In 1st visit to intel agency, Biden warns of cyber conflict
Source: AP
By NOMAAN MERCHANT and ALEXANDRA JAFFE
MCLEAN, Va. (AP) President Joe Biden used his first visit with rank-and-file members of the U.S. intelligence community a part of government that was frequently criticized by his predecessor Donald Trump to make a promise that he will never politicize their work.
Biden waited more than six months to make the short drive across the Potomac River on Tuesday to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, giving analysts and national security leaders often derided by Trump as the deep state some breathing room.
The president in his remarks to about 120 ODNI employees and senior leadership officials sought to make clear that he understood the complexity and critical nature of their work. The agency oversees the 17 other U.S. intelligence organizations.
You have my full confidence, he said. I know theres no such thing as 100% certainty in the intelligence world. Occasionally that happens. Rarely, rarely, rarely.
President Joe Biden listens as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Christine Abizaid speaks during a visit to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in McLean, Va., Tuesday, July 27, 2021. This is Biden's first visit to an agency of the U.S. intelligence community. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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