Carrier of Information: Spies behind the Scenes

A spy’s activities revolve around digging secret information in foreign land. If the spy’s location has been made public of is revealed, the spy will never be able to steal information. The number of years needed to fully cover the identity of one spy cannot be counted, not to mention the money needed to support one. There are untold losses in concealing the identity of one spy before being dispatched to foreign embassies and missions abroad.

Will very important figures from political parties be the only ones looked after? Impossible. Foreign missions and international organizations are looked after as well. Competitors of US companies and industries fall in the list as well. In Europe alone, there are 19 ‘listening posts’ where eavesdropping activities are done to collect information. A total of 80 are located all-over the world. Collected information is then sent to back to the US where the National Security Agency (NSA) is responsible for safeguarding and classifying the information. Is it only the US that does this? Definitely no. All countries do it, but the difference is with the size and scale of the missions.

The leakage of the job description of NSA employees has become an issue as well. In October 2013, it was revealed that the German Chancellor’s mobile phone has been tapped by NSA. It was a private mobile phone, what more if it is a public phone? Since they have already been listening to private conversations, what will stop them from listening to conversations on government affairs?

Merkel hails from East Germany. The then government of East Germany has been actively promoting serving the secret service to young people at that time. “For the love of country and fellow Germans, work for the Stasi!” Stasi is East Germany’s secret police. Merkel, in staunch opposition, risking her life, said, “No! This is work for the country; but secret investigation on my people does not serve any justice.” As Merkel rose from the ranks to become the leader of one of Germany’s biggest political parties, secret investigations including wire-tapping started. It was 2002. The NSA Director was made to explain in a flurry. “We did not tap on the English PM,” he admits, reflecting the pact between five Anglo-Saxon countries to not spy on each other in the aftermath of WW2. The alliance was between USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, an alliance known more as Five Eyes. By Kim Jung-kyeom Former Interpol Vice President | Summary by Rigoberto Banta Jr.