{"id":19975,"date":"2015-04-27T15:00:35","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T05:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=19975"},"modified":"2015-04-27T16:00:35","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T06:00:35","slug":"au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia’s intel cooperation with Iran: eyes wide shut?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The news that Australia has done a deal to exchange intelligence with Iran<\/a> generated some fierce criticism from independent MP\u00a0Andrew Wilkie<\/a>, who described the arrangement as \u2018complete and utter madness from a security point of view\u2019. From an alliance perspective, at first glance he seems to have a point.<\/p>\n

A week previously, the United States announced that it was ramping up its intelligence sharing with Saudi Arabia<\/a> to increase the effectiveness of Saudi air operations against Iranian-backed anti-government forces in Yemen. America\u2019s interests are engaged because the Yemeni government has been an important ally in American efforts to curtail the local al Qaeda franchise.<\/p>\n

So we have the situation where Australia and the US, rock-solid allies and intelligence partners through the Five Eyes partnership, have struck intelligence sharing deals with opposite sides in the Yemen conflict. And it\u2019s actually more complicated than that. Iran is also helping out in operations against IS<\/a> in Iraq, to which both Australia and the US are contributing. As near as I can make out, the situation looks something like the schematic below. (And if this looks complicated, it\u2019s much simpler than the graphic representation of wider security interests in the Middle East<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

To a strategist, that diagram seems to bear out Wilkie\u2019s criticism. The overall security strategy seems fragmented and at times contradictory. For example, assuming that Australia wants the same outcomes as the US, we find ourselves hoping that Iran is successful in its efforts in Iraq but unsuccessful in Yemen. (And Iranian proxies elsewhere, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon with their anti-Israel activities, only further cloud the picture.) Given the tightness of the ANZUS allies, it\u2019d be expected that Australia would thoroughly discuss the deal with the US before going public\u2014though comments from the State Department<\/a> suggest otherwise.<\/p>\n

From a security angle, intelligence is one of the tools of state power and it makes little sense to share that power with a state that doesn\u2019t align with our preferred model of the world. But that\u2019s not the only way to think about the problem. To an economist, the diagram above would look familiar, as it has many of the characteristics of a trade network<\/a>. That\u2019s the key to seeing what\u2019s going on here. Intelligence products have value as a trade good, and they can be exchanged for other goods. We\u2019re offering up a limited amount of intelligence cooperation in return for a quid pro quo\u2014in this case, Iranian cooperation with Australia on efforts to defeat IS and help counter the organisation\u2019s extremist message.<\/p>\n

Australia won\u2019t be opening up its five-eyes intelligence apparatus for Iran to exploit for its own national strategy\u2014in fact, we’ll probably hand over as little material as we can to secure the benefits we want. The trick will be quarantining Iran\u2019s access to intelligence to subjects where the two nations’ interests converge. That\u2019ll require some careful handling, and we\u2019ll need to keep material handed over to a narrow focus on those issues. The opposition leader Bill Shorten neatly summed up the tension<\/a>:<\/p>\n

‘\u2026 because we have a current convergence of interests does not mean that Australia should lower its guard or be any less vigilant to some of the issues\u2026 We will be pragmatic and we won\u2019t be naive that if there is a beneficial relationship in one part of our relationship with Iran, that doesn\u2019t automatically mean that everything else has changed.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In sharing intelligence with a country we\u2019d normally disagree with, we\u2019re certainly not setting any precedents. Last year the US decided to share intelligence on IS with Russia<\/a>, and that\u2019s despite Russia\u2019s continued destabilisation of eastern Ukraine and other unhelpful security positions. It\u2019s worth recalling the post-9\/11 environment as well. After the US homeland attacks, the US and Russia agreed to cooperate on intelligence efforts against al Qaeda, which produced disquiet on both sides of the relationship. The KGB didn\u2019t like it<\/a>, and I well recall NSA Cold War veterans being deeply troubled by the idea of American intelligence being marked \u2018releasable RUSSIA\u2019. But security challenges are remarkably malleable and sometimes realpolitik<\/em> prevails.<\/p>\n

In fairness, Wilkie doesn\u2019t focus purely on security in his criticism. He makes two other assertions. First, that Iranian intelligence has been of poor quality and sometimes \u2018downright misleading\u2019 and therefore of little value as a trade good. If that turns out to be the case, Australia will have to decide whether the exchange is worth continuing, which will depend on the net benefits of the deal as we assess them.<\/p>\n

Secondly, and to my mind more importantly, he asserts that Iranian intelligence is sometimes based on torture, which should be unacceptable to Australia. It\u2019s hard to argue with that, though I\u2019d note that we don\u2019t seem to apply that rule to other intelligence partners\u2014including the United States<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On balance, there\u2019s nothing too surprising about our overture for a closer intel relationship with Iran. It simply reflects the realpolitik<\/em> of international affairs and it’s not like we’re offering up the family jewels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The news that Australia has done a deal to exchange intelligence with Iran generated some fierce criticism from independent MP\u00a0Andrew Wilkie, who described the arrangement as \u2018complete and utter madness from a security point of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17,170,247,895],"class_list":["post-19975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australia","tag-intelligence","tag-iran","tag-islamic-state"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAustralia's intel cooperation with Iran: eyes wide shut? | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australia's intel cooperation with Iran: eyes wide shut? | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The news that Australia has done a deal to exchange intelligence with Iran generated some fierce criticism from independent MP\u00a0Andrew Wilkie, who described the arrangement as \u2018complete and utter madness from a security point of ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-27T05:00:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-04-27T06:00:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/D-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"829\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"591\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Davies\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Davies\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/D-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/D-2.png\",\"width\":829,\"height\":591},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/\",\"name\":\"Australia's intel cooperation with Iran: eyes wide shut? | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-04-27T05:00:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-04-27T06:00:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/08a9125f7af3039520d264e965235a73\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Australia’s intel cooperation with Iran: eyes wide shut?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/08a9125f7af3039520d264e965235a73\",\"name\":\"Andrew Davies\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbb47ebb41d4978346dbf2e1d21b992a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbb47ebb41d4978346dbf2e1d21b992a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Andrew Davies\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/andrew-davies\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Australia's intel cooperation with Iran: eyes wide shut? | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Australia's intel cooperation with Iran: eyes wide shut? | The Strategist","og_description":"The news that Australia has done a deal to exchange intelligence with Iran generated some fierce criticism from independent MP\u00a0Andrew Wilkie, who described the arrangement as \u2018complete and utter madness from a security point of ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2015-04-27T05:00:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-04-27T06:00:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":829,"height":591,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/D-2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Andrew Davies","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrew Davies","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/D-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/D-2.png","width":829,"height":591},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/","name":"Australia's intel cooperation with Iran: eyes wide shut? | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2015-04-27T05:00:35+00:00","dateModified":"2015-04-27T06:00:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/08a9125f7af3039520d264e965235a73"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/au-intel-cooperation-with-iran-eyes-wide-shut\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Australia’s intel cooperation with Iran: eyes wide shut?"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/08a9125f7af3039520d264e965235a73","name":"Andrew Davies","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbb47ebb41d4978346dbf2e1d21b992a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbb47ebb41d4978346dbf2e1d21b992a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Andrew Davies"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/andrew-davies\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19975"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19975"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20010,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19975\/revisions\/20010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}