What does NRC think | Amateurism and Evil wants Team Trump to set Europe for Intelligence Dilemma

In his inauguration section, Donald Trump already announced it: he was going to put an end to diversity policy. « We forge a society that is color blind and based on merits, » promised the brand new president. To resolve that promise, he recited TV commentator Pete Hegseeth as a defense minister, a veteran who became familiar with the right-wing Fox News with fierce criticism of the ‘Woke’ and ‘Wapiferous’ forces. After his narrow appointment by the Senate-despite an alcohol problem and assault encouragations-Hegseeth immediately dismissed women and Afro-Americans from the army top in his first weeks.

This week the whole world could enter The Atlantic Read how this ‘meritocratic’ personnel policy turns out. The editor -in -chief of the magazine described how he, presumably by mistake, was added to a private app group on Signal. There he was able to read how Trumps national security team discussed air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen as lightly and broth.

Hegseeth already shared details of the attack plan hours before the attack, which were then still militarily secret. After the cleansing in the army leadership, a highest commander was missing in the chat group, who might have been able to point out the undesirability of all this app.

The use of Signal seems to be contrary to both espionage laws and the obligation to archive. Communication via this app is indeed encrypted, but is not nearly as well protected as official channels. Some of the eighteen participants also seemed to app from private mobile stages and at least one was on a foreign business trip – in Russia. If hackers or strange intelligence services had access to even one device, this could have jeopardized the entire mission and American soldiers, spies and their sources in the field.

The carelessness and the clumsy leak cannot be seen separately from the way in which Trump-II is compiled. The president may promise a merit -based society, he is only looking for three qualities in ministers: absolute loyalty, handy with the media and skilled in the sarn of political opponents.

The latter ‘quality’ prevented those involved to repent or self -criticism this week. They preferred to play down the issue, simply denied that military secrets had been shared, the messenger attacked or came to the Democrats with you baking.

Only a few Republicans in the congress dared to ask critical questions. The party top chose the line of defense that little was going on, that it could be at most ‘learned’. The Trumpists almost turned in their dilettantism, as a umpteenth chance to get rid of the ‘old’ Washington elites.

This combination of flagrant amateurism, lack of internal correction capacity and republican cadaver discipline raises dilemmas for American allies – or for those who still go for it. Can this United States still be trusted if it concerns matters of national security, such as sharing information or military cooperation? This Lekke Washington must be a candy store for spies from Russia, China and other anti-Western countries.

This demand for trust is extra pregnant, because at least part of the US government can no longer be considered in good faith. Vice-president JD Vance and Minister Hegseeth brought serious damage with speeches in Munich last month and at NATO the Eighty-year-old Transatlantic Alliance. But anyone who thought that their hard language was ‘only’ meant to wake up an ally and forcing higher defense spending expenditure must read the Signal apps.

The internal deliberations reveal that the dédain with which this new government is approaching Europe is not just for the stage is. Inner rooms, the Trumpists are even more downstairs about Europeans, whom they find « pathetic fritters » who have to help the US « out of the fire » again and again.

In any case, that is consistent. But therefore cannot remain without consequences for Europeans. The intelligence world is – just like Trump, by the way – very transactional: I tell you something, you something else. The US usually has the best services, smartest satellites and are at the forefront of collecting electronic and digital information. Europe can also do a few things, but is traditionally the questioning party in this cow trade in ‘Intel’.

Collaboration with the US remains irreplaceable for the time being. And although the ‘Deep State’ of lower bureaucrats, soldiers and intelligence professionals may continue to be trusted, Europeans must take a whole new safety risk in mind more seriously. This reign in Washington can just throw shared sensitive or secret information, both from amateurism and out of evil will.

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