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Spying is an act of keeping a secret watch for intelligence purposes. Spying has been an age old business dating back to biblical times. Joshua sent spies to Jericho to go and study the land and their strategies. The King had intelligence of their presence and sent men after them but they were covered by Rehab the prostitute. As ancient Chinese author and military strategist Sun Tzu enumerated in his book Art of war, Spying is warfare strategy against the enemy in a battle but in modern time it has gone beyond spying on the enemy but allies as well. Sun Tzu stated that the best way to win over your opponents is to have foreknowledge of their strategies. This foreknowledge he said cannot be gained through scientific analysis, spiritual inclinations or mathematical calculations but only through spying. In this world of competition, you can only survive when you have a strong defence mechanism and the best of arsenals in attack. But this mechanism can be built to succeed only if you have foreknowledge of the competitors� strategy. Survival is purely an act of war and every human, state or organisation has the instinct to survive. Spying activities were intense during the world wars. The cold war strived so much on spying and espionage with the two most powerful spying organisations the KGB and the CIA working in the dark to undo each other. Due to the deadly role of spying which may threatens the existence of a state, spying has been declared illegal and a treasonable offence by most states. The United States which is in the centre of spying controversy today has an espionage act that carries grave penalties. Because of that instinct to survive and protect one�s territorial integrity, almost every nation spies on each other even including the episcopal state of the Vatican and the Holy See. No nation will ever admit spying on another because it is highly illegal and violate international laws on espionage, yet the spying business flourish in the dark. In the wake of the revelations by former NSA employee and whistle-blower Edward Snowden, countries which were thought to be close allies of the United States have been heavily scandalised by the allegations that United State was spying on them. Some openly registered their displeasure by taking some actions. Brazil�s President Dilma Rousseff cancelled her planned visit to the white house as a sign of protest against U.S�s spying on her and tapping her phone calls. She further went ahead to complain at the United Nation Assembly. These actions will make one wonder if President Rousseff never knew all this while that U.S and other nations do spy on her? But the fact of the matter is that she knows and she also spies on the U.S and other states. As the commander-in-chief of the arm forces, she receives daily security briefings which include information from spying activities. The revelations were not new and as shocking to her as she want to portray to the world. The reactions and boycotts were mere charade and stage managed act to prove to her citizens and the world that their national pride has been hurt and she will do everything to defend that pride. I won�t blame her because it will be very unwise on her part to go ahead and honour that trip to the white house. That could be interpreted as selling the national pride of the Brazilian people to the United States and dinning with the �enemy�. Though some say it is borne out of hypocrisy but on the other hand, it can also be seen as political expediency. International relations experts, social commentators and the media all over the world have heavily criticised the U.S of spying on its trusted allies. But before the dust could settle, news broke that Brazilian intelligent agency ABIN has been spying on diplomats from all over the world including the United State. Though an official statement from the office of the Brazilian President admitted the claims but defended the activity being carried out within a legal remits. I have studied the two situations and will admit the Brazilian act was undoubtedly modest as compared to the NSA�s activities but that does not mean there are no equal activities by the ABIN which are still under code unexposed. However the capacity of the United State to spy is arguably the biggest among her contemporaries. So the activities of ABIN, I will say is on a lower pedestal and couldn�t have lived up to that billing to make any proper comparison. But no matter how widespread or small it may seem to be, they are all acts of espionage. Outside the diplomatic space, it very normal for them to spy and all have some knowledge of what each nation does but it becomes a different issue when the world start to know what they are not supposed to know. In my opinion spying especially on allies may not necessarily be the worst thing to do; within the clandestine objectives, may be good intentions as well. Some of the time, information gathered from spying activities is well packaged in a form of security advice and shared with the spied countries. Information may quickly be worked on to nip any threat in the bud. That is why the United States can warn allies of possible attacks due to intelligence gathered on them. Also, they don�t only spy to protect but to know how to tackle issues of foreign policy based on what they know about you. Spying helps in making key foreign policy decisions which may eventually inure to the benefit of the spied. Most spying organisations also collaborate in gathering intelligence to fight a common course. The disadvantage of spying on allies may be when their privacy is rudely invaded and also economic intelligence is gathered to give economic advantage to the one spying in international trade. Though spying is an illegal and unethical act, we can�t also leave our lives without gathering intelligence about ourselves and our neighbours and enemies. People will complain, committees will be set, recommendations will be made but that will not break the resolve of any country or spying organisation to continue spying. All those bashing America should kindly cut the hypocrisy and give them some break because they do nothing different from what your government does. [email protected] www.yayrafranklinwordpress.com