Foreign spying in 2004 impaired U.S. military edge

[Rose Siding]

Foreign spies from nearly 100 nations sought sensitive U.S. technology last year, and technology losses undermined U.S. military advantages, according to an annual U.S. counterintelligence report.
...
A senior FBI counterintelligence official, however, identified some of the nations most active in high-technology spying against the United States as China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Japan, France and Israel.
In one case, the official said, the Chinese stole the technology for an advanced metal used in U.S. military systems from a university laboratory in Iowa.
"Before the U.S. military could get it licensed, classified and manufactured, the Chinese had stolen it, stolen the marketing strategies, the customer list, and were manufacturing and selling it back to the United States," the official said.
...
The report said the United States remains the primary source of most of the world's advanced technology used for foreign militaries. U.S. technology theft also is used by foreign governments to help make their domestic businesses more competitive.

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050531-110044-9888r.htm

The article (and apparently the rpt) define spying as making "direct requests of naive U.S. companies, in many cases by simply asking via e-mail, phone call, facsimile, letter or in person for the sensitive information, the report said."

[lovuian]

1. We create it and they steal it!!!

its quite the dilemna!!!

[Rose Siding]

2. I'm not sure that's exactly what's going on

To some extent, we get as good as we give in swiping secrets- there's probably some of that going on. But to see the WaTimes characterize phone callers getting questions answered by US companies as spying, suggests something different to me.

There's a very good argument that I've seen emerging recently in opposition to expanding proliferation of weaponry and all things military: Maintaining the status quo maintains the US' advantage.

In order to counter that, the US must be convinced that there are nefarious foreign govt plots afoot, robbing us! cheating us! out of our superiority. I'm not buying it. We will soon be spending more than the rest of the world combined on "nat'l defense".

If anything, the free market is playing a larger part in undermining us than is being acknowledged in this GOP megaphone.

[bemildred]

3. There is a rising need for excuses and scapegoats.

I expect there will be claims the military was not allowed to win
and that traitors within undermined the war in Iraq and so on too.

[Nihil]

4. Bearing in mind ...

... that the US has sold high technology products to every country
on the list in the OP, ... what was the complaint again?

Oh that's right, the Chinese brought an idea to market quicker than
the pork-barrel defence company that was stretching out the project
to gouge a few more megabucks instead of delivering to the grunts.