America Is Cutting Off the Five Eyes. The Results Could Be Catastrophic.

Peter Suciu

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If Tulsi Gabbard’s directive is maintained, the United States could find itself in a world where its most trusted partners primarily discuss security in venues that do not include America.

The White House did not acknowledge the exact exchange that President Donald Trump had in his high-level meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier this month.

While it’s not surprising that the details were not released to the public at this point, some of America’s closest allies also remain largely in the dark—and have expressed frustrations about the lack of communication to the Trump administration.

According to a recent report from CBS News, the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, “issued a directive weeks ago to the US intelligence community” that its information regarding the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine no longer be shared with the so-called “Five Eyes”—the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—which have historically cooperated closely on intelligence matters. Information related to the peace talks was classified as “NOFORN,” meaning that it could not be shared with any foreign nationals, friend or foe.

“This is a siren, not a memo,” warned geopolitical analyst Irina Tsukerman, president of threat assessment firm Scarab Rising. “Seal Russia–Ukraine diplomacy inside a NOFORN box, and you do not just trim a distribution list. You redraw the security map. Allies hear a slammed door. Rivals hear an invitation.”

Tsukerman further suggested the decision to wall off information about Russia–Ukraine negotiations from the Five Eyes would not be perceived as a bureaucratic adjustment, but as an insult.

“The Five Eyes alliance was built on the premise that the English-speaking democracies share more with each other than with anyone else,” she warned. “When Washington suddenly redraws the lines and stamps the most critical issue in European security ‘NOFORN,’ it signals to friends and adversaries alike that America no longer treats even its closest allies as part of the inner circle.”