With days to go until America decides who will become the next president, there are concerns among some US allies over one of the most important aspects of their relationship with the world’s most powerful nation – intelligence sharing. While a Kamala Harris presidency is expected to fit into a more predictable pattern of intelligence handling, security experts say some US allies have more “anxiety” about the alternative: Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The Independent spoke to experts in intelligence, national security, and foreign policy from the UK, Australia, and Canada on the implications of a second Trump term. They all agree that the stakes couldn’t be higher – and suggest that the Republican candidate’s track record when it comes to leaking secret information is one of their causes for concern.
“There is trepidation about Mr Trump in the US intelligence community and throughout the Five Eyes network,” Dr Michael Fullilove, executive director of Australia’s Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, tells The Independent, referring to the intelligence-sharing network made up of the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
“The handling of secrets requires people to follow rules,” Fullilove says. “But Mr Trump doesn’t seem to believe that rules apply to him. He sees himself as existing in a rule-free zone. When you’re talking about the handling of classified intelligence, that’s a problem.”
During Trump’s first administration, the White House “leaked like a sieve”, Dr Daniel Larsen, a lecturer in intelligence and war studies at Glasgow University and previously at Cambridge, tells The Independent. As a matter of law, a sitting president can declassify the most secret classified information, but US defence experts say even presidents have to transmit declassification orders through the proper channels.
Trump and classified information
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