Amidst the hoopla over the Snowden revelations, one thing becomes clear – spying on others is here to stay!
The latest incident about the US government’s elaborate eavesdropping programme has overtly pornographic connotations – this means that out there, some are listening and, maybe, watching millions of unsuspecting people. Who knows, intimate moments are possibly being watched too! Welcome to the age of voyeurism where the deviant practice is being perpetrated by governments.
With the blowing of the lid by Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor, about a US authority-led mass surveillance operation beyond US borders, the issue of privacy vis a vis the campaign to contain the menace of global terrorism come to the fore. Now that the worms are out, the line used as a defence is that such wide-scale information gathering was authorised, keeping in mind the tentacles of extremism and radical elements.
This rationale works to a certain degree, but what of those recluse self-radicalised individuals, who, like the London attackers, decide to work without any links to a militant outfit? In a world where terrorism is fast evolving, keeping an eye on social networks is hardly the best way to check terrorists.
While the US has tried to provide a quick damage control reply by using the terror-control line, the fact that the country spies on other people has come out. And, what timing! Just recently, it was the US that was pointing a finger at China for waging clandestine cyber warfare against the West.
Incidentally, the blaming of China began some time ago and was given so much momentum that the BBC ran a documentary where a certain building was identified as the Chinese hub of all " dodgy" cyber dealings. It now appears that those who have so far maintained a holier than thou stance don’t have their halos in place either.
Naturally, the US administration is outraged. After all, these leaks, starting from the ones engineered by Julian Assange, have undermined their oft-repeated rhetoric of democratic values respecting sovereignty of other nations. In plain language, history has shown that the US always did what it condemned in public.
Well, no use getting shocked by the double standards because roots of duplicity go back a long way. Let’s revert to the late sixties when the Pentagon Papers, released by the New York Times, gave a glimpse into selfish US interests in Vietnam. A government memo, which was also leaked at that time, showed the main reasons for the US to be engaged in Vietnam were to counter the spread of Communism and to preserve US pride.
The papers also showed that despite domestic opposition and widespread unrest at university campuses against US involvement in Vietnam, the government deliberately carried out certain acts (bombing of Cambodia and Laos) to prolong the war. But then, dirty policies never had a clean ending – US forces eventually had to retreat in utmost humiliation from Vietnam in 1975. Those images of the frantic departure in helicopters from atop the main US consulate remain the most damning evidence of the end of hubris.
The Nixon administration was also implicated in the infamous Watergate scandal where, again, people were trying to gather information about the main political opponent via questionable means. Sorry to say, poking into other people’s business has been around for some time.
Wait a bit, let’s get one thing straight – this is not a US bashing piece. The Chinese are doing it, India and Pakistan have probably been listening to and watching each other for over half a century and, even in Bangladesh, blog writers have come under scrutiny. In most cases, the defence line for such a tactic is that it aims to pre-empt social/political campaigns which, if allowed to go on and develop in strength, can undermine harmonious existence.
Agreed, this justification has gathered some credence in a time when terrorism has gone beyond a single nation or a geographical boundary to become a global threat.
That keeping an eye on others can minimise militant action is accepted but there is a downside too – it will unleash a mass state-sponsored spying network. Once top nations are discovered to be constantly listening to others, a trust deficit will form. Bring into this context the US diplomat who was caught a month ago while allegedly trying to bribe a Russian official, or go back two years to when a large, so-called sleeper group of Russian agents, was deported from the US.
The truth remains: spying never lost its appeal even after the end of the Cold War. To know what others are doing is, per se, a very stimulating activity. Apart from getting an idea of what someone else is planning, it provides the much adored adrenaline rush.
Need I remind readers that forbidden acts always give the best thrills! Now that Edward Snowden has brought PRISM into the open and fled to Hong Kong, a debate will rage about where a line should be drawn to limit eavesdropping. At least, that is the (naïve) hope.
Be that as it may, this writer firmly believes that listening and looking will never cease! In certain cases, governments will be able to thwart large-scale terror plots but like this writer said earlier, those who want to jolt the institution have also changed their tactics.
Today, radicalism does not need a platform to shape up – a disgruntled immigrant in a first world country with hundreds of refused job applications and a computer can easily plan an extreme move.
Maybe the time has come to keep an eye on all those who have their job requests turned down. Practical sense states, spying will get even bigger in the future. Perhaps drones over every city!
Meanwhile, advice for the inveterate voyeur who keeps a watch out with his binoculars – perish those thoughts of guilt; if governments can do it, so can you. Enjoy without scruples!
