About this episode

This episode explores the Five Eyes intelligence alliance and the obligations of its members.

The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance with roots that go all the way back to World War II. It's a tight club - but just what does membership demand of us? To see more images and details about the series, vist the website here . As the Iron Curtain came down across Europe at the end of World War II and allies united against Nazism splintered into Capitalist and Communist camps, a fraternity of intelligence agencies was created, known as Five Eyes. It was a tight-knit club and one that demanded cooperation and loyalty. The Five Eyes alliance was a group of countries whose leaders traditionally were, as former GCSB boss Sir Bruce Ferguson put it, White Anglo Saxon Protestants (WASPs). They shared a common world view. It began with a treaty between the United States and Britain, who were then joined by Canada, Australian and, in 1956, New Zealand. Former Prime Minister and Attorney-General, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, says membership comes with obligations. "There is a sort of feeling that we have to earn our stripes, if you know what I mean. And so there's that kind of pressure to be super cooperative". Ferguson disagrees, but admits the relationship is…

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