Comment Re:Business is business (Score 1) 264
Why is that "reasonable"? Shouldn't they be focusing their resources of groups/nations that present some threat to us?
Why wouldn't military allies pose a threat? Seriously, this is an incredibly naive view of the utility of intelligence. You think that a relatively small number of terrorists trying ineffectually to lob a few bombs is really the only major concern? Or even "partner/competitor" nations like China that have a single second hand aircraft carrier? No state military power is realistically going to start a full on war with the United States by attacking the U.S. mainland, and no non-state actor has the resources to realistically do all *that* much physical damage.
But, military allies who oppose US preferences in trade deals can potentially cost the US economy billions of dollars. Massive unemployment and economic collapse is absolutely considered an existential threat to any state. And, yes, much of the day to day accomplishments of an intelligence agency revolve around knowing in advance what tariff rate an ambassador to a trade conference in going to support on potatoes from various parts of the world. Knowing who you can move a few percent, and who is a hardliner, is enough to change a deal. A few small changes in a trade deal can effect msaaive numbers of people, and the US is very aggressive about maintaining power through things like trade deals which seem incredibly boring, and often go unreported in the news here. In business, everybody is both a friend and an enemy. A potential supplier of customer, but also a potential competitor. The concept of "Ally" becomes very grey as soon as you take a broader view of international relations that "If we shoot at somebody, are we supposed to shoot at them?"