Actually, I agree, to a point. It is one thing to have a total surveillance program for the purposes of national security. Every reason exists to do so. Howe

Actually, I agree, to a point. It is one thing to have a total surveillance program for the purposes of national security. Every reason exists to do so. However, I believe that one must either commit to being despicable and brazenly stealing industry secrets to benefit one's own nation's, or to keep those secrets within the confines of intelligence agencies. Now - and this is where ethics get a bit fuzzy - one could very easily argue that economic advantages allow one nation to enrich itself at the impoverishment of others, and so it is a long-term matter of national security to ensure that national economies are "topped off" with secrets that help them compete against foreign corporations. But to follow that line of thinking, industrial espionage is an act of war.