American intelligence has been monitoring the global financial crisis and its fallout.

In answers to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence says that global meltdown is a significant issue for US intelligence operatives.

"While economic security does not fall into the traditional definition or perception of threats, the community agrees that (the) current global economic crisis represents the primary near-term security concern for the United States...There is a heightened risk of social and political instability worldwide as governmetns and citizens grapple with rising unemployment, corporate bankruptcies, frozen financial systems, plummeting trade, and a decline in remittances. These factors potentially feed the threat we abnd our allies face from terrorism and hamper the ability of the United States to tackle our other top national security challenges. For example, when our allies are focused on domestic economic concerns - from recession to rising unemployment, to strikes and riots - they are less able and willing to co-operate with us on other top priority issues, such as counter terrorism or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan...Today, we are concerned about the economic, financial and geopolitical impact of a severe global economic downturn and focused especially on countries where a severe downturn might trigger social unrest, anti-foreign sentiments, damaging protectionism, humanitarian crises, and even an inability to meet collective security commitments because of rising financial burdens."

With the US wasting money on wars it cannot win in Iraq and Afghanistan when it is heavily in debt, it will be fascinating to watch the priorities of intelligence agencies develop.