Trump's silencing of US spooks

Dismissal of National Security Agency chief after complaint by a far-right activist highlights the damage inflicted on the intelligence community by a hostile President.

- Jonathan Eyal

Much of the global attention remains fixed on US President Donald Trump's tariff decisions, especially on the spectre of a long-drawn-out trade war between China and the US.

Yet another ominous Washington trend deeply worries America's allies: his apparent determination to ensure that the US' vast intelligence community is placed under the firm control of Trump loyalists and conforms to the President's peculiar vision of the world.

Such fears surfaced before he returned to the White House in January.

However, they rose exponentially after his latest decision — taken on April 4, just as global financial markets were reeling from his tariffs — to fire General Timothy Haugh, who headed the country's National Security Agency.

NSA is the largest American intelligence outfit, known for its nearly worldwide surveillance of electronic communications.

Typically, NSA directors are chosen for their professional qualifications rather than political affiliations and remain in office even as a new president enters the White House.

Gen Haugh, also in charge of the US Cyber Command, held the post for just 14 months and has done nothing that could be interpreted as contradicting Mr Trump.

Yet he was abruptly dismissed because a far-right conspiracy activist, who is Mr Trump's personal friend, accused the military man of disloyalty.

Intelligence agencies are expected to speak truth to power to provide their political masters with the best possible information, regardless of how uncomfortable such evidence is.

However, in the Trump presidency, none of this seems acceptable.

It is a trend which, if allowed to persist, is almost guaranteed to degrade the value of US intelligence, with grave consequences for America's closest allies and global security.

TRUMP'S VIEW OF U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY

Most American presidents enter the White House in awe of the country's intelligence services.