The Echelon network and the US information power
Born out of a secret agreement made between allies during the second world war, the network, code name Echelon, has been placed under the authority of the National Security Agency (NSA). Nowadays, it stands out as an integral part of a reticular hegemonic dynamics, which is both offensive and defensive, and has political as well as cultural and economic implications. The will, expressed by the United States, to lay out a planetary monitoring system, with the legitimate goal of maintaining international security, explains the evolution of Echelon. However, the ambition of its comptrollers to gather information on friends and foes alike, goes beyond security preoccupations. It reveals a real desire, from the only superpower, to achieve a position of world dominance, without the challenge of « peer competitors ». Cybernetic power and multiform tactics, electronic and organizational innovations, all have been incorporated into a new information doctrine designed to reach that end. – Summary AFRI-2004
