Security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and peace and stability in South Asia are issues of near-term concern for the US, a top intelligence official-designate of the Obama Administration has said.
Managing the growing power and influence of China and India are among the key long-term challenge of the US intelligence and policymakers, the official said.
Testifying before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in his nomination hearing on Thursday, Director of National Intelligence-designate Dennis Blair identified several areas of near-term concern for the Obama Administration.
If confirmed, Blair would replace Mike McConnell and would be responsible for overseeing as many as 16 American intelligence agencies.
"They (the areas of near-term concern) include North Korea's nuclear weapon and missile programmes, Iran's nuclear capabilities and intentions, as well as its missile programme, the security of Pakistan's arsenal, and peace and stability in South Asia," Blair said.
"They include Israeli-Palestinian violence, with its possibilities for escalation and implications for regional security," he said.
Blair said the US is engaged in three campaigns, which pose immediate threat to it. These are the campaign against anti-American terrorists with global reach, the campaign in Iraq and finally the campaign in Afghanistan where the US has deployed troops, diplomats and nation builders.
"The day-to-day demands for tactical intelligence for these missions, geographically concentrated in Southwest Asia, cannot be allowed to crowd out the mission of building a deeper understanding of the complicated interlocking dynamics of the entire region, from Kashmir to Istanbul. We will need that understanding as we forge a strategy for the region," Blair said.
Blair said the intelligence community also needs to understand the long-term geopolitical challenges.
"How the United States adjusts to and manages the growing power and influence of China and India and key countries in the developing world is a major long-term challenge for policy makers," he told members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.