Trend of declassifying US intelligence poses serious risks, ex-CIA officials say

Tactic can disrupt adversaries' plans but also risks politicising intelligence and compromising sources, article argues

An increasingly common US tactic of declassifying intelligence with the aim of disrupting the plans of adversary powers can bring short-term gains, but risks creating long-term problems for the US intelligence agencies, two former CIA officials have warned.

In a new article in the journal Foreign Affairs, David Gioe, a former CIA analyst and operations officer, and Michael Morell, who was CIA acting director and deputy director, argue that the most serious risk is the politicisation of intelligence, if it is routinely shaped before publication to suit the purposes of the administration of the day.