-Caveat Lector- > Wednesday, August 4, 1999 > > > PERSPECTIVE ON WORLD AFFAIRS > Europe Blows Whistle on That Great Eavesdropper, the NSA > <Picture>The top secret agency is spying for the U.S. in ways > that other nations find increasingly alarming and intrusive. By > SIMON DAVIES > > > <Picture><Picture><Picture><Picture> > > > > ADVERTISEMENT > <Picture> > <Picture: NextCard Internet Visa - Apply Now> > <Picture> > <Picture: http://www.newhomenetwork.com/losangeles> > <Picture: E>urope is discretely gearing up for one of the most > interesting legal battles in its history. At stake is the future > of the world's most secretive intelligence organization, > America's National Security Agency. The NSA is in the > business of eavesdropping on the world's communications networks > for the benefit of the United States. In doing so, it has built a > vast spying operation that reaches into the telephone systems of > nearly every country. Its operations are so secret that this > activity, outside the U.S., occurs without any democratic > oversight and without any legal basis. Over the past year, > members of the European Parliament have learned, to their > astonishment, that the NSA, in collusion with the British > government, has created the means to intercept almost every fax, > e-mail and telephone call within the European Union. The > revelation has irritated governments throughout Europe, > culminating in a current Italian judicial inquiry into the > legality of the NSA's activity. Sketchy details of the NSA's > spying in Europe had been common currency here for decades but > had never been formally acknowledged. Attempts by British MPs had > for decades been ignored. The issue has erupted now because > of two recent European Parliament studies that confirm the > existence in Britain of a network of communications intelligence > bases operated by the NSA. The publication last year of the first > report, "An Appraisal of the Technologies of Political Control," > confirmed for the first time that the NSA had established a > surveillance capacity over the entire European communications > network. It also described a grid of supercomputers, known as > Echelon, capable of scanning vast areas of the communications > spectrum to detect keywords. Of particular interest to > Parliament was the report's assertion that the NSA was beefing up > its commercial espionage activities. Its claim is that the NSA > has been routinely intercepting sensitive traffic relating to > bids, takeovers, mergers, investments and tender offers, all for > U.S. economic benefit. Questions have been raised by > parliamentarians in Germany, Norway, Denmark, Holland and Sweden. > Then, in September, the plenary session of the European > Parliament took the unprecedented step of openly debating the > activities of the NSA. In a consensus resolution, the Parliament > fired a shot across the bow of the spooks by demanding more > openness and accountability. Any thoughts that these matters > were simply paranoid musings by fans of "The X-Files" were > scuttled in June when the second report, "Interception > Capabilities 2000," set out the technical specifications of the > interception system. The report revealed details of a secret plan > to create a "seamless" web of telecommunications surveillance > across all national boundaries. The strategy was advised by > national security agencies and by the FBI, which instigated with > Brussels a top-secret planning organization called the > International Law Enforcement Telecommunications Seminar. In > time, two vast systems--one designed for national security and > one for law enforcement--would merge and, in the process, would > cripple national control over surveillance activities. The > scandal has found its way to Washington. The House Permanent > Select Committee on Intelligence has ordered the NSA to hand over > documents relating to Echelon. The NSA has for the first time in > the committee's history refused, claiming attorney-client > privilege. The stand-off may well end the NSA's privileged > position. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.), worried by the potential breach > of constitutional privacy rights, has introduced an amendment to > the fiscal 2000 Intelligence Authorization Act requiring the > directors of the CIA and the NSA and Atty. Gen. Janet Reno to > submit a report outlining the legal standards being employed > within project Echelon in order to safeguard the privacy of > American citizens. The NSA's silence has fueled the present > inquiry by the Rome judiciary. The head of the inquiry, Deputy > Dist. Atty. Vittorio De Cesare, intends to determine the extent > to which the activities of the NSA may breach Italian law. > Italy's privacy watchdog, Stefano Rodota, has also expressed > his concern, and recently told local media, "The U.S. government > [has] not replied to the requests for clarifications made > explicitly by the European Parliament." Rodota has motivated his > fellow privacy commissioners throughout Europe to formally > investigate the Echelon system. These recent events have > left observers contemplating two distressing facts. First, > national borders have disintegrated. The NSA and its partner > agencies now can intercept any communication worldwide. Second, > the distinction between traditional police and security agencies > has blurred. The future is without doubt a seamless, borderless, > surveillance web that touches all facets of our communication. - > - - > > Simon Davies Is a Visiting Fellow in the Computer Security > Research Centre in the London School of Economics and Director of > the Human Rights Group, Privacy International > > > > > Copyright 1999 Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved >From LA Times A<>E<>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." --Buddha + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller, German Writer (1759-1805) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." 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