... Is Echelon -
currently the focus of charges that it is being used
for industrial espionage - a system run by the U.S.
National Security Agency with help of the U.K.,
Canadian, Australian and New Zealand governments for
the benefit of the U.S. alone?
Have major U.S.
companies such as Microsoft, IBM and a "major
chip manufacturer" included secret functions,
codes and circuits in their products expressly to
support Echelon in its spying activities?
Has Echelon system
been used to undermine the commercial interests of
companies in France, Germany and elsewhere? ...
... the U.S. was
born as an escape from the semifeudal European
society. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance,
and so I welcome the publishing of information about
Echelon. The trouble is Europeans have yet to
experience unfettered freedom. Do U.S. citizens? one
wonders.