both the CIA and MI6 did something very unusual. They talked publicly about the global challenges their countries and their agencies are facing.
The fact that the main headlines were Russia, China and the Middle East should surprise nobody, the fact that they went on the record during the FT Weekend Festival being hosted at the stately Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath should surprise everybody.
This is according to Ben Addley, Managing Partner & Head of Research, Heligan Strategic Insights.
Sir Richard Moore is the Chief of Britain’s secretive foreign intelligence service (SIS), usually referred to as MI6.
He very rarely steps out of the shadows to talk openly about the threats his organisation seeks to counter on a daily basis, we have to go back 14 months to July 2023, and the city of Prague to find the last example of a public speaking appearance. Even more unusual was the fact the head of the CIA, Bill Burns, sat next to him.
In an FT op-ed, they both wrote, “There is no question that the international world order – the balanced system that has led to relative peace and stability and delivered rising living standards, opportunities and prosperity – is under threat in a way we haven’t seen since the Cold War.”
Ben Addley, Managing Partner & Head of Research, Heligan Strategic Insights, stated, “The secret intelligence services of the UK and US are…well secret! The whole point of what they do and how they do it must remain hidden for them to remain at the very top of their game. They continuously fight quiet battles against very capable adversaries, never claiming credit and rarely shining a light on their successes.
“Our news cycles are dominated by the conflicts in the middle East and in Ukraine and the growing threat from China, and that news cycle can feel very one way. Every now and then the world needs to be reminded of the secret war being fought on their behalf every day…and that is what Sir Richard Moore and the CIA Director Bill Burns were doing this weekend just gone.
“They were firing a salvo across the bows of those adversaries as well as a timely and much needed reminder of the public of the work of the intelligence community in both the UK and the US.
Addley added, “They reminded us that the bond between the two agencies is as strong as ever, that they are developing new capabilities based on new and emerging technologies that are being harnessed to advance our strategic goals and to counter threats in such domains as cyber.
They highlighted that the battle is also being fought heavily in information space, where Russia in particular has been incredibly active in dis-information and mis-information campaigns.”
The stakes are very, very high. Moore and Burns posited that the international world order itself is under threat in a way we haven’t seen since the cold war. Although this may be dramatic language used to grab headlines, our Heligan’s insight would tally with the analysis.
