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This should not really come as a shock. The internal and external state security apparatus of most countries almost certainly operate in a hazy gray area on the
by PoachedSausage 9y ago
This should not really come as a shock.
The internal and external state security apparatus of most countries almost certainly operate in a hazy gray area on the edges of the law.
- danbruc 9y agoEspionage is illegal in most if not all countries, so essentially anything you do outside of your borders is illegal. If agents from foreign country do the same things in your country that you ask your agents to do in foreign countries, you throw the former into jail and pay the later. It's an interesting philosophical topic.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- PoachedSausage 9y agoIt is usually all done under the auspices of diplomatic missions in a we-know-they-know-but-pretend-we-don't-know-but-really-we-all-know kind of way.
- Retra 9y ago"Universally symmetrical" ethical platforms fundamentally require shared and understood goals, which most often do not exist on an international scale. And even then, sometimes the shared goal of a strong boat requires you rock it with a little unfairness here and there. We want societies the won't sink in the face of a terrible storm, not because we only take them out on calm waters.
- e12e 9y agoMI5 is internal security, MI6 is external. MI5 doing eg kidnapping, rendition and torture of British citizens on British soil would be a question of "are they allowed to commit such crimes for an alleged greater good?".
- primitur 9y ago"Are these MI5 agents allowed to attend the child sex parties of the MP's, for an alleged greater good?" - Doesn't sound so noble to me, honestly.
- quietbritishjim 9y agoNot sure if you already realise that, but MI5 is the internal security service, so they don't do any espionage. Their normal operation isn't illegal by default. You might be thinking of MI6.
- danbruc 9y agoI would not have known that from the top of my head, but the comment I replied to mentions internal and external services and that is what I was referring to, not the article and the MI5 specifically.