As you can see, we have another blog post about the NSA. Sorry guys, but this was one that I just couldn't pass up. The President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, has cancelled her upcoming meeting with Obama due to alleged spying by the NSA. Although it is only an allegation, this does definitely hurt the United States and their battle for more trade with Brazil, especially the oil company Petrobas. As stated in the CNN and NY Times articles, Brazil is a huge player in the economy of the Americas and also trades a lot with China. I would just like to know what was so important to the NSA that they would even allow for the possibility for such an allegation. Do you think that the NSA may learn its lesson with this event or will it continue to spy on well.. everyone?
Another interesting factoid that I came across while researching this event was the Brazilian response. As told in the Business Insider article, a group of Brazilian hackers responded with a message to who they thought was the NSA, but turned out to be NASA. This little misstep created quite a chuckle for many following this story. Who knew one letter could make such a big difference? It is interesting to think about the fact that not only are the citizens of the United States tired of the NSA's spying, but it has even spread to our peers on a national scale.
3 comments:
This incident is a huge embarrassment for the United States, and though it is only an allegation, it could potentially harm our foreign affairs and cause distrust between us and other nations. This could cause Brazil and other countries to feel reluctant to negotiate with the United States. This would also increase the unpopularity of the NSA Spying Program, as people realize its offensive effects. I believe that though the United States Government is entitled to protect and secure its people, there are certain privacies that we are entitled to.
Like Connor states, I can't really think of a solid reason for why the US would want to spy on Brazil in the first place.
Economically, I don't think the US can possibly feel threatened by Brazil right now. At $15.68 trillion in 2012 GDP, the US is still an economic ocean away from the $2.253 trillion Brazilian economy. Brazil's consistently high GDP growth rates in the mid-latter 2000's may have been a cause for concern, but that rate has recently slowed dramatically. US oil production, at 6.4 million barrels per day in 2012, is almost triple the 2012 Brazilian oil output of 2.3 million barrels per day. As one can clearly see, the US isn't really directly threatened by Brazil's economy. The only cause for concern I can think of is China's increasing share of Brazilian trade, but even that shouldn't warrant spying. However, it is worth noting that Brazil's economy is heavily dependent on Petrobas, so perhaps the NSA thought that gaining insights into Petrobas would in turn grant them insights into the Brazilian economy as a whole. If this is the case however, then the NSA has clearly abused its power by using its spying capabilities for reasons unrelated to national security.
As for spying on Rousseff's personal communications, I think that was completely uncalled for. Although she may be too economically left-leaning for many American tastes, Rousseff in no way poses a direct threat to American national security. To have that much arrogance and contempt so as to violate the privacy of a G-20 world leader really tells you something about the attitude of the NSA and perhaps that of the entire US Dept. of Homeland Security. If the NSA has spied on the president of Brazil, I think it's safe to assume that the agency has spied on the leaders of numerous other countries as well. Presidents around the world, I think it might be a good idea to start using paper communications again.
I agree with Patricia that we are entitled to certain privacies. Do you think that countries and individuals receive different rights to privacy? Is it more okay for the NSA to spy on another country than an individual (morally)? Is it worse?
As a country we should be concerned with how other countries view us. Americans can be seen as the "ugly American," and we should not be trying to increase that stereotype by spying or creating the appearance of spying.
I thought it was interesting that the NY Times article mentioned Brazil wanting to join the UN Security Council. On a side note, how do you feel about expanding the UNSC to include countries such as Brazil and India?
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