THE ECONOMIC AND DEFENSE CONSEQUENCES OF UNBRIDLED ELECTRONIC ESPIONAGE…

December 23, 2013 By Joseph P. Farrell  /  http://gizadeathstar.com/2013/12/consequences-unbridled-electronic/

This one is a rather interesting article, and we can expect more of the same.  Brazil, it seems, has cancelled a fighter-jet contract with the USA’s Boeing, in favor of a deal with Sweden for the Swedish Gripin fighter jet(thanks to Mr. VT for bring this to our attention):
‘NSA ruined it!’ Brazil ditches Boeing jets, grants $4.5 bln contract to Saab
You’ll note that this bit of news didn’t make any major American media, except perhaps only in passing, but a four and a half billion dollar defense contract being lost to a foreign competitor that is the technological equal of Boeing(in this case, Saab), to an up-and-coming military and economic power, Brazil, should be major news, especially given the fact that the loss of the contract is due quite simply to a loss of trust and confidence in the American firm in the wake of the Snowden-NSA scandal. The article, or rather, Brazil’s President Rousseff, puts it country simple:

” Rousseff lambasted US spying on her country during the UN General Assembly in September, calling it a “breach of international law.” She further warned that the NSA surveillance, revealed since June, threatened freedom of speech and democracy.
“’Meddling in such a manner in the lives and affairs of other countries is a breach of international law and as such it is an affront to the principles that should otherwise govern relations among countries, especially among friendly nations,’ Rousseff said.
“Just before her address at the UN summit, Rousseff canceled a state visit to Washington, scheduled to take place in October, because of indignation over spying revelations. Rousseff has stated she wants an apology from US President Barack Obama.”

If you’ll recall, when the Snowden affair first came out, I maintained the position that the NSA spying was ultimately about economics and finance – and preserving an American advantage in “markets” increasingly driven by the exchange of information and timely advantage. I still maintain that position, for I also implied in some blogs that there would be an inevitable geopolitical, financial, and even security backlash from the revelations, and now Brazil has signaled what the cost of “security” really is:
It’s less security, increased suspicion among allies, a formula that will inevitably translate into loss of trade, loss of production, loss of industry, as potential foreign markets – in this case in the crucial area of defense, and we’ll get back to that in a moment – seek other companies to fill their requirements. American defense-related exports form one of the few remaining areas of actual manufacture in the country, and a loss of contracts to a major buyer like Brazil is sending a serious signal, folks, one that cannot be ignored: foreign nations will be increasingly reluctant to trust American manufactuers precisely because to do so would imperil their own security. No one wants fighter jets, submarines, or tanks from a nation now revealed to sneak back doors into all manner products. Remember the “Farewell” spy case in Russia, and the computer program with a backdoor that blew up a Russian gas pipeline and was visible from space? Maybe not, but it happened, and Russia now knows the long arm of American cyber attacks. Remember the INSLAW affair and Bill Hamilton, and stolen software and backdoor modifications? Maybe not, but it happened. And remember, too, Israel has lately been buying its cruise-missile launching submarines, not from the USA, but from Germany.
The lesson is now producing another long term problem for the Anglo-American oligarchy(I say that, for rest assured, the NSA spying scandal is also a British GCHQ spying scandal). The problem is, how to maintain the electronic security, and restore trust and a loss of confidence?
In the meantime, watch for increasing loss of defense contracts to nations and regions that were formerly US preserves, and watch for the Europeans, Russians, and Chinese, to move into the vacuum.