U.S. needs to declassify more: security expert

In an interview with Congressional Quarterly, maritime security expert Kim Peterson, former executive director of the Maritime Security Council and president of the Mobius Security Group, says that the U.S. must expand intelligence-sharing with foreign ports in order to improve global maritime security.

Part of the problem, Peterson says, is that the U.S. does not declassify intelligence information that foreign governments could use to fight terrorism, leaving them “making decisions in a vacuum.” He says intelligence personnel have told him they would like to share more information with foreign governments, much of which would be too expensive for them to gather themselves. He also advocates the development of security standards as a guide to help foreign ports strengthen their security.

Part of Peterson’s agenda is political: he notes, for example, that Venezuela is expanding its political influence in Latin America by helping improve the maritime security of states that find it difficult to get U.S. cooperation.