Echelon

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 05-08-02 AT 11:26 AM (GMT)]Yesterday I saw a French documentary on the NSA and Echelon. I was a bit supprised though. I thought the Echelon was used to track terrorists using electronic mail and SMS’s, but I was wrong. Seems like the US is spying on Europe and Japan most, not because of military or political reasons, but to spy on the industry. This way, the NSA can give information to the US department of Economics and this will hand the information to the private enterprises.

In 1994, there was a scandall in Brazil about a new sattelite system to controll the Amazon-rainforest. Two competing companies were chosen to make a system, US Raytheon and French Thompson GSE (right?!). The American company accused the French of bribery and this information was given by the NSA. This was however not 100 % true, and after a while it seemed that Raytheon was just doing the same, but this time, the NSA remained silent.

I don’t know what’s true of it, but I don’t think the use of economic spionage is justified, if not, illegal! The European Parliament had sent some investigators to the US to make a report on the NSA and CIA’s activities,but when they got there, they were sent home, back to Brussels. Now questions emerge on a European kind of Echelon, which would do just the same as the NSA. Still a long way to go, but I think it’s worth the price.

A Canadian working for the CSE (also in the Echelon program), said that they were spying Airbus, the European Parliament and even some embassies in Europe and Japan. Is this a way to threat your ‘allies’?