From: pgut001@cs.auckland.ac.nz (Peter Gutmann)
Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 16:36:45 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: What was the quid pro quo for Wassenaar countries?
Message-ID: <91301833500932@cs26.cs.auckland.ac.nz>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



One thing which came to me recently when I was trying to figure out what sort 
of gun the US held to the rest of the world's head to get them to agree to 
this: Could the Wassenaar outcome have been a sign of Echelon in action?
 
Consider this: Delegates from each country have been travelling to Vienna for 
some months now to negotiate their countries position.  During the 
negotiations, they'll be contacting their governments via phonecalls carried 
over microwave trunks, satellite links, or undersea cables to discuss the 
progress of the negotiations and what position they should take.  Just like 
the negotiations which lead to the Five-Power Treaty in 1921, if one country 
had the ability to intercept all the other countries communications it would 
know how far they could be pushed, and where the most resistance was likely to 
come from, allowing greater amounts of "persuasion" to be concentrated on them.
 
I can't think of a more appropriate application of Echelon (use worldwide 
surveillance technology to perpetuate the usefulness of worldwide surveillance 
technology), and it would go some way towards explaining the very peculiar 
agreement which was reached.
 
Peter.