NSA and Britain’s GCHQ targeted aid groups and top EU, Israeli and African officials by David Meyer.
From the post:
Another day, another addition to our pool of knowledge regarding U.S. and British surveillance activities. According to the Guardian, Der Spiegel and New York Times, historical targets of the intelligence agencies have included (deep breath): Unicef, Médecins du Monde, the UN development program, the UN food program, the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, Israel’s former prime minister and defense secretary, the head of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), other African leaders and their families, French defense contractor Thales, French oil giant Total, and EU competition chief Joaquin Almunia — although he was in charge of the EU economy at the time. File under “Diplomatic Disasters”.
Perhaps the reason the NSA has gained so little intelligence from its wide spread snooping is that it is looking in the wrong places. Yes?
The UN food program?
What about wealthy Saudis? I understand at least one Saudi was a self-announced terrorist. (Osama bin Laden)
That’s one more than you can say for the UN food program.
The incompetence and waste of the current intelligence efforts are more pressing issues to me than the invasions of privacy.
The intelligence-industrial complex, I2C, is fighting a war against enemies that only it can see, by means only it can know about, for a cost that it can’t disclose and/or justify.
In some ways, the I2C poses a greater danger than the military-industrial complex. At least with the military-industrial compex the drama was being played out to some degree in public. Lots of lies were told privately but there were visible enemies.
With the I2C, anyone, your neighbor, co-worker, brother-in-law, etc., could be the enemy! (It sounds absurd when I say it, but the nodding heads on TV treat the same statement from the President on down as thought its sensible.)
It’s time to end this carnival scare ride called the war on terrorism. The only people making money are the ticket takers and the money being spent is yours.