Elena McCloy
On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government hosted an open forum on topics of national security. Sitting on the panel was General Hayden himself, the founder of the Hayden Center, and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency; Andrew McCabe, former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and current visiting professor at the Schar School; Dr. Ellen Laipson, the Director of the Master’s in International Security program and the Center for Security Policy Studies at the Schar School, and current member of the Council on Foreign Relations; and Dr. David Preiss, a former intelligence officer at the CIA, and the author of the bestselling book, The President’s Book of Secrets: The Untold Story of Intelligence Briefings to America’s Presidents, and senior fellow at the Hayden Center.
After the opening remarks by the Schar School’s Dean, Mark Rozell, event moderator Larry Pfeiffer, the Director of the Hayden Center, asked that those attending the event or watching it virtually via YouTube to determine the topics of discussion by proposing their own questions or concern. Offering up the first question, Pfeiffer inquired: “What do you believe is the most pressing national security issue of 2024?” The response from each of the panelists garnered a discussion of a variety of topics, all echoing their concern for issues such as Chinese data mining, trade wars, Russian aggression in Ukraine, and the use of artificial intelligence in disinformation campaigns. Once the discussion was opened to input from the audience, panelists were faced with questions from attending scholars, undergraduate and graduate students, and colleagues in their field. No topic was taboo, from topics as specific as biosecurity challenges to some as broad as “cultural limitations in intelligence gathering,” immigration, and border security.
A recurring theme throughout the event was China and the challenges of combatting its influence. Indisputable in its status as a major security concern, the question then evolved into just how large of a concern? It was General Hayden who said, “China has been, and will continue to be, a problem for the next 100 years.” Echoing his sentiments, the other panelists agreed that there were too many variables related to China, and not enough of them known to us.
When a virtual audience member finally asked whether there were any similarities between our post-modern relationship with China, and our Cold War relationship with Russia, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe pointed out that the primary difference was American economic ties to China. Differentiating between an economic and cyber domain versus a conflict of political ideology determined a new factor in China was to be approached. That we were now entering into a new era of intelligence gathering was a sobering thought for the panelists.
At the close of the event, panelists discussed their feelings about the upcoming U.S. election in 2024. Warnings of an increasingly distrustful electorate, and their responses to destabilizing geopolitical events, indicated that there is a chaotic road ahead in the future of American politics and domestic security. In addition, panelists noted the dangers of American enemies abroad taking advantage of those weaknesses through methods such as election tampering, misinformation, and disinformation.
Elena McCloy is a recent graduate of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, with a B.A. in Government and International Politics. In December 2023 she completed her senior synthesis in environmental policy, mitigating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions, which is published through the Center for Energy Science and Policy at the Schar School. In May 2024, she will continue her graduate studies in International Relations and Intelligence at the Helm School of Government at Liberty University.
A full recording of the event is available on The Michael V. Hayden Center Youtube and here: