{"id":89305,"date":"2013-11-06T09:09:00","date_gmt":"2013-11-06T08:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?guid=59cf8c84a0e0c23a411cc25ffa3debc9"},"modified":"2013-11-06T09:09:00","modified_gmt":"2013-11-06T08:09:00","slug":"nsa-spying-get-it-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/editorials\/nsa-spying-get-it-all\/","title":{"rendered":"NSA Spying: Get It All"},"content":{"rendered":"

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NSA Spying: Get It All<\/b><\/div>\n
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by Stephen Lendman<\/div>\n
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NSA spies at home and abroad. Anything goes is policy. Obama exceeds what his predecessors began. NSA’s pre-9\/11 incarnation was a shadow of today’s monster.<\/div>\n
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Privacy no longer exists. Advanced technology lets NSA go where no spy agency anywhere went before. It spies globally. It does so lawlessly. <\/div>\n
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It does whatever it wants. It does so because it can. Out-of-control spying and freedom can’t co-exist. Continuing it assures its extinction. It’s already on life support. Full-blown tyranny threatens to replace it.<\/div>\n
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On Novoember 3, Der Spiegel<\/span><\/a> published Edward Snowden’s “A Manifesto for the Truth.” In part, he said<\/span><\/a>:<\/div>\n
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“(W)e must not forget that mass surveillance is a global problem in need of global solutions.”<\/div>\n
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“Such programs are not only a threat to privacy, they also threaten freedom of speech and open societies.” <\/div>\n
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“The existence of spy technology should not determine policy. We have a moral duty to ensure that our laws and values limit monitoring programs and protect human rights.”<\/div>\n
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“(S)ome governments initiated an unprecedented campaign of persecution. They intimidated journalists and criminalized publishing the truth.”<\/div>\n
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“Citizens have to fight suppression of information on matters of vital public importance. To tell the truth is not a crime.”<\/div>\n
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Snowden remains America’s public enemy number one. Telling millions what they need to know made him a wanted man.<\/div>\n
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According to Senate Intelligence Committee chair Diane Feinstein:<\/div>\n
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“He’s done (an) enormous disservice to our country.” Clemency is out of the question. <\/div>\n
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Dan Pfeiffer is Senior Advisor to the President for Strategy and Communications. Snowden faces espionage charges, he said. Clemency won’t be granted.<\/div>\n
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On November 2, London’s Observer<\/span><\/a> headlined “Portrait of the NSA: no detail too small in quest for total surveillance.”<\/div>\n
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NSA claims spying protects America. Leaked documents prove otherwise.<\/div>\n
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Before Obama discussed issues with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last April in Washington, he “knew what (he) was going to talk about.” <\/div>\n
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He knew “courtesy of the world’s biggest eavesdropping organization, the National Security Agency.”<\/div>\n
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One leaked Snowden document boasts about gaining “access to (Ban’s) talking points prior to meeting with POTUS.”<\/div>\n
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“The White House declined to comment on whether Obama had read the talking points in advance of the meeting.” NSA automatically sends information he needs to know.<\/div>\n
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Spying on UN officials violates international law. It doesn’t matter. It persists. NSA’s “top-secret” weekly global report calls it “operational highlight.”<\/div>\n
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It’s “incongruously” included with dissimilar covert spying operations. Communications relating to chemical weapons use in Syria and Mexico’s Los Zetas drug cartel are listed in the same section.<\/div>\n
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Doing so “points to a spy agency that has lost its sense of proportion,” said the Observer.<\/div>\n
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It’s consistent with thousands of other Snowden released documents. They reveal NSA’s dark side. It spies “indiscriminate(ly).”<\/div>\n
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Nothing too small is neglected. Get it all reflects policy. “Rivals, enemies, allies and friends – US citizens and ‘non-Americans’ – are all scooped up.”<\/div>\n
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NSA’s aim is total global surveillance. It calls planet earth the “digital battleground.”<\/div>\n
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It’s generously funded. Post-9\/11, its budget at least doubled. Published figures may conceal much greater amounts provided. <\/div>\n
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It’s headquartered in Fort Meade, MD. Other facilities operate in Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Hawaii and Utah. It employs around 35,000 staff at all levels.<\/div>\n
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“Its antennae can be found on the rooftops of 80 American embassies around the world.” It has outposts in Britain, Australia and Japan.<\/div>\n
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It operates elsewhere covertly. In one unnamed country, doing so breaches a treaty signed with its host. <\/div>\n
