Those interested in national security and international intelligence were confronted by two important headlines yesterday, which were connected in ways that might not be immediately obvious.
The first came by way of NBC News, which noted that U.S. and German authorities uncovered and thwarted an alleged Russian plot to assassinate the CEO of a major German arms manufacturer.
The alleged plot targeted Armin Papperger, the chief executive of Rheinmetall AG, Europe’s largest producer of ammunition, whose company makes 155 mm artillery rounds for Ukraine and plans to open several plants inside the country to produce both ammunition and armored vehicles, including the Lynx infantry fighting vehicle. U.S. intelligence agencies discovered the plan to go after Papperger earlier this year and informed the German government, the sources said.
That last sentence was of particular interest. Intelligence officials in the United States uncovered the alleged Russia plot, informed our NATO allies in Berlin, and German officials were able to intervene. It’s the sort of critically important cooperation that strengthens our relationships abroad and saves lives.
All of which leads us to the second report of interest. Politico reported that foreign officials have been informed that Donald Trump is “considering a reduction in intelligence sharing with members of NATO.”
Trump advisers have told allied countries the reduced intel sharing would be part of a broader plan to scale back U.S. support and cooperation with the 32-nation alliance, according to three European officials and a senior NATO official, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal discussions. The officials said they learned about the proposal to curb intelligence-sharing during discussions with Trump advisers about broader plans to reduce U.S. involvement with NATO.
So, a few things.
First, the fact that these two reports ran on the same day was rather extraordinary. On the one hand, the world was confronted with fresh evidence of the importance of the U.S. sharing intelligence with our NATO allies; while on the other hand, the world was simultaneously confronted with news that Trump intends to curtail sharing intelligence with our NATO allies.
It’s difficult to say how many American voters will consider such an issue when weighing their presidential election choices, but it’s the sort of news that raises the stakes even higher.
Second, the idea that the Republican and his team would deliberately take steps to reduce intelligence sharing with U.S. allies is dangerously bonkers. Indeed, the Politico report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, added that many countries depend on the U.S. “for the type of information that has helped Ukraine fend off Russia.” The article added, “The curtailment of intel could have dire security consequences, especially for Ukraine as it tries to repel the Russian invasion.” Former CIA Director John Brennan summarized matters this way: “Intelligence sharing among NATO members and with Ukraine has been absolutely essential to counter Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine as well as to uncover and thwart other destabilizing Russian activities in Europe and beyond. A cutoff or significant scaling back of U.S. intelligence sharing with NATO allies and partners would have an immediate, profound, and potentially long lasting adverse impact on Western security interests.” In other words, Team Trump’s intentions are the sort of plan that Vladimir Putin would love, but U.S. allies would hate. Finally, if the former Republican president is serious about “a reduction in intelligence sharing,” maybe he can start by blurting out fewer classified secrets?
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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