Between Five Eyes - 50 Years of Intelligence Sharing

The Five Eyes intelligence community had its origins in the WWII UK/US intelligence relationships and was broadened to include Canada, Australia and NZ. Recent controversy over the possible UK relationship with Huawei has brought the importance that the Five Eyes nations attach to their work into the public arena. Anthony Wells has worked for both US/UK intelligence organisations for over 50 years but he does not aim to tell the story of intelligence but give a personal insight into the way the Five Eyes community works “united in common purpose”. His mix of a naval career, academic work, intelligence analyst and qualifying for the Bar is impressive! The author points out that the Five Eyes is a “unique club”, but it is more, their gathering and sharing of intelligence constitutes an “institutional relationship”. The breadth of subjects, everything from the 1967 attack on the USS Liberty, Russian submarine developments, the damage done by Walker and latterly Snowden (“still does not know what he does not know”)to Bin Laden, money laundering and drugs demonstrates the growth of threats that intelligence community now has to tackle. The sections on post-Gulf War One/pre 9/11 show how intelligence has had to evolve rapidly and try to keep up with technological developments whilst facing the threat of asymmetric warfare. His comments on the interpretation of intelligence post 9/11 and the lead up to the 2003 Iraq War show the tension between intelligence fact and political manoeuvrings; as the author says, “intelligence does not make policy and determine grand strategy”. Bringing the subject up to the present day, the author covers the impact of modern cloud technology, “liberty versus security”, the “borderless digital age” and in particular the need to protect Five Eyes from cyber attack – hence nervousness about Huawei. An extraordinary book which justifiably credits the work of the Five Eyes in maintaining peace, to answer the author’s own question it has made a difference. I was totally absorbed as the book cantered across a wide range of threats and the way the Five Eyes have responded. I am sure that this book only covers the tip of the iceberg of the work of Five Eyes for obvious reasons but that just makes it more intriguing! This really is a must read for anyone interested in the vital role that intelligence plays in providing accurate intelligence to politicians and helping shape the 21stCentury world – very highly recommended.