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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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The Netherlands has scaled back some of the information it shares with the U.S., particularly in relation to Russia, the head of the Dutch military intelligence and security service has said.
Why It Matters
Intelligence sharing is an intricate, delicate balance that hinges on trust—which was upturned for many of America's allies when President Donald Trump strode back into the White House at the start of the year.
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European members of NATO have long leaned heavily on the U.S. to prop up their defenses, letting their own military spending lapse. But the Trump administration has been clear in its intention to pull back from Europe, while establishing fresh dialogue between the White House and the Kremlin. Despite Trump's publicly-expressed frustration with Russia's refusal to ink a deal to end the war in Ukraine, the Republican has largely dodged slapping Moscow with punishing sanctions or lancing Russian President Vladimir Putin with the brand of personal insults he is known for.
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What To Know
Dutch intelligence officials consider what information to share with the U.S. on sensitive issues like Russia, Peter Reesink, the director of the Netherlands' Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD), told the country's de Volkskrant daily newspaper.
“That gets weighed carefully," Reesink said.
While the intelligence chief swerved delving into the details of how the information-sharing relationship had changed, Reesink said officials sometimes "simply no longer share certain things.”
Concerns swirled earlier this year over the future fate of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, the Anglophone collective led by the U.S. with NATO allies Canada and the U.K., plus Australia and New Zealand. Some observers wondered whether the U.S. would stymie what it shares with allies, or whether the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand could deem the U.S. an untrustworthy confidant and limit the intelligence they passed on to Washington.
During Trump's first term he reportedly shared "highly classified information" with Russia's foreign minister and ambassador at a White House meeting. Trump "revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies," an anonymous U.S. official described as familiar with the matter told the Washington Post in 2017. H.R. McMaster, Trump's then-national security adviser, described the report as "false" at the time. McMaster later said that Trump was being "played" by Putin.
Erik Akerboom, the head of the Netherlands' domestic AIVD intelligence service told de Volkskrant that intelligence officials were "very alert" to what he termed the "politicization" of intelligence networks.
"Sometimes you have to think on a case-by-case basis: can I still share this information or not?,'" Akerboom said.
High-profile intelligence officials have not been immune from the Trump administration's purging of senior roles. Timothy Haugh, previously the head of the National Security Agency and the U.S. Cyber Command, was fired in April and NSA deputy chief Wendy Noble was also dismissed after Trump met with far-right activist Laura Loomer.
Loomer posted to social media at the time that both officials had been dismissed for being "disloyal to President Trump." Haugh said earlier this month he was "absolutely not" disloyal and had always been focused on the country's national security.
Newsweek has reached out to the Dutch defense ministry and to the White House for comment via email.
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Reesink said Dutch officials had visited the CIA and NSA in recent months, and had left feeling "reassured" of good relations.
"That does not alter the fact that we regularly review this cooperation," he added.
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