Yes, use by the military to continue committing genocide against their own people. “Spying” in geopolitical context usually means use against other countries.
“Spying” looks like editorial click bait. It isn’t even mentioned in the article. The concern I think is domestic use to commit genocide against their own people.
Spying is gaining access to information that someone doesn't want you to have access to. It's not necessarily a precursor to violence even if it is often used to gain a military advantage.
Tell that to people who died needlessly during a civil war thanks to the sabotaged communication system that NSA caused. I'm sure their death felt like a diplomatic problem, something people discuss between drinking port wine and eating walnuts on the embassy.
Attacking civil infrastructure of a foreign nation is not spying, especially if that nation has an ongoing war. If one uses the term spying like that, then the term spying has been extended beyond what can possible be reasonable. Just because someones intent is information extraction does not make it any less of an offensive military operation if the method used are offensive military in nature.
I never will understand how this spying stuff always is allowed to happen. I know every government does is, but I find it unbelievably dishonest. What kind of relationship is that? I would intuitively see any spying as an act of war, especially if supposedly friendly countries do it.
In looking around, I see that you are correct about the general use of "spy."
I thought that the main meanings were 1) spying taking place in opposition to laws in other jurisdictions but legal in the first (eg, British spies in the Soviet Union), 2) spying taking place against economic opponents, often using illegal methods (corporate espionage), 3) citizens spy against other citizens if they use illegal means, and 4) the government spies against its citizens using illegal means.
Only #2 of these might use non-illegal means. Otherwise, I thought that "spying" required a violation of the law.
For example, the US law describes spying as "Any person subject to this chapter who, in violation of the law of war and with intent or reason to believe that it is to be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign power, collects or attempts to collect information by clandestine means or while acting under false pretenses, for the purpose of conveying such information to an enemy of the United States, or one of the co-belligerents of the enemy..."
But I see plenty of examples where people use "spying" where I would use "surveillance" or other term.
And you know, ... I'm fine with broadening the use of the term 'spying' for these cases. Thanks for the enlightenment!
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