Local opinion: America is blinding itself — and calling it strength

According to the current administration, America has never been stronger. We’re told to picture a bold, muscular nation, standing tall, staring down threats, flexing so hard the world trembles. But if you look past the press conferences and patriotic PowerPoints, something far less heroic is happening: Our closest allies are quietly backing away like we’re the drunk guy at the bar insisting he’s totally fine to drive.

The United States has managed to distance itself from the Five Eyes, the intelligence-sharing alliance formed in 1946 that has been the backbone of Western security since the end of WWII. For nearly eight decades, it has functioned as one of the most advanced, nearly frictionless systems of intel cooperation on earth. And now we’re treating it like a Costco membership we forgot to cancel.

Experts have warned that formally excluding Five Eyes partners, or simply disengaging, isn’t some minor bureaucratic adjustment. It’s a giant, neon sign flashing "We don't trust you," which of course encourages our allies to respond with: “Great, the feeling is mutual.”

And respond they have.

The U.S. has already been withholding intelligence on the Russia–Ukraine war, which was alarming enough. But now, in a deeply unsurprising plot twist, our allies are returning the favor. The United Kingdom has reportedly paused sharing intelligence with Florida’s Joint Interagency Task Force South. The reason? Britain would prefer not to be complicit in U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean, strikes they believe may actually be illegal. When a partner who has stood by us through every messy global conflict since 1946 suddenly says, “Yeah … we’re going to sit this one out,” maybe we should ask why.

But wait, Canada is backing away too! Usually, the human equivalent of a polite shrug, Canada is now quietly distancing itself from our sudden enthusiasm for blowing up boats. And then there’s the Netherlands. Dutch intelligence officials have said openly they’re restricting cooperation due to the politicization of intelligence in Washington, worried the U.S. might use their information to violate human rights.

So to review:

Three of the Five Eyes are now squinting suspiciously at the United States. At this point, it’s less an alliance and more a group chat where everyone has the U.S. on mute.

All of this would be disastrous under any circumstances. But it’s especially catastrophic now, because the Trump administration has apparently decided that the height of strategic brilliance is destroying wooden fishing boats and calling it a counter-cartel operation.

Pete Hegseth has been enthusiastically overseeing strikes that have killed people at sea, all while insisting, without evidence, that these individuals were cartel members or drug runners. You would think, given the gravity of the claim and, you know, the whole “killing people” part, someone would provide proof. Maybe a report, a briefing, a grainy satellite image, literally anything.

Instead, we’re told to “trust the process.” The same process that has repeatedly misrepresented and manipulated intelligence when politically convenient. The same process our allies no longer trust enough to share information with.

America is not being protected; it’s being kept in the dark.

Five Eyes intelligence is essential to U.S. national security, counterterrorism, cyber defense, drug interdiction, global threat monitoring. Losing access doesn’t just inconvenience us. It blinds us. It weakens us. It makes everyday Americans less safe.

And for what?

For viral drone footage?

For political theater?

For an administration more invested in appearing strong than actually being informed?

This is not leadership.

This is not strategy.

This is a master class in self-sabotage.

If the U.S. continues down this path, we won’t just lose allies, we’ll lose the very global intelligence framework that has protected us since World War II. And once that safety net collapses, no amount of tough talk or boat-destroying bravado will put it back together.

The world is watching. Our allies are withdrawing. And America, in the name of “strength,” is blinding itself at the worst possible time.