European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 30, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Snoopers seek a new focus by Michael wines jew York times facing the decline of the soviet military threat the National Security Agency is debating plans to shift its global electronic eavesdropping network to other activities including spying on world Trade and financial transactions. The Agency is considering a reduction in some of its soviet operations but any further shift would Mark a Basic change of Mission for an organization whose Foremost duty since its formation 38 years ago has been to warn of a soviet military strike against Europe or the United states. The National Security Agency the largest of the . Intelligence agencies gathers All the intelligence derived from radio signals telephones and other electronic communications. It is formally an Agency of the Pentagon but it coordinates its activities with the Central intelligence Agency whose director reports to the president and the Cabinet. Senior officials of the National Security Agency led by its director vice adm. William o. Studeman Are drafting plans to redefine its activities in Light of the political and military upheaval in Eastern Europe officials and private experts say. Government officials stress that the Agency must continue to Monitor soviet military and political developments As Long As the soviet Union remains a nuclear superpower and maintains the largest military Force in Asia. In fact some eavesdropping May Well increase As political and social instability mounts in Russia and its surrounding republics they said. But the officials said the emerging Battles for economic Primacy among Western nations and multinational companies a and not military rivalries a offer by far the most promising prospects for the Agency a future activities. Among both senior . Intelligence officials and those in Congress who oversee their activities the soviet military Retreat has Given Rise to a belief that american Security now rests More in economic strength than in armed might. The temptation to use espionage As a weapon in the world s Trade wars is fast becoming the hottest Issue in intelligence circles. Officials say the a say a discussions raise fundamental questions about both the fairness of such tactics and their practicality. Even if the United states could set aside its ethical objections to Industrial espionage there Are Legal barriers to disclosing such information and serious questions of which american companies should receive it if in fact major companies with factories worldwide and joint ventures abroad can be any longer identified As american. The Issue is especially delicate because some of Thean East German technician displays an espionage device found near a military depot. It was designed to transmit data to an overhead satellite. Most attractive targets of economic espionage could Well be companies or government agencies of nations militarily Allied with the United states both in Western Europe and in Asia notably Japan. Many of those nations Are believed to spy on . Firms. A the real Issue is do you want United states intelligence to steal the proprietary secrets of foreign nations Quot one official said. A a it a fundamentally anathema to our Way of life. We done to do business this  industrialized nations including the United states routinely collect economic intelligence on their allies. The National Security Agency gathers data on financial and Stock transactions and foreign government strategies that Are useful in Trade negotiations and other government decisions like the approval of foreign purchases of american companies dealing in restricted technologies officials said. There is a consensus among intelligence officials that the Agency should gather More economic data both to assist government bodies involved in Commerce and to detect coming economic disruptions that could affect american interests like a collapse of financial markets or major Banks. Asa eavesdropping outposts Are also said to stumble routinely across foreign corporate Trade secrets and National Industrial strategies that could be of immense value to american companies competing abroad that information is not now sought or distributed within the government much less among private companies. Among the issues now being informally discussed by top intelligence officials Are whether the Agency and other government organizations should make a deliberate Effort to collect such information and who should Benefit. Neither the Agency nor other intelligence bodies could decide to gather such specific information on their own. Decisions on the kinds of data that agencies collect Are made by committees of intelligence experts and government policy makers. Among intelligence officials there is an Issue even More serious than ethics and practicality in economic espionage whether such secrets could be shared without compromising the exotic Means by which they were plucked from the airwaves or disclosing the particular frequencies or Telephone lines from which they were acquired. Quot Asa would go bananas if it collected data that wound up being shared with be Quot said a former intelligence official who is an expert on economic intelligence Quot in their business you Don t disclose sources and methods or your sources Start to dry  while Little is committed to paper so far officials said the National Security Agency s first conclusions could be reflected in its budget for the fiscal year that begins in october 1991, which is now under review by congresses committees on intelligence and the armed services. Some officials cast the discussions As a belated Effort to fend off advocates of Sharp budget reductions. Quot we be got an extraordinary investment in technical collection Quot a second official said. Quot this is All so sudden and unpredictable that they Don t know whether to Start dismantling things or what equipment to move or whether they need new policies or even How it will affect them in terms of the legality of what they  the budget is classified but its combined military and civilian components Are now believed to exceed $10 billion annually. That could quickly drop by 10 percent or More mostly through cuts in the military Side of the budget if the Odds against a conventional War continue to lengthen a government official said. Quot we have a general idea of where we want to go Quot he said a but we re still defining