PNN – The prospect of the second term of Donald Trump’s presidency has put the American intelligence community at risk; Because Trump sought major changes in the intelligence agencies during his first term as president. Therefore, the previous challenges with the US intelligence agencies can become the Achilles heel of the Republican government.
The way the US intelligence agencies were managed in the previous Trump administration faced challenges and concerns from the rival stream; Concerns from the appointment of presidents to the type of Trump’s interaction with these institutions, which will continue to be relevant in his future administration.
Trump’s nomination of names such as “John Ratcliffe” for the head of the “Central Intelligence Organization (CIA)” and “Tulsi Gabard” for the head of the US National Intelligence Service have raised the voices of critics. They say that Trump will once again try to use the American intelligence community to achieve his political goals by appointing people who are aligned with him to head the intelligence agencies. Meanwhile, Trump’s supporters interpret these criticisms in the context of party and political competition.
Why are Democrats worried?
Critics believe that Trump, due to his personality traits, can turn the American intelligence services into weapons for revenge against his domestic political opponents. According to the opinion of 12 former intelligence officers of the United States, Trump can weaken the sharing of information with America’s allies for the second time and in this way act to weaken the position of the country’s allies, especially in the critical areas of Ukraine.
“NBC News” believes that these concerns stem from Trump’s records in the first term of the presidency, his public statements about criticizing the intelligence services, the misuse of classified information, his promise to take revenge on his political opponents, etc.
Trump’s supporters consider his serious warnings about the future of the United States intelligence community in his second term as “hysterical and vague” and recall his history of “strengthening the American intelligence agencies during his tenure”.
Apart from what approach Trump has adopted and will take in relation to intelligence agencies, the illegal use of the intelligence capacity of this country’s spy agencies against political opponents, as well as the acquisition of party or personal interests in this country, is unprecedented.
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The history of abuse of the capacity of the intelligence community by American presidents
According to the report of the “London School of Economics” website (center of the United States), the tension between political circles and information societies is inherent in the relations within democratic systems and is not limited to America. On this basis, American presidents have pressured their intelligence agencies in different periods to provide products that support their predetermined policies. In this connection, it is possible to mention the disagreement between the presidents of the time and the American intelligence community regarding the adoption of a specific strategy during the Vietnam War, as well as the politicization of information by the Bush administration before the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Perhaps the most infamous example of a president of the United States who crossed this red line is “Richard Nixon”; the man whose government forced the CIA to collect intelligence on domestic protesters against the Vietnam War. Nixon also tried unsuccessfully to enlist the CIA’s help in thwarting the FBI’s investigation into the burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel.
Trump and the possibility of abusing the capacity of the intelligence community
According to “Politico” report, the prospect of Trump’s second presidency has put the American intelligence community at risk; Because Trump sought major changes in the intelligence agencies during his first term as president. Former senior officials of the Trump administration also warn that he is likely to use the second term of the presidency to review the structure of the country’s spy agencies, and this process will lead to an unprecedented level of politicization of intelligence institutions.
This would give the president’s top aides the power to shield him from information that doesn’t align with his policies and even change the wording of assessments he disagrees with.
On the other hand, in speeches, Trump and some of his former vice-presidents have mentioned the topic of revenge against those who they say are a threat to American democracy, and in this way have fueled the existing speculations regarding his possible extreme actions through the American intelligence community.
Before the election, NBC News wrote in a report: Trump has pledged to appoint a special prosecutor to prosecute Biden and his family. There are also cases of statements by people around Trump that can be evidence of the possible attempt of this current to abuse the intelligence community of the United States.
Is Trump a victim of intelligence community abuse?
Steven Chong, the spokesperson of the Trump campaign, listed a wide range of “failures” and claimed that Trump himself was a victim of the abuse of the intelligence community; In cases such as the intelligence community’s reception of discredited cases about Trump’s relations with Russia, the government’s investigation in Russia, and the biased action of some former intelligence officials who questioned the veracity of the accusations against Biden’s son.
The weakening of the American intelligence community and the fear of Washington’s allies
Another aspect of the possible changes in the structure of the intelligence community of this country is the fear and reluctance of America’s foreign allies, who are now worried about preserving their intelligence sources after the start of the second term of Trump’s presidency; A fear that could cause them to cautiously reduce the amount of information they share with their American counterparts about data collection methods. Meanwhile, Washington relies heavily on its foreign intelligence partners to help track terrorist threats, manage international crises, and prepare for potential conflicts. Some American officials have warned that Trump is also considering reducing information sharing with Europe.
According to the website “Just Security”, in the second term of Trump’s presidency, the faster and more accurate identification of threats will be at serious risk, because a political intelligence community with high loyalty to Trump is likely to cause catastrophic damage to America’s foreign intelligence relations; Because the allies of this country have already witnessed Trump’s disregard for maintaining national security secrets during his presidency.
Spreading discord in American elite society
According to some observers, Trump incurred a lot of costs in the first round of his presidency from the confrontation with the intelligence community of the United States. This issue is likely to make him start an interactive process with this very important group in the American political structure from the very beginning.
Based on this, any changes in this collection will most likely be soft and gradual. It must be accepted that Trump’s second term of the presidency will be much more experienced, reasonable and even more patient than the first term. Changes that, although they can be pleasant for intelligence organizations, can also be frightening in another aspect.