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Court Issues Dangerous Decision: Ethiopia Is Free to Spy on Americans
- throwlehal 10y agoI don't get the outrage. Sovereign governments have been spying on citizens of other countries forever, and we already have ways to respond - diplomacy (toss out their spies, or just a couple of random diplomats), counter-espionage (which covers all manner of things), and finally, war. If you catch their spies in the country, they are prosecuted under US law. If you catch your citizens anywhere in the world, they are also prosecuted under US law. But you can't sue the other country in a US court. It would be like suing the USSR during the cold war. You'd expect the US government to react in this case by whatever means necessary. Not the court system - what do they expect, the Ethiopian government to come and defend themselves in a US court? And what if you flip the scenario - the US does the same thing (espionage). Now, can a Ethiopian citizen sue the US government in an Ethiopian court and get a remedy even if they win? Fat chance.
- kw71 10y agoThis is interesting because the US government has charged, extradited and imprisoned criminals who have never touched US soil.