Improving U.S. Intelligence Sharing with Allies and Partners

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Intelligence sharing is vital to America's security, but it often fails to live up to its potential. Intelligence sharing failures are hard to measure, but they can be seen when allies and partners fail to realize the dangers of revisionist states, when advanced planning is insufficient, and when there are gaps in the intelligence division of labor, among other problems. Issues include a lack of trust, a U.S. release system that emphasizes security over sharing, technical barriers, a lack of bureaucratic resources, and unclear prioritization. The United States should consider relaxing some security requirements with allies and helping them improve their own procedures, sharing more low-risk information, dedicating more resources to increase the speed of sharing, expanding existing partnerships, and fostering new relationships.
This research was made possible by the support of the Smith Richardson Foundation.