New York Times Blog: November 29, 2010

I really loved the front page pictures of today's newspaper. It's a silhouette of two men shaking hands in front of a window. It seemed as though they have just done business and are agreeing on the terms. According to the caption, the man on the left is Syrian Preseident Bashar al-Assad and he has just armed Hezbollah militants. I think I like my interpretation of the picture better, it's funny how a picture can tell a thousand words but that doesn't mean it's right.
The article, "Blurring Line Between Spy and Diplomat" by Mark Mazzetti is about how the U.S. has expanded the role of American diplomats. They now collects more information overseas such as, credit card and frequent fliers numbers, work schedules and other personal information from foreign dignitaries. Now this seems strange to me considering foreign dignitaries aren't necessarily bad... what's the reason these extra precautions have been taken?
Recently, since 2008, the role of American statesmen and spies have been blurred. According to Philip J. Crowley, a State Department Spokesman, debated on Sunday that American diplomats have taken on a different role overseas, "Our diplomats are just that, diplomats. They represent our country around the world and engage openly and transparently with with representatives of foreign governments and civil society. Through this process, the collect information that shapes our policies and actions. This is what diplomats, from our country and other countries, have done for hundreds of years."
Although there is no evidence that the U.S. is trying to steal the secrets of these foreign nations, they are supposed to be trying to build biographical profiles on the foreign officials. However, the more personal information that is being gathered, the bigger the problem it seems. This intrusive information can be used by the National Security Agency for data mining and surveillance operations.
Although there are several treaties that prohibit spying at the United Nations, it is no secret that countries try to anyway.