A new danger from the north? “The US shared secret intelligence with al-Jolani”

The United States has shared secret intelligence about threats from ISIS with the new government in Syria, which is itself run by leaders of a military group that has long been considered a terrorist organization in Washington, according to a report in the Washington Post, from several current and former American officials familiar with the exchange of information.

In at least one case, U.S. intelligence helped thwart an ISIS plot to attack a religious shrine outside Damascus earlier this month, according to the officials. America is growing that ISIS may be gaining renewed momentum as Syria’s new leaders try to establish control.

The intelligence sharing is motivated by a mutual interest in preventing such a comeback and does not reflect a full embrace of al-Juliani, who remains the leader of a declared terrorist organization, officials told The Washington Post.

“It’s the right, prudent and appropriate thing to do, given that there was reliable and specific information, combined with our efforts to cultivate a relationship with these people,” said a former U.S. official who, like others interviewed, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

It is not clear what policy the president will take Donald Trump towards the new government in Syria. But he signaled a desire to stay out of the state’s affairs in the Middle East. “This is not our fight,” he said on social media last month.

The intelligence exchanges with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which were not previously reported, took place in direct meetings between American intelligence officials and representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and not through third parties, and included exchanges between the two parties, in Syria and in a third country, the sources said. It began about two weeks after al-Giuliani took office on Dec. 8, the former official said.

On Jan. 11, the Syrian government foiled a plot by ISIS to detonate a bomb at Sayyida Zainab, a Shiite shrine and important pilgrimage site in a suburb of Damascus, Syria’s state news service reported. That attack was foiled thanks to warnings provided by U.S. intelligence agencies, current and former officials said.

The CIA declined to comment.

“We share intelligence with the Russians. We share intelligence with the Iranians when we have certain threats and in certain cases, a warning is required,” said the former official, adding: “When our interests are not perfectly aligned, we have a responsibility, in some cases, to share intelligence.”

Under a long-standing policy known as the “duty to warn,” US spy agencies are required to warn intended victims, both American and foreign, if they are aware of an impending violent attack, targeted killing or planned kidnapping. There are some exceptions, including when sharing the information could endanger US intelligence sources.

The United States warned Russia last year of a planned attack on a popular concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow and also warned Iran of an ISIS plot to detonate bombs at a ceremony marking the fourth anniversary of the American assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. In both cases, the warnings were ignored, US officials said, resulting in significant civilian casualties.