The GOP is abandoning its prior reputation as the party of national security.

First up, there's House Speaker Kevin McCarthy 's decision to provide Fox News host Tucker Carlson with over 40,000 hours of raw security footage from January 6, 2020. This has left many security and intelligence professionals like myself aghast. McCarthy claims he promised the footage released in return for support over his efforts to become speaker. It's a more blatantly immoral political deal.

The problem here is quite simple.

If he releases footage without due regard for camera locations, McCarthy will put Capitol Police officers, members of Congress, their staff, and visiting members of the public at risk. Unless the cameras which provide video surveillance are re-positioned, a blueprint for a future attack will have been released. Detailed footage that shows an adversary the precise location of security cameras and safe rooms is a dream for a criminal planning an attack. It's exactly what a terrorist group would seek. It’s thus hard to imagine a more irresponsible and foolhardy move. Sane security-minded members of the GOP need to ensure that any footage revealing sensitive information is not released.

Next up on the GOP security concern docket?

Reauthorizing the Section 702 program. Under the 2008 Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act, Section 702 allows the U.S. government to conduct warrantless intelligence collection on non-U.S. persons who utilize U.S.-based communications service providers. Traditional left-leaning groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union have always hated this law. But now the populist right has picked up the rallying cry. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has vowed to gut the program. Moreover, the conflation of the Section 702 program with how the FBI investigated Carter Page via a warrant is highly unfortunate. The FBI made serious mistakes with the Page warrant application. But no, Page's situation had nothing to do with Section 702.

This matters because Section 702 is an extraordinary tool that has been successfully used to track terrorists who were plotting to kill Americans. The U.S. eliminates terrorist threats based on a "find-fix-finish" principle. Step one is finding the terrorist. Step two is fixing them in a certain location. Step three involves finishing or removing them from the battlefield via a capture-or-kill mission. Section 702 is one of the most important tools for the "find" portion. What terrorists were subject to Section 702 spying? Ayman Zawahiri, for one. Attorney General Merrick Garland recently wrote to Congress noting that the operation to kill the al Qaeda leader was aided by Section 702. It presumably helped the U.S. to identify his location.

I know a thing or two about Section 702. I ran a unit in the intelligence community that did just this kind of targeting. Based on first-hand experience, I can say unequivocally that scores of Americans are alive today because of Section 702. The GOP cannot, in good faith, call itself the party of national security while eliminating this critical tool in our counterterrorism arsenal. And this isn't just about counterterrorism.

Section 702 is also used for counterintelligence purposes. That is to say, disrupting spies in America or spying efforts against America. China, which most Republicans correctly charge poses the greatest long-term threat to the U.S., conducts a massive espionage campaign to recruit Americans, steal our trade secrets, and burrow cyberattack tools into U.S. critical infrastructure. Section 702 collection is an integral means of combating these specific Chinese efforts.

I remember when the GOP was, for many, the obvious party for the national security minded. Strong anti-communism fueled by robust defense spending and support for the law enforcement and intelligence communities were the GOP hallmarks. The GOP must return to these roots. Fueling conspiracy theories about January 6th, risking the exposure of security protocols for the Capitol, and hindering our intelligence agencies as they attempt to track terrorists and foreign spies?

Give me a break. Indeed, Ronald Reagan is surely rolling over in his grave.

Marc Polymeropoulos is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. A former CIA senior operations officer, he retired in 2019 after a 26-year career serving in the Near East and South Asia. His book, Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA, was published in June 2021 by Harper Collins.