The Atlantic

The Risks of Sharing Intelligence

According to recent news reports, President Trump divulged highly classified material to Russian officials, potentially endangering the U.S. relationship with the source of that information.
Source: Susan Walsh / AP

The Washington Post first reported Monday that President Trump revealed information about an Islamic State plot that “had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement” during an Oval Office meeting with Russian officials. As a result, the U.S. relationship with the source of that information, a partner in the Middle East with knowledge of the terrorist group, could be at risk.

Intelligence sharing between countries is a common practice, but also a delicate one. In these relationships, nations rely on a combination of trust between senior officials and built-in institutions that verify intelligence, said James Igoe Walsh, author of and a political-science professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. By voluntarily—and seemingly spontaneously—disclosing sensitive information, Trump may “that their country might stop sharing intelligence with the United States.”

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