Intelligence officers have warned Donald Trump's "vindictive" campaign of revenge against CIA officials could be "blinding" the US to threat of Russia.
The White House has stripped security credentials from 37 intelligence personnel, accusing them of partisan manipulation and constitutional betrayal.
This unprecedented campaign targets those connected to the 2017 assessment confirming Moscow's efforts to assist Trump's electoral victory.
Former intelligence professionals describe widespread trepidation gripping Langley's corridors, where operatives fear becoming the next casualties of political vengeance.
The administration's actions extend beyond symbolic punishment.
Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard shocked the community by publicly identifying an active undercover operative who had briefed Mr Trump before his encounter with the Russian President, potentially compromising operational security.
Approximately 100 officers at CIA headquarters have accepted early departure packages or resigned outright, whilst the State Department's intelligence division has lost roughly a third of its three hundred analysts.
Four former intelligence professionals revealed to The Telegraph that remaining personnel increasingly dilute assessments concerning Moscow, seek reassignment to less contentious portfolios, or eschew hazardous Russian operations entirely.
Officials have warned against Donald Trump's attacks on the CIA
| GETTYThis haemorrhaging of expertise coincides with Vladimir Putin's imminent Zapad 2025 military manoeuvres alongside Belarus, involving 40,000 Russian forces.
Intelligence veterans note the previous Belarus exercises in 2021 preceded Moscow's Ukrainian offensive, heightening concerns about America's diminished capacity to anticipate Russian intentions.
The intelligence community's operational paralysis extends beyond personnel losses.
Officers now deliberately avoid assignments examining Russian activities, preferring economically-focused positions in South America over politically sensitive Moscow postings.
Hundreds of CIA officers have resigned or elected to take early retirement
|GETTY
"If you're in Moscow, why am I going to risk my health, the well-being of my family [to collect information] that is just going to be thrown in the trash?" one anonymous former operative said.
Ms Gabbard's disclosure of the undercover officer's identity has particularly alarmed field operatives.
Former professionals warn this carelessness endangers the entire deception framework supporting covert operations, whilst deterring agents from accepting dangerous assignments.
"If they're so cavalier with an officer recently placed under cover, what's going to happen to me?" the former operative asked.
The purge has extended to those with minimal involvement in controversial assessments.
Former officials report receiving threatening communications and false emergency calls to their homes.
"I probably worry less about official Washington coming after me than some crazy person who reads the stuff and says 'Well, I'm going to take matters into my own hands,'" retired career intelligence officer Larry Pfeiffer said.
Steven Cash, who leads an organisation of Trump-opposing security professionals, warned: "We're blinding ourselves." He described America's capital increasingly resembling authoritarian cities.
"I now live in a world that's much more like Budapest or Moscow," Cash said, referencing CIA protocols for hostile environments.
"We're not quite there yet. But it's starting to feel like that."