U.S. intelligence officials sounded the alarm Monday and warned that foreign adversaries are scanning America’s election infrastructure ahead of the contentious November election, raising concerns that those hostile powers are probing our defenses for any vulnerability.

The Washington Times’ Ryan Lovelace is tracking the new information coming out of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which said that foreign forces are looking to exploit the political process to their advantage.

Russia, the ODNI said, is using “influence-for-hire firms” to shape public opinion in the United States, while China is using covert influence operations and is seeking more efficient ways to create content targeted to local audiences. Iran, meanwhile, is relying on “vast webs of online personas and propaganda mills” to spread disinformation and exacerbate U.S. domestic divisions over the Israel-Gaza conflict.

All of those efforts will only be compounded by artificial intelligence, which could make it far easier for America’s enemies to spread disinformation and false narratives quickly and easily.

It gained attention with the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, but outside actors seeking to influence the domestic politics in a given country is hardly a new phenomenon. The latest episode of the Threat Status Podcast offers a window into that fascinating behind-the-scenes world, as former political operative Sam Patten joined the show to offer his unique perspective.

Mr. Patten, author of the book “Dangerous Company: Misadventures of a ‘Foreign Agent,’” said that his previous work abroad informed his view of the so-called “Russia-gate” controversy of the 2016 election cycle.

“As somebody who ran the International Republican Institute’s office in Moscow for three years where I actively tried to help opposition parties give [Russian President Vladimir] Putin a hard time, I found it hard to get too worked up about what I saw really happening,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean Russia, China, Iran and other adversaries aren’t trying to undermine Americans’ faith in the electoral process, he said.

“They want to discredit democracy. And they enjoy seeing the United States confused,” Mr. Patten said. “They want to show that democracy doesn’t work and that authoritarianism is a better solution.”

Protests continued overnight across Venezuela, where thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate against Mr. Maduro and his claim to have won reelection over former diplomat Mr. Gonzalez in Sunday’s national election. Security forces reportedly fired tear gas and rubber bullets at some of those demonstrators, as crowds descended on central Caracas and some headed toward Mr. Maduro’s presidential palace.

Mr. Gonzalez says he has proof that the official government results, which showed Mr. Maduro with 51% of the vote to Mr. Gonzalez’s 44%, are fake. He said the actual, physical vote tallies show him with more than twice as many votes as Mr. Maduro, an incumbent and the political protege of late Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez. Mr. Gonzalez’s claims seem to be backed up by independent exit polling conducted across 100 polling places in Venezuela that showed him with a more than 2-to-1 edge over Mr. Maduro.

Mr. Maduro, unsurprisingly, is responding with force and defiance. His government reportedly expelled diplomatic missions of seven Latin American nations — Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay — that expressed concerns over the integrity of the vote-counting.

The White House and European Union also have cast heavy doubt on the results. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday that the U.S. expects the Venezuelan government to publish “full, detailed tabulation of votes.” He also seemed to leave open the possibility of economic sanctions or other steps against Venezuela, depending on how the situation unfolds on the ground over the next several days.

“We and the international community are watching, and we will respond accordingly,” Mr. Kirby said.

The major overhaul of U.S. Forces Japan, described by Mr. Austin as the biggest change to America’s military footprint in Japan in 70 years, is coming into clear focus.

Washington Times Asia Editor Andrew Salmon offers a detailed look inside the changes, which are designed to streamline the currently tangled lines of command and coordination inside the U.S. military infrastructure. Mr. Salmon spoke with Lance Gatling, a retired U.S. officer who served in Japan, about exactly what it means for the Pentagon to establish a combined joint force headquarters in Japan.

“Essentially, the component U.S. commands in Japan — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines — answered to their service HQs in Hawaii, so U.S. Forces Japan would have fought [a war] under four separate commands,” Mr. Gatling said. “Combined means one command, one commander, with mutually agreed authority to direct combat operations.”

The Chinese government, not surprisingly, has not reacted kindly to Mr. Blinken’s and Mr. Austin’s trip to the region. Officials in Beijing criticized “some countries outside the region” that are determined to “flex their muscles” in Asia.

Space will play a critical role in any future conflict — and that could be bad news for the U.S. Douglas MacKinnon, a former White House and Pentagon official and author of the book “The 56: Liberty Lessons From Those Who Risked All to Sign the Declaration of Independence,” writes in a new op-ed for The Times that China is poised to exploit any American weaknesses in space.

“China’s space program is a military program controlled by that nation’s leaders. They realize that the United States is falling further and further behind in space,” he writes. “They will act when the time is best for them in Earth orbit and on the surface of the moon. They intend to use the promise, riches and military high ground of space to deter and then defeat the United States.”

• July 30 — The Defense of Guam, Center for Strategic and International Studies

• Aug. 1 — Competing for Influence Around the Globe: Is the U.S. Winning? Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing

• Aug. 7 — Navigating Global Challenges: A Conversation with Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral Kevin Lunday, Brookings Institution

• Aug. 8 — Over the Brink: Escalation Management in a Protracted U.S.-China Conflict, Center for a New American Security