Is anyone REALLY surprised CIA keeps an eye on Cdn economy?

[The Bread Guy]

The CIA secretly painted Pierre Trudeau as a politician torn between being a leader of the Third World and a genuine player with global industrialized nations, declassified records show.

The January 1982 assessment of the Liberal prime minister's ambitions is among several detailed — and until now virtually unknown — analyses of the Canadian economy by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, The Canadian Press obtained more than a dozen CIA reports that explore various aspects of Canadian commerce, industry and technology during the Cold War era.

The assessments reveal a keen interest in Canadian affairs on the part of an agency better known for waging a covert war against East Bloc spies in the decades leading up to the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.

CIA analysts pored over almost every available map of Canada, scrutinized Canadian mineral production, pondered Japanese interest in Alberta's tar sands, catalogued shipping trends and kept an eye on Canadian dealings with the Communist world ....

.... as they probably still do, as well as the economies and economic developments of a load o' other countries, too (not to mention our int services and other government agencies doing the same in the other direction) :

Source:  The Canadian Press, 7 Aug 11

 

[a_majoor]

This should be no real surprise, most of the data collected is recorded here for anyone to read

 

[Robert0288]

As the US is our largest trading partner, I'm sure there's more than enough economists and other government types that pay very close attention to what the US is doing as well.  So now I'm not particularly surprised.

 

[cupper]

Wel, I for one am surprised ...


... that this is in any way at all news worthy.

 

[medicineman]

Why should anyone be surprised - it's their job...I mean, DUH!!

MM

 

[Greymatters]

For the general public its all very shocking... 

 

[OldSolduer]

Not surprised at all. We do the same....unless I am mistaken....

 

[Greymatters]

As to what our agencies do, that tends to fall into the 'we can neither confirm nor deny' category...

As to what countries in general do, all countries tend to spy on their neighbours and allies, not just their enemies and threats.  Its just bad form to get caught doing it or talking about it. 

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Anyone remotely familiar with the CIA World Factbook shouldn't be the least bit surprised at this most mundane of assumptions.

Chicken Little can't even be bothered raising his ass off the couch for this one.

 

[The Bread Guy]

As to what countries in general do, all countries tend to spy on their neighbours and allies, not just their enemies and threats.  Its just bad form to get caught doing it or talking about it.

It's not just "spying", or just by intelligence community folks, either - it can also be research, like this, this or this.

 

[Greymatters]

It's not just "spying", or just by intelligence community folks, either - it can also be research, like this, this or this.

I used the term generally, as we were refering to the activities of a 'spy' organization.  Im sure most anyone on this forum knows that information and intelligence is collected or created in a hundred different ways... 

 

[The Bread Guy]

I used the term generally, as we were refering to the activities of a 'spy' organization.  Im sure most anyone on this forum knows that information and intelligence is collected or created in a hundred different ways...

Seen - I was just showing LOTS of people working at LOTS of levels of gov't collect information and generate intelligence about other governments, so it shouldn't be surprising CIA did, too.

 

[Journeyman]

I'm sure most anyone on this forum knows...

While I try to keep an upbeat hope regarding the population's general intellect, that belief takes a regular beating (especially in the recruiting threads where people can't even "collect information" by searching within this one site.    )

I suspect that this story is "news" only in the hopes of some editor, trying to foment a tempest in a teapot amongst the more nationalist conspiracy theorists.

 

[OldSolduer]

I usually tell the more cerebral people in my unit that every government agency and major corporation has an intellgence function in it somewhere. It may not be called that, and the folks that are doing it may not realize it either.

 

[Journeyman]

A few years back, George Tenet, retired head of the CIA published his memoires, At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA. You'd have to search pretty diligently for mention of Canada (two hits within an index of over 500 references). 

Yes, the CIA keeps an eye on us -- our politics, economics, and likely the number of subversive elements we welcome as poor, oppressed terrorist fund-raisers -- but we hardly appear to be an overarching concern.

      :boring:

 

[Greymatters]

While I try to keep an upbeat hope regarding the population's general intellect, that belief takes a regular beating (especially in the recruiting threads where people can't even "collect information" by searching within this one site.    )

Im trying to be positive as im often told Im too cynical - not sure how long it will last, as your observation is too true!