>> Setting a moral example by Doing the Right Thing would be a ridiculously huge mistake. > OK, cool, but this can be applied then to not only spying, this can be used to justify ANYTHING done by a government.

Apply that logic to police forces and you get the situation we are in now.

> spy that Japanese company to steal secrets for its American competitor.

i don't see any indication that anything like that happened

That article proves the opposite point, despite the intense message-warping attempted.

The report in question is a hypothetical "what if" scenario analysis (one of many) that outlines one possible strategy to address a future where US corporate innovation is not in the top tier. It's not real and it's speculative about the medium-to-long term future.

Despite falling over itself to try to imply the US might actually be guilty of trade secret theft for corporations... it fails to provide a single example.

Yeah, you are right I am sure the NSA/CIA will let us know when they decide to do it.

In all the leaked documents is there any indication, even the slightest, such a thing is being done?

I am easily as aware of the activities of US intelligence SIGINT programs as nearly any civilian on this site, and just as reflexively critical of them as you would expect of a HN poster (my interest stems from my opposition), but I have never seen any indication of industrial espionage on behalf of American businesses à la China in at least the post-Church committee period. If you make a strong claim, you should be able to support it with evidence.

It’s worth noting that the article only references a leaked memo for a potential plan for the future, rather than concretely describing current activities. Not to say you’re necessarily wrong, but that article isn’t the strongest evidence IMO.