US intelligence alliances may be tested by unpredictable Trump

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WASHINGTON, Feb 6, (AP): Donald Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy could hamper longstanding US intelligence-sharing partnerships as countries react to a president who seeks closer ties to Russia and is unafraid to offend American allies by cracking down on immigration or getting angry with friendly leaders. Veteran spies say intelligence relationships are built to weather storms between political leaders.

Even in the worst of times, allies share intelligence to thwart threats. But the lack of understanding about Trump’s foreign policy direction and his potential new friendship with Moscow are creating jitters across the Western world. “We are facing an unprecedented level of uncertainty today,” said John Blaxland, a former Australian intelligence official and professor at Australian National University. He said there is mutual benefit to these “broad, deep” intelligence sharing relationships, but added: “It is hard to calculate just how much damage the new president’s approach may have.” “It will be felt,” Blaxland predicted, “and it won’t be good.” Russia is a main concern.

If Trump moves forward with efforts to improve US-Russian relations, European allies in particular will probably question how safe their intelligence is in American hands. Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and threatening movements near the borders of NATO members in Eastern Europe have contributed to the perception of Moscow as a threat to national sovereignty. If American intelligence agencies are instructed to enhance cooperation with Russia, US allies see “significant counterintelligence threats that come with that,” said Steven Hall, a retired CIA chief of Russia operations.

He said they “will be much more careful in the future.” As candidate and president, Trump has sparked widespread international unease by questioning the value of US military alliances, if not necessarily intelligence partnerships. He called NATO “obsolete” and challenged countries such as South Korea and Japan to assume greater self-defense responsibility.

In the last weeks, however, Trump advisers have gone out of their way to stress the durability of such arrangements and America’s commitment to its friends. Detente between Washington and Moscow is no sure thing, despite Trump’s intentions. Under President Barack Obama, relations between the former Cold War foes strained dramatically over Syria, Ukraine and alleged Russian meddling in the US presidential election after initially improving under a “reset” policy. In recent days, Trump’s administration has reverted to criticizing the Kremlin after a fl are-up of violence involving Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine

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