Comparative analysis and contrasting perspectives

¶ … Foreign Intelligence Services

There is much controversy with regard to the foreign policy practiced by the majority of powerful nations in the contemporary society. In an environment where intelligence is often the key to success, emerging powers have the tendency to improve their intelligence services and to get actively involved in competing with some of the established actors in the international setting. While Russia proved to be an impressive adversary for the U.S. during the Cold War era, new powers such as China and Iran currently represent significant opponents for the West. When considering the U.S.' current role in international affairs, it would be important for someone to gain a complex understanding of the degree to which countries such as Russia, China, and Iran represent significant threats today.

Russian-American relations have been turbulent throughout the second half of the twentieth century. The 1990s have brought a breath of fresh air and conditions seemed to have calmed as Russia started to appreciate Western types of thinking. The start of the twenty-first century seemed to confirm the fact that Russia was no longer interested in focusing on the military aspect of expansion and that it now wants to adopt capitalist principles in order to experience progress.

Recent events in the Ukraine seriously destabilized the international environment and the relatively peaceful relationship between Russia and the U.S. during the last few years. What is even more concerning about Russia today is that it cooperated with the West for the last two decades and it thus gained a complex understanding of strategies used there. "Moscow for the first time looked to the West to import modern weapons systems. Russia is pursuing post-START negotiations with the U.S. while modernizing its nuclear triad to maintain a credible deterrent." (United States. Congress. House. Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence p. 54)

When considering Iran's current position in the international environment, it would be safe to say it is among the most unstable communities that have the power to engage in serious warfare. Its history of dealing with the U.S. And attempting to discourage any kind of Western influence pervading its society can be visible in the way that it conducts its foreign affairs with the U.S. Factors such as morality are not as important as one might be inclined to believe when considering Iran's attitude toward Americans in general.

Current-day circumstances involving the Iranian intelligence service - the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) -- make it difficult and almost impossible for other intelligence agencies to understand its precise objectives and methods of achieving these respective targets. The present minister of intelligence and security in Iran emphasized the fact that his country's intelligence community actually prefers to take on attitudes that are unlike typical intelligence strategies. "One of the characteristics of MOIS is that it formed from inside of the revolution; and in fact, this organization was formed on the basis of the needs of the revolution in contrast with other intelligence services around the world that imitate each other." (Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security: A Profile p.3)

While Iran's actions would seem unrefined to many and while these respective people might consider that the country's ability to affect the U.S. In any way is very limited (Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security: A Profile p. 33), it is precisely its unorthodox policies that make it problematic for an intelligence expert to actually identify its goals and to attempt to address them.

Iran plays an important role in the Middle East and has powerful relations with most countries in the region. Its influence is visible in many of these respective countries, with its involvement in shaping the thinking of Iraqi officials and encouraging and providing resources to rebel communities in Iraq making it possible to comprehend the magnitude of the problem. Numerous countries that actually have strong relations with the U.S. have been under threat during recent years as a consequence of the fact that Iranian intelligence services infiltrated opposition groups and helped them increase their number of followers. Religion is especially important in this discussion, as Iran acknowledged the fact that Sunni rulers proved to be unpopular in a series of cases and thus focused on trying to get the masses to support Shi'a leaders. What is even more concerning is that Iran's intelligence services do not stop at the Middle East when trying to promote anti-American beliefs, as they also concentrate on getting countries from around the world to join its cause. "Iran's expansion of intelligence activities to Latin America, alongside its growing economic, political, and cultural involvement there, has been a source of concern for the United States." (Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security: A Profile p. 33)

Most individuals today are probable to acknowledge the fact that China is the new economic power in the world. The fact that the Chinese are encouraged to produce as much resources as possible and to cooperate with the international environment while doing it can be considered to be a tacit agreement from behalf of the West to express little to no concern regarding the threat China actually represents.

What is even more concerning about China is the fact that it has recently developed strong relations with Russia as the two world powers have cooperated with the purpose to exploit natural resources in numerous cases. Conditions are thus critical when considering the biggest intelligence threat that the U.S. faces in the present. While Iran is certainly one of its most important adversaries when considering the way it influences countries likely to express disproval with regard to thinking Americans promote, the new Russia-China relationship is probably one of the biggest threats the U.S. has ever come across when regarding things from an intelligence point-of-view. "In his January 2012 unclassified Worldwide Threat Assessment before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper named Russia and China as the state actors most active in stealing secrets from the United States and attacking us through cyberspace." (Schoen & Kaylan)