The Risks of Sharing Intelligence

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.”