The United States intelligence community has been dealt a significant blow with the discontinuation of the Global Trends report, a comprehensive assessment of potential global threats.
This decision was made by Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, who also disbanded the office responsible for the report's production, according to The New York Times.
The Global Trends report, which has been a staple of the intelligence community for over two decades, provided a long-term perspective on potential challenges, ranging from climate change and migration to pandemics. It has been credited with accurately predicting global health crises and shifts in immigration patterns years before they occurred.
However, as reported by The New York Times, Gabbard's office justified the decision by stating that the draft 2025 version of the report "violated professional analytic tradecraft standards" and sought to "propagate a political agenda that ran counter to all of the current president's national security priorities."
The decision to discontinue the report was made last month and was largely overlooked due to other actions taken by Gabbard, including the closure of the National Intelligence University and significant cuts to personnel focused on foreign influence and election threats. Gabbard's office defended these actions, arguing that the Global Trends team had "neglected to fulfill the purpose it was created for."
However, critics argue that the report has historically been nonpartisan. Jake Sullivan, former President Joe Biden's national security adviser, expressed his concerns at the Climate Forward conference, stating that ignoring long-term intelligence on climate risks and other challenges does not make these problems disappear.
"The United States is not going to be as prepared and as capable to contend with this challenge going forward," he warned, adding that Gabbard's comments about intelligence professionals were "offensive and wrong."
Gregory F. Treverton, former chair of the National Intelligence Council who led the 2017 report, also lamented the report's discontinuation. He told The New York Times that the report was instrumental in refining intelligence-gathering techniques and foresight.
"I lament its demise it was a good exercise in developing tradecraft," he said, noting that the last report even predicted a pandemic disrupting global travel and economies.
The Trump administration had similarly disbanded other long-range national security groups, including the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment. With the dissolution of the Strategic Futures Group and the cancellation of this year's Global Trends report, experts warn of significant hurdles for any future administration wishing to revive the project.
The discontinuation of the Global Trends report is a significant setback for the intelligence community and the nation's preparedness for future global threats. The decision has been criticized as a political move that undermines the nonpartisan nature of intelligence work and could leave the United States less prepared to face future challenges.
Despite the criticism, Gabbard's office maintains that the decision was made in the best interest of the current president's national security priorities. The debate over the report's discontinuation underscores the ongoing tension between politics and intelligence in the United States.
Login