DEMOCRACY WATCHKeep the U.S. Government Focused on Combating Foreign Interference Operations
Countering foreign interference requires concerted policy efforts to raise the costs for adversaries. Harnessing military and intelligence capabilities to push back forcefully must be part of policy discussions to address foreign interference.
The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) detailed charges against Iranian operatives involved in the plot to assassinate Donald Trump during the recent presidential campaign should dispel any skepticism about US national security threats emanating from foreign interference operations. If Trump is serious about advancing “peace through strength”, he should advance US government efforts to push back against these threats. After all, it is his administration that foreign adversaries will target in the next four years to destabilize the United States domestically and undermine its interests abroad.
For the moment, however, such threats do not appear to be a priority. Elon Musk’s alleged talks with Iran’s UN ambassador on easing tensions, along with longstanding skepticism in Trump circles about a Russian threat, may lead to the erosion of important US government work to counter foreign interference. This comes despite agreement among senior Republicans and Democrats and the US intelligence community that US adversaries—especially Iran, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and even Russia—have a vested interest in destabilizing the United States. During the 2024 campaign, Iran conducted a hack-and-leak of the Trump campaign, including of the email accounts of campaign co-chair Susie Wiles and adviser Roger Stone. The effort, pulled from Russia’s 2016 playbook to try to spread damaging information about the campaign through the media. Iran and Russia committed significant resources to information manipulation campaigns, surreptitiously amplifying polarizing narratives to inflame tensions among American voters.
Meanwhile, the PRC, though not a factor in attempts to interfere in the presidential election, sought to influence congressional races in which perceived anti-Beijing candidates were on the ballot, according to the US intelligence community. The PRC routinely conducts information operations on social media, using artificial intelligence tools and inauthentic accounts, among other tactics, to shape Americans’ views on China and, like Iran and Russia, amplify divisions among Americans on polarizing issues.
Indeed, foreign interference operations do not have to impact the results of an election to have a deleterious impact on American democracy. The PRC, Iran, and Russia regularly conduct operations inside the United States. The DOJ’s charges against Iranian assets include a plot to kill an Iranian-American journalist, a clear case of transnational repression and subversion of US civil society. Equally broadly, Iran and Russia use a variety of tactics to amplify mis- and disinformation and spread state propaganda among Americans while masking the fact that that content was created in Tehran and Moscow.