The usual European hypocrisy behind the whining about “friendly” spying
The discovery, often re-emerging, that the US "spy" in a pervasive way, even the allied nations creates controversy to no end in Italy and elsewhere. High-ranking representatives of the European Union make their voices heard – strangely, precisely on this occasion – by immediately demanding explanations and threatening at the same time no one knows exactly what, given their low weight at the international level.
The reactions, mind you, are more than predictable. European governments must give their public opinion the impression that they care about the protection of privacy , both at the public level and at the level of individual rights.
However, it is worth noting that behind such reactions there is a great deal of hypocrisy. It starts from the indisputable fact that Europeans in other circumstances had remained silent, accepting American decisions on foreign policy almost without a word (even when they proved questionable).
Perhaps it is forgotten that, from the end of the Second World War onwards, Europe has in practice outsourced all defense problems to the United States.
There were some exceptions represented above all by Charles de Gaulle, who tried to reserve a space of autonomy for France. But, given the spending limits that even the French had to deal with, this autonomy was more theoretical than real.
The disproportion between the forces that could field the former Soviet Union on the one hand and the countries of Western Europe on the other was enormous. So much so that everyone was aware of the need for US intervention in the event of an attack.
However, the delegation of defense did not disappear with the collapse of the USSR. It continued even after, when the world scenario profoundly changed with the advent of emerging nations such as China, India and post-Soviet Russia itself, and with the parallel emergence of Islamic fundamentalism.
To put it bluntly, it is convenient for Europeans to continue to delegate defense matters to the United States, and for several reasons. This strategy has made it possible to focus attention on economic growth without paying attention to a common military policy. It has also allowed EU governments to face the unilateral pacifism that preaches one-way disarmament.
The US, which has remained (for now) the only global superpower, even if undermined by China, has accepted to continue to play its role as guardian of the West, even if isolationist tendencies are growing that have always had a certain popularity in America. . And, punctually, the European governments have been worried fearing that the delegation to defense would eventually be rejected, forcing them to radically rethink the strategy adopted from 1945 onwards.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to be a one-way pacifist. It may be okay if you are sure that no one – absolutely no one – will attack us. It is essentially the thesis supported by many Italian pacifists. Since Italy is a tolerant country and does not threaten anyone – so it is argued – why should it invest in the military sector? Better to give up any defense ambition, confident that this policy will avert the danger of being attacked.
Unfortunately, history teaches that this is not quite the case. A cowardly nation constitutes an attractive target for all those who instead adopt an aggressive policy, determined by ideological or merely economic reasons.
The defense delegation I mentioned earlier also involves to a certain extent, especially today, that of information gathering, the main tool for combating terrorism and the countries that protect it.
It is certainly unfortunate that allies are also being subjected to scrutiny, but what are the alternatives after all? To equip oneself with an apparatus comparable to the American one, filling a gap that has become bigger and bigger? Or give in, hoping that international terrorism will forget us?
Very unlikely hypothesis. For this reason, hypocrisy cannot be the prevailing attitude. If they do not like computer control, Europeans must finally grow up and invest, possibly jointly, in their security. The rest is just chat.
The post The usual European hypocrisy behind the whining about "friendly" espionage appeared first on Atlantico Quotidiano .
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Atlantico Quotidiano at the URL http://www.atlanticoquotidiano.it/quotidiano/la-solita-ipocrisia-europea-dietro-il-piagnisteo-sullo-spionaggio-amico/ on Wed, 04 Aug 2021 03:55:00 +0000.