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Agency staff conceal their identities. They pose as contractors. They carry fake business cards.<\/div>\n
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NSA’s remit is all-embracing. During the Cold War, mostly state institutions and officials connected to them were targeted.<\/div>\n
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Now it’s virtually everyone everywhere. NSA spies globally. It monitors friends and foes. It’s about control. <\/div>\n
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It’s for political and economic advantage. It’s to be one up on foreign competitors. It’s for information used advantageously in trade, geopolitical, and military relations.<\/div>\n
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Domestic spying is longstanding. It’s got nothing to do with protecting national security. It’s institutionalized. It’s unconstitutional. It doesn’t matter. Nothing is done to stop it.<\/div>\n
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Obama lied claiming NSA’s remit is purely counterterrorism. “We do not have an interests in doing anything other than that,” he said.<\/div>\n
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NSA documents say around 35% of its resources go for so-called war on terror operations. It’s a sweeping, ill-defined characterization. It can include anyone for any reason or none at all. <\/div>\n
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All NSA resources aim to further America’s global dominance agenda. <\/div>\n
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It boasts about collecting information from “virtually every country.” Claims about foiling terrorist plots don’t wash. <\/div>\n
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So-called bad guys committed no crimes. They were framed. They’re mostly victims of America’s war on Islam. Some are animal and environmental rights activists. Others oppose America’s imperial agenda.<\/div>\n
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NSA invents whatever plots it wishes, true or false. It does so to claim successes. It boasts despite no verifiable ones. It gets media scoundrels to claim otherwise.<\/div>\n
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It gets bigger budgets for more spying. It does enormous harm to millions of people. It twist truth about making America safer. It’s never been less safe.<\/div>\n
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It operates with virtually no oversight. It does whatever it wants, where and when. It spies domestically the same as overseas. It does so with or without required warrants. <\/div>\n
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It violates international, constitutional and US statute laws. Congress and federal courts turn a blind eye.<\/div>\n
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Despite public anger over Snowden released documents and demands for reform, it’s likely to be too little at best to matter.<\/div>\n
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NSA isn’t likely to stop spying virtually everywhere. It won’t divert from going where no earlier incarnation or counterpart went before.<\/div>\n
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It spies on dozens of foreign leaders, the Pope and other Vatical officials. It spies on friends and foes alike.<\/div>\n
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One NSA document says “(t)he constant chance in the world provides fertile ground for discovering new targets, technologies and networks” able to intercept, monitor, store and analyze electronic communications.<\/div>\n
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It’s “(l)ucky for us,” said an agency official. NSA’s technological capabilities thrive in this type environment.<\/div>\n
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On November 1, London’s Guardian<\/span><\/a> headlined “GCHQ and European spy agencies worked together on mass surveillance.”<\/div>\n
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NSA and GCHQ are especially close. Washington provides millions of dollars in secret funding. It expects plenty back in return. According to a strategy briefing, “GDHQ must pull its weight and must be seen to pull its weight.”<\/div>\n
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German, French, Spanish, Swedish and other European intelligence services work cooperatively with both agencies.<\/div>\n
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They’ve done so for years. Most likely longer than admitted. Bulk monitoring involves intercepting fiber optic cable communications. Major telecom and Internet companies cooperate.<\/div>\n
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“GCHQ played a leading role in advising its European counterparts how to work around national laws intended to restrict the surveillance power of intelligence agencies.”<\/div>\n
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Director of National Intelligence (DNI) head James Clapper told Congress that European intelligence agencies work cooperatively with NSA.<\/div>\n
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Expressed outrage is hypocritical, he said. “Some of this reminds me of the classic movie Casablanca: ‘My God, there’s gambling going on here.’ “<\/div>\n
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In 2008, Sweden passed legislation. It lets its intelligence agency monitor cross-border telecommunications and emails without court authorization.<\/div>\n
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German outrage was hypercritically over-the-top about monitoring Angela Merkel’s cell phone conversations.<\/div>\n
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GCHQ’s Tempora system intercepts and stores all optic fiber cable data passing through Britain. <\/div>\n
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According to Snowden, its “full take” system is vast. “It snarfs everything in a rolling buffer to allow retroactive investigation without missing a single bit.”<\/div>\n
