A former Canadian intelligence official is warning current cuts by the brand new U.S. administration to its intelligence companies may place the nation for “another 9/11.”
Dan Stanton, a former govt supervisor for the Canadian Safety Intelligence Service (CSIS), mentioned in an interview with The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson that cuts are “degrading the efficiency” of the U.S. intelligence group, which may have a a lot greater affect than simply America’s borders.
“Breaking up the FBI, buyouts at the CIA, other agencies as well,” he mentioned. “That is basically positioning the United States for another 9/11 and, by extension, Canada’s vulnerable. So weakened national security in the United States impacts on us.”
Final week, the CIA confirmed it had provided buyouts to staff to spur voluntary resignations.
It was a reversal of the preliminary plans for CIA and different nationwide safety companies to be exempt.
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On the finish of January, the Trump administration additionally moved to fireside prosecutors concerned within the Jan. 6 Capitol riot felony instances and demanded names of brokers concerned in those self same probes to presumably minimize them as nicely.
It was a transfer some bureau staff instructed The Related Press might be a precursor to extra expansive firings.
Requested what affect cuts to skilled intelligence officers may have, Stanton mentioned it could imply the individuals who exchange them might not know what they’re doing, inflicting the intelligence group to “lose our eye on the target.”
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“So all those threats, whether it’s ISIS, whether it’s the Russians, Chinese, so on, there’s a risk that coverage is going to be disrupted as those agencies are turned inside, directed at Americans,” Stanton mentioned.
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“That also means American capability on, for example, counterterrorism is being reduced and it’s making the world a more dangerous place and that has implications for Canada.”
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There’s additionally considerations among the many intelligence group about whether or not adjustments made by the Trump administration may additionally restrict what Canada has entry to.
Vincent Rigby, a former prime intelligence advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, instructed a crowd on the Canada World Affairs Institute on Wednesday that he frightened about intelligence getting used as a negotiating device to extract features from Canada.
As a part of the 5 Eyes intelligence sharing alliance, Canada advantages from nationwide intelligence from Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the U.S.
Ottawa depends on data steadily from allies with way more expansive overseas intelligence techniques, akin to Britain’s MI6 and the American CIA.
However Stanton mentioned whereas there are considerations about whether or not the U.S. may minimize off intelligence sharing, he mentioned if there have been cutbacks it could largely be in “non-threat foreign intelligence,” akin to political or financial reporting that helps form overseas insurance policies.
“The lion’s share of the security intelligence which we get on weapons of mass destruction, terrorist attacks, espionage, spies, I seriously doubt any of that would be cut back because the people working in these agencies and American intelligence are professionals,” he mentioned.
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Even with it unlikely Canada would lose intelligence on issues akin to terrorist assaults or espionage, considerations stay on whether or not espionage by the U.S. itself may goal Canada.
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A prime aide to newly-minted CIA director John Ratcliffe additionally instructed The Wall Avenue Journal that Trump’s CIA would have a better concentrate on the Western Hemisphere and would goal nations not historically thought-about adversaries.
Stanton mentioned that would translate to the U.S. focusing on the federal authorities or the non-public sector to get data to assist Trump’s tariffs and any subsequent commerce struggle.
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He mentioned it’s “conceivable” that would embody listening to cellphone calls, however it could take a “long time to do it.”
“That’s new in terms of a Five Eyes partner using all their architecture, all their resources of intelligence against Canada,” Stanton mentioned.
“It also depends how much MAGA ideology seeps down into the core business of those agencies.”
Even with new administrators on the helm, Stanton mentioned intelligence officers don’t “immediately shift in terms of focus and priority,” which can permit Canada to proceed to function because it has been in the intervening time, with an expectation of restricted change for no less than a yr or two.
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Nevertheless, he added he has considerations over adjustments being made beneath “executive level” in some companies, saying it may change the tradition.
“If you get significant changes in that culture from those appointments, then yes, the agencies are going to become A: inefficient and B: could be politicized and, you know, basically do whatever the president tells them to,” he mentioned.
“It’s just a horrible situation, it’s horrible to watch what’s going on (in) the intelligence community, which in some ways is a canary in the mine as to what’s going on in the U.S. government.”
