![]() A series of agreements between Western countries and the Soviet Union allowed for what was essentially legal spying on both sides of the conflict. ![]() In fact, the other team’s spies were a welcome part of the not-quite-war. government would be legally prohibited from undertaking itself.”Įven in instances of spying on enemy governments, espionage was not always entirely devious or violent. NSA does not ask its foreign partners to undertake any intelligence activity that the U.S. Max Boot, a writer for Commentary said, “this intelligence sharing allows them to do an end-run around prohibitions on domestic surveillance: the Brits can spy on our citizens, we can spy on theirs, and then we can share the results.” In 2013 the National Security Agency denied these accusations, saying, “any allegation that NSA relies on its foreign partners to circumvent U.S. Since there are many laws prohibiting governments from spying on their own citizens, some countries have used shady workarounds to gather such intel. It was revealed in 2013 that the members of the UKUSA Agreement very well might spy on each other, but not necessarily out of mistrust. Charles Kupchan, professor of international affairs at Georgetown University, put it simply: “Everybody spies on everybody, including friends on friends.”Īnd even the unbreakable bonds of the Five Eyes are not exempt from this practice. But then it was later revealed that German intelligence officers had “accidentally” eavesdropped on the U.S. was accused of bugging the German chancellor’s phone less than 10 years ago. Intelligence operations are always most concerned with the safety of their own nation first, so if it’s in their best interest to spy on a country that’s technically their ally, so be it. ![]() This has been a practice since the dawn of espionage, and it’s never been more relevant than it is today. Countries spy on their allies all the time. But for that whole time, these five nations, and specifically the UK and the US, have worked together and shared their intel for the “greater good.”Įven the strongest of friendships comes with a healthy dose of paranoia. This agreement was kept so secret that it wasn’t made public until 2010, almost 60 years after its founding. These five powers agreed to share their sensitive intelligence, and in turn, probably not spy on each other. The agreement currently involves Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which are collectively known as the Five Eyes. Following the end of World War II, the UKUSA Agreement marked a new era of intelligence operations comradeship. That hasn’t always been the case, though. If the goal is to painstakingly obtain important intel about a foreign group, military, or government, the best use of all those resources and money would be if that intel involved a potentially dangerous country-not one of our closest allies. ![]() Misconception: Countries only spy on their enemies. ![]()
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