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“As a general rule, so long as you have any choice at all, you should never route through or peer with the UK under any circumstances,” he stressed.<\/div>\n
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German Internet experts said doing so is nearly impossible. Merkel had to know her cell phone and most other electronic communications were intercepted.<\/div>\n
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NSA and GCHQ have access to whatever they want. Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) uses its own state-of-the-art technology. According to GCHQ:<\/div>\n
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BND has “huge technological potential and good access to the heart of the internet – they are already seeing some bearers running at 40Gbps (gigabits per second) and 100Gbps.”<\/div>\n
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In 2012, GCHQ’s capability was only 10Gbps. It sought ways to match BND’s capability. It helped its counterpart bypass restrictive German laws. Documents revealed state:<\/div>\n
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“We have been assisting the BND (along with SIS – Secret Intelligence Service – and Security Service) in making the case for reform or reinterpretation of the very restrictive interception legislation in Germany.”<\/div>\n
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France’s General Directorate for External Security (DGSE) gets high marks. It’s “a highly motivated, technologically competent partner,” said GCHQ.<\/div>\n
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It “show(s) great willingness to engage on IP (Internet protocol) issues, and to work with GCHQ on a ‘cooperate and share’ basis.”<\/div>\n
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It helps break encryption. It’s “very keen to provide presentations on their work which included cipher detection in high-speed bearers.” <\/div>\n
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GCHQ’s “challenge is to ensure that we have enough UK capability to support a longer term crypt relationship.”<\/div>\n
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Spain’s intelligence agency CNI (National Intelligence Center) provides “fresh opportunities” for cooperation. <\/div>\n
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GCHQ has “a very capable counterpart in CNI, particularly in the field of Covert Internet Ops.”<\/div>\n
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Britain’s agency was delighted when Swedish legislation let its National Defense Radio Establishment (FRA) conduct Tempora-like operations.<\/div>\n
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GCHQ expects FRA expertise to develop rapidly. It provided advise and guidance. It stands ready to help further.<\/div>\n
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GCHQ maintains strong relations with two Dutch partners. They include external security service MIVD and internal AIVD.<\/div>\n
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By UK standards, they’re small. They’re technically competent. They’re motivated to advance their expertise.<\/div>\n
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They have legislative issues to resolve. GCHQ provides legal advice on how to circumvent Dutch law or get its parliament to change it.<\/div>\n
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Italy comes off worst. Inter-agency friction and legal limits constrict activities.<\/div>\n
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“GCHQ has had some CT (counter-terrorism) and internet-focused discussions with both the foreign intelligence agency (AISE) and the security service (AISI), but has found the Italian intelligence community to be fractured and unable\/unwilling to cooperate with one another,” documents say.<\/div>\n
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Snowden documents show GCHQ is “Europe’s intelligence hub.” Its capabilities are state-of-the-art. It operates in a “legally permissive environment.”<\/div>\n
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It’s Europe’s fiber optic cable “gateway.” It’s closely linked to NSA. It’s “an indispensable bridge between America and Europe’s spies.”<\/div>\n
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London’s Mirror calls GCHQ Big Brother. NSA is called Big Daddy. Their combined capabilities and freedom to operate unrestrained leave no place to hide. <\/div>\n
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Privacy no longer exists. Freedom is an endangered species. It’s a hair’s breadth from disappearing altogether.<\/div>\n
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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. <\/div>\n
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His new book is titled “Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.”<\/div>\n
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http:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html<\/div>\n
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Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. <\/div>\n
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Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.<\/div>\n
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It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.<\/div>\n
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http:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NSA Spying: Get It Allby Stephen LendmanNSA spies at home and abroad. Anything goes is policy. Obama exceeds what his predecessors began. NSA’s pre-9\/11 incarnation was a shadow of today’s monster.Privacy no longer exists. Advanced technology lets NSA …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[461],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-89305","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorials"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89305\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}