Those of a certain age will remember spy vs. spy, a cartoon in Mad Magazine dating from 1961 but extant to this day (here’s an example of the original by Antonio ProhÃas). I haven’t thought of the cartoon in years but was reminded of it when I read this thought provoking post by John Quiggin. In it, Quiggin proffers the notion that spies never discover anything useful and that they don’t for game theoretic reasons (basically their masters can never be sure about whether the information obtained is true or disinformation from the other side). On the other hand, they are very efficient at suppressing domestic opposition.
He has compelling evidence on his side. One need look no further than the NSA. Despite a massive surveillance effort, they have been unable to point to any credible evidence that those efforts have been fruitful in stopping any terrorist attacks. Indeed, they failed to discover the Boston bombers plot despite the fact that the Tsarnaev brothers left indications of their plans laying all over the place.
Quiggin notes that the myth of spies, as we think of them today, is a relatively recent phenomenon and that it owes more to literature than it does to reality. He argues that even celebrated cases like Mata Hari and the Rosenbergs were probably over reactions caused by panic.
You may or may not agree with the central thesis that spying is mostly a waste of time and resources but Quiggin’s history of the myth of the spy is entertaining and informative. Well worth a few minutes and perhaps you’ll find yet another reason to reject the NSA/GCHQ/<other TLA organizations’> claims that they need to destroy our privacy to protect us from terrorists.