Pentagon prepares secret espionage against China in economic war

O Pentagon will be developing a clandestine espionage program more robust than the current one, designed to wage an economic war against China and other US competitors, today reported The Washington Post.

The alleged new spy program, which will resort to US agents under false identities, is a secret component of the Pentagon-led economic war campaign, according to sources familiar with the initiative cited by the newspaper.

Agents should pose as entrepreneurs or private sector professionals without any apparent link to the US Government.

The initiative provides for the use of agents that operate without official coverage, known in the information services by the acronym NOC (Non-Official Cover), under the supervision of Tom Rakusan.

With a 39-year career at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Rakusan is currently the lead advisor to U.S. Undersecretary of Defense, Steve Feinberg, according to sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the program.

Rakusan, who retired from the CIA in 2021, came to occupy, in 2017, the position of deputy director of operations, responsible for the agency's espionage activities.

He subsequently led the CIA's response to Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential elections.

According to the sources cited by The Washington Post, the program involves professionals from different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Information and Security Services, as well as former CIA officials.

The initiative is still under planning and is not operational, they added.

The administration of American President Donald Trump has assumed economic war as a central instrument of his national security strategy.

Washington imposed tariffs and export controls, invested in resources and technologies considered critical to the United States and established partnerships with private investors to strengthen essential components of the defense industry.

The US administration also gave greater priority to collecting economic information, the newspaper said.