The (American) Surveillance Scandal …What’s So Strange?

The international reaction the U.S. surveillance scandal has prompted seems more like a political earthquake shaking the U.S. administration. This is especially true regarding the 35 heads of state — allies like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had her personal cell phones tapped. However, a little reflection on this scandal leads to the conclusion that the affair is just another incident of spying between nations. Nations work to win over conflicts and realize their particular interests. This necessitates the surveillance of others in order to know how they are thinking: what are their plans, economic, trade, operational, security capabilities and, of course, their alliances. Anything and everything.

If people are curious, it is only natural that they attempt to eavesdrop on others. Nations are living entities, like people, with interests and strategies, enemies and friends, and like people, they are slaves to their interests! In a world now squeezing everyone in it through intensifying economic, social and security crises, not to mention human selfishness, observing and spying on others seems only natural.

There are no people, be they friends, co-workers, neighbors or relatives, who do not watch closely over one another, try to know each others’ secrets and find out each others’ problems. Perhaps gossip, never absent from our meetings, even if they are of an official nature, is one of the greatest enjoyments of our daily lives. Gossip and [slander, rumors?] cause many of the problems that arise between people and sometimes friends.

In nations, there are governments monitoring every aspect of their citizenry. They study and analyze citizens’ thoughts, leanings, and political and ideological preferences. Governments spend massive amounts of money to do so. So, why is it strange that countries should spy on each other too?

They all claim “protection of their interests” as justification for spying on others. The latest U.S. scandal concerns spying on 35 world leaders and millions of people throughout the world who use cell phones or the Internet. When the scandal broke, the U.S. administration showed confusion and embarrassment, especially regarding the tap on Merkel’s phone. When the White House was forced to come clean and justify its actions, the justification was that it was merely gathering information in order to protect national security.

Everybody spies on everybody else. That much is obvious, but that spying is also contingent on the capabilities to do so. There is no doubt the U.S. is the strongest nation in the world today — that it was the first to develop information technology, holds proprietary knowledge for the infrastructure of the Internet and its interests span the entire globe. Many countries have listening posts providing the U.S. with information. All of this seemed obvious after 9/11 and the ensuing war on terror. That most of the angry responses have been from European allies is remarkable, as is their condemnation of spying between friends!

As for Latin America, it has taken practical steps in its quest to prevent U.S. spying. This includes the establishment of new lines that connect directly to Europe, before moving on to China, India and South Africa, all without passing through U.S. soil. However, in our home — the Arab world included in U.S. surveillance operations — the affair seemed routine, and nobody got angry!

Spying is one of the most important core issues in U.S. politics. It even affects domestic concerns and political rivalries. The Watergate scandal was the largest in U.S. history. Republican President Richard Nixon was fighting for another term in the 1972 presidential elections, so he decided to bug the offices of his Democratic rivals in the Watergate building. This set off a massive political crisis that resulted in his impeachment and the collapse of his administration in August 1974.

Spying strengthens nations by easily revealing the others’ plans and secrets. Despite this and technology being an element of that strength, both spying and the technology behind it can become weaknesses too. This was the case in the surveillance scandal that shook the world, based on documents a young man named Edward Snowden leaked some months ago. He was working as a consultant in the U.S. National Security Agency, when he revealed that the U.S. was indeed spying on a wide variety of communications channels throughout the world. After he revealed the documents, he slipped out of his country and found himself as a political refugee in Russia!