US intelligence community warns of devastating long-term impact of coronavirus pandemic
The fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic is poised to fracture societies worldwide, increase instability across the globe and reshape political and economic realities for years to come, the US intelligence community warned in a stark report laying out the top security concerns facing the country.
Posted — Updated"The economic fallout from the pandemic is likely to create or worsen instability in at least a few—and perhaps many—countries, as people grow more desperate in the face of interlocking pressures that include sustained economic downturns, job losses, and disrupted supply chains," the report warns.
That dire economic picture boosts the risk of internal conflicts, surges in cross-border migration and even the collapse of national governments, officials warned.
The report, known as the Annual Threat Assessment, is typically made public annually. But bitter wrangling between the Trump administration and Congress kept the 2020 report locked away, making Tuesday's release among the first public glimpses into the intelligence community's assessment of the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also offers grim warnings about Russian and Chinese covert influence operations, and an early insight into Iran's nuclear ambitions since Biden has taken office and is attempting to renegotiate an updated version of the 2015 nuclear deal that former President Donald Trump exited in 2018.
The picture is not pretty. Officials warn that in addition to the obvious humanitarian concerns associated with the pandemic — like food shortages and uneven access to therapeutics — the virus is also reshaping the security calculus of nations like Russia and China, who are jockeying to exploit the crisis to increase their geopolitical influence. Both seek to gain an advantage through vaccine diplomacy. Beijing is also using its global health assistance efforts to export its surveillance tools and technologies, the report says.
The report also cautions that the world cannot yet breathe a sigh of relief despite rapid progress on vaccine development. The virus will remain a threat "to populations worldwide until vaccines and therapeutics are widely distributed," the report warns. And a resurgence in infections early this year "may have an even greater economic impact as struggling businesses in hard-hit sectors such as tourism and restaurants fold and governments face increasing budget strains."
This story is breaking and will be updated
Copyright 2024 by Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
