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PsychoBabble

(837 posts)
Tue May 16, 2017, 03:50 PM May 2017

How Trump Hurts the Spying Business

Article Author David S. Cohen was a deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency and under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence in the Obama administration. He opens with explanations of how real people from other countries decide to become US spies ... BECAUSE of our "American Idea" ... as he states it, "because they see a stark difference between our ideals and the repressive and brutal regimes of their own countries."

So what happens ... when that is no longer true? When we no longer act differently? He explains further:

I am reminded of these recruits, and many others like them, when I hear the Trump administration lavish praise on autocrats, when it tries to close our borders to refugees from war-torn countries and when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson proclaims that the United States must de-emphasize human rights.

This departure from decades of bipartisan foreign policy is rightly criticized for ignoring the critical role that “the American idea” plays in promoting our interests abroad, particularly when it comes directly from the president and the secretary of state.

But lauding autocrats, rebuffing refugees and downgrading human rights — as much as reports that Mr. Trump revealed highly classified intelligence to the Russians — also has a much more direct, palpable and unmistakably negative impact on our national security. Tarnishing the idea that America stands for something uniquely good makes it harder for the C.I.A. to recruit spies. The best arrow in the C.I.A.’s quiver — the arrow that has led to countless high-quality recruits signing up over the years — will not be nearly as sharp.

No one can say how many potential spies will decide that working for America is not worth the risk. But the administration’s rejection of the American idea will surely mean that some will say no. And that means intelligence that could have been collected for years to come will be lost to us.

That will harm our national security. The intelligence collected from human sources is distinct and potent. It is often the only way to obtain critically important information on plans, intentions, motivations and fears. Human assets can obtain specific information to answer key intelligence questions from policy makers. Trained spies can offer crucial insights into relationships and context, making other intelligence, such as information from intercepted communications, much more valuable.

Every asset who is not recruited impoverishes our understanding of the opportunities, risks and threats in the world.


https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/opinion/how-trump-hurts-the-spying-business.html

(emphases mine)
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