Comment by allochthon

I certainly don't wish to justify espionage. I'm saying that it's a reality of life today and has been for centuries, and the US is only one of many countries (perhaps not Belgium or the Netherlands) that are engaging in it. So the anger directed at the US should be directed at all the other countries engaging in espionage as well (and it is clear that there are many).

As for the US being allowed to get away with it, I do not have any simple prescriptions to offer the US government for replacing it with something better, although I too wish it did not engage in it.