it should consequently decline despite quaint handsome hills

of respect
for Parliament or civil liberties in their home countries.

The opposite seems to be true: that anything goes as long as you do not
get caught. Secrecy not only permits but encourages questionable operations.


Three observations need to be made about the immense spying capability
provided by the ECHELON system.

The first is that the magnitude of the global network is a product of
decades of intense Cold War activity. Yet with the end of the Cold War
it has not been demobilized and budgets have not been significantly cut.

Indeed the network has grown in power and reach. Yet the public
justifications, for example that 'economic intelligence is now more
important', do not even begin to explain why this huge spy system
should be maintained. In the early 1980s the Cold War rhetoric was
extreme and global war was seriously discussed and planned for.

In the 1990s, the threat of global war has all but disappeared and
none of the allies faces the remotest serious military threat.


The second point about the ECHELON capabilities is that large parts of the
system, while hiding behind the Cold War for their justification, were
never primarily about the Cold War at all.

The UKUSA alliance did mount massive operations against the Soviet Union
and other 'communists', but other elements of the worldwide system, such
as the interception of Intelsat communications, microwave networks and
many regional satellites, were not aimed primarily at the Russians, the
Iraqis or the North Koreans.

Then, and now, they are targeting groups which do not pose any physical
threat to the UKUSA allies at all.

But they are ideal to use against political opponents, economic competitors,
countries where the allies