Biden administration officials announced Wednesday that the director of the National Counterterrorism Center will step down next month.
Director Christine S. Abizaid has served as the country's top counterterrorism official for three years. In recent years, the resurgence of China and Russia and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have supplanted counterterrorism as the country's main national security priority.
But Abizaid warned at a security conference in Doha, Qatar, last month that the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Gaza conflict had intensified manifold terrorist threats around the world.
While the Islamic State no longer controls large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, its fighters and al-Qaeda-linked groups are making advances in Africa. ISIS Khorasan, the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan, carried out deadly attacks in Iran and Russia earlier this year in a dramatic display of its growing influence. In addition to backing Hamas in Gaza, Iran supports extremist groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
“We are in an environment of heightened threats globally,” Abizaid told the conference.
Before taking over as director of the Combating Terrorism Center in June 2021, Abizaid, 45, served as the White House's senior counterterrorism official and the Pentagon's senior official for Southwest Asia policy.
Established in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Counterterrorism Center integrates, analyzes and shares counterterrorism information to address threats.
“Christy Abizaid is not only incredibly capable, but an extraordinary leader who is principled, courageous and kind,” Director of National Intelligence Avril D. Haines said in a statement.
Abizaid began his government career as a counterterrorism intelligence analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency, where he specialized in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East, and also served as the agency's senior representative in Iraq. His father, John P. Abizaid, is a retired Army general who led the Defense Department's Central Command and oversaw military operations in the Middle East and parts of Asia.
“Mr. Christie has played an essential role in advancing the U.S. government's counterterrorism enterprise at a time when other high-priority national security challenges have competed for resources and attention,” said Nicholas J. Rasmussen, a former director of the Counterterrorism Center who now works at the Department of Homeland Security.
Brett M. Holmgren, the current assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, will serve as acting director of the Counterterrorism Center after Mr. Abizaid leaves office in mid-July, administration officials said.