US May Cut Back Intel Sharing With Anti-Gay Countries

The New York Times reports:

The Trump administration is considering cutting back on sharing intelligence with partner countries that criminalize homosexuality as part of a push by the acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell, to prod those nations to change their laws.

The intelligence community should be pushing American values with the countries it works with, Mr. Grenell said in an interview this week.

“We can’t just simply make the moral argument and expect others to respond in kind because telling others that it’s the right thing to do doesn’t always work,” he said. But, he added, “to fight for decriminalization is to fight for basic human rights.”

The Hill reports:

Nearly 70 countries criminalize homosexuality, including U.S. intelligence partners like Egypt, Kenya and Saudi Arabia. Grenell did not clarify if the new policy would withhold additional cooperation or just curtail the information that is given to the countries.

“If a country that we worked in as the United States intelligence community was arresting women because of their gender, we would absolutely do something about it,” Grenell said. “Ultimately, the United States is safer when our partners respect basic human rights